Hello this is my first post so I hope I've come to the right place.
I have purchased 8 Addressable RGB LED Strips from Sparkfunhttp://www.sparkfun.com/products/10312 and they are a blast! I have connected them in a chain from 0-255 and wrapped them around to make a matrix. I only use 2 pins to send the data and every second strip has a 5V 3A supply and a common ground connected to the Arduino.
0, 1, 2, --->--- 29, 30, 31 STRIP #1
63, 62, 61, ---<--- 34, 33, 32 STRIP #2
64, 65, 66, --->--- 93, 94, 95 STRIP #3
127,126,125,---<--- 98, 97, 96 STRIP #4
... STRIP #5
... STRIP #6
... STRIP #7
... STRIP #8
....... you get the point
I am able to control them without any issues and the brightness is impressive. The next idea I have is to use this 32x8 "matrix" and make a stock market like text ticker. I can write text now but it is a very tedious process. I turn on each LED individually then post the frame to get the text I want.
Does anyone know a simple way to convert text into a matrix so that I can display it on my strips?
Is there a SMART approach to this problem?
Is there a library that could help me out?
Would using MATLAB help?
Anything that could point me in the right direction?