PGTBOOS:
Ok i have need to control hundred or more digital outputs in a timed sense. (Art project)I am not sure what kind of micro controller could do that, or if it should be a combination of multiple micro-controllers.
What i do know that each output would need to be controlled individual with some delay, but this delay will also rapidly change and be different for each output.
Overall it needs to work pretty fast too, like a blink of an eyeI am thinking of setting it all maybe let an arduino output some binary bits, but the arduino doesnt have enough pins.
Any ideas would be welcome on how to do this.
No micro-controller is going to have 255 independent output pins avalible. A popular method one could use is a series of serial in parallel output shift registers wired in series to gain the total number of output pins you require. Then in your arduino software you shift out the serial bit stream and clock pulses for the register array and when all bits are transferred out you pulse a latch pin wired to all the shift registers that transfer all the bits to their output pins at the same time. There is plenty of time to perform all that magic as a blink of the eye is a long time for a arduino running at 16 Mhz.
Lefty