What do you guys recommend for placing the leds on? I have a large sheet of perf board but the holes are to far apart so the led can't sit flush on the board.

You could try it with 2 drivers multiplexed across 10 rows.
On time per row will be cut in half to achieve the same 25Hz refresh rate.

Technically If i used two of them and made each control 5 rows would I be able to have two rows lit up simultaneously so I could have a faster refresh rate theoretically?

Also what you guys recommend for powering the whole thing? I assume I will be using an arduino then connect that to the two WS2803 which will power the LED's

What would you recommend for the housing that will hold the leds and such? It will have an acrylic sheet that is the size of my laptop screen which is 14.5in x 9in.

Wouldn't I only need two of those if I was going to make a 10x10 RGB Led Matrix since I can just use them for the columns and then use multiplexing to control the rest?

Well I don't know how to easily do a couple of those options but what would probably be the most compact solution that still includes PWM? I thought of shift registers but I have never used them before, would i use them to control the columns and then by just changing the ground on a single row, i could control an individual led; then I would just use multiplexing to light up multiple columns? Wouldn't I need a bunch considering that I would have RGB LEDS, so 3 shift registers per column or am I over thinking this?



Edit* I was taking a look online at what other people did for making a RGB Led matrix and I found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5bdozQAv9Yo
Would that be something that could work? I can get a couple Rainbowduinos if I need to, but would that be an easy method to setup?

They are RGB LED's so yes. What would you recommend as a driver for them and also what would control the driver?

I am trying to figure out what to do with 100 5mm LED's that have a common anode. I thought about making a large dot matrix display that would "hang" on the back of my laptop monitor. It would use some sort of acrylic sheet that would go over the LED's and then have some type of clip to hang on the top of my screen on my laptop. This way I can display letters and words and patterns on the back of my laptop while I DJ.

Right now all I have are the LED's. What would I need to power them and also control them? I am good with software and programming, hardware is where I lack knowledge. I Also do not know how I would power it and I have no issue using an external power supply. Any help in making this project would be appreciated. Thank you.

You said using an arduino uno or mega would not be able to hold more than a couple of seconds and that reading an sd card wouldn't work well.

...wouldn't work well with software PWM.

I completely missed that part. Thanks. I just ordered the LED's for the project to build my scale model one.

if not then where would they be stored

I think I already posted on that subject.

You said using an arduino uno or mega would not be able to hold more than a couple of seconds and that reading an sd card wouldn't work well. So would I just be using a computer to constantly send data to the TLC5940? I am sorry but I am new to all of this and I am trying to learn.

So If I go the TLC5940 route, would I be able to make a way to manually change the animation using a computer for example. I know I have a wifi shield for my arduino but I didnt plan on using it for the cube. Would there be a way though to add wifi to the cube so I can manually change the current animation playing or upload a new animation to the TLC5940 (assuming the sequences are stored on that chip - if not then where would they be stored)? Also somehow I would like to add a switch to have it light up to sound using different animations I can design on the computer. I am probably getting way over my head by wanting all of that but it is things I would enjoy. I plan to build a 4x4x4 cube for testing before I scale it up to the full size of things.

Since it is easy to SINK current with an NPN transistor or N-Channel MOSFET it makes sense to use Common Cathode LEDS and SOURCE drivers.  Then you can SOURCE 20 mA of power from each of 300 output pins and SINK the 6A (300 anodes * 20 mA each) for each layer with a single transistor.

What would a basic setup for this be so I can learn and then possibly scale it up? Also and NPN transistor supplies current through it once I apply the voltage to the gate one it, correct? Does a MOSFET do the same?

I found this for an RGB 8x8x8: http://www.hownottoengineer.com/projects/rgb-led-cube.html
He decided to use STP16 chips and software to handle the pwm instead of going with the TLC5940. Would that be a better option or which would allow for smoother transitions in the animations?

I will start off saying that I am a complete noob when it comes to electronics. I am good at programming but I just started with electronics. I have created a very small 2x2x2 led cube that demonstrates multiplexing with some very basic visualizations. I also made two RGB Led's synched to music and also iPhone controlled. I don't know too much but any kind of programming I can handle if I get some sort of base point as a reference. My roommates and I wanted to make a 10x10x10 RGB LED Cube. I understand it will be a TON of work, but it will teach us a lot about electronics. I have looked online at various places and seen what people have written about them and their progress. I wanted to know if anyone has some good references to look at, or any schematics or circuits for a 10x10x10 RGB LED cube as it would be easier to follow what someone else has done. Unfortunately I can only find details about an 8x8x8. Any help is appreciated.
I may be a noob but I do have the determination and will power to actually learn how to make this. If I am given any references or circuits, I do look at them and study to figure out how they work. Just for this project, it is difficult when you aren't sure where to start. 

Thanks,
hey101