Let me preface this with the ultimate noob disclaimer in that I have never touched any flavor of Arduino. I've been interested in learning, and had an idea this morning that seems like a good opportunity to get my feet wet, but does have a few pieces I need to understand. Been going search happy this morning, learning what I can. In short (for a Halloween prop), I'm trying to create a small string of lights that I can run a preset program on (likely a variation on the Fire effect in fastled, but hopefully much slower and with random start points). From my very quick study so far, it seems like I can accomplish this with a Nano, a string of ws2811 string lights (need individual bulb style rather than LED strip) and some sort of power supply.
So for the questions, am I right in that those 3 components (plus a pc to do the initial program load) are all I need? I'm not sure what the rules are on here for posting links, so to avoid that, what I'm looking at is
Rextin WS2811 Pixels Digital Addressable LED String Lights Waterproof RGB Full Color 12mm DC 5V (DC5V 50pcs)
REXQualis Nano V3.0, Nano Board CH340 / ATmega328P with USB Cable, Compatible with Arduino Nano V3.0
some manner of power supply
That 3rd one is where I'm uncertain. Since we're talking a single 50 pixel string, I'm assuming I don't need a heavy duty power supply, but since it's outdoor I'm guessing a straight usb charger wouldn't fit the bill. Is there a good power source for this type of application? I'll get some manner of enclosure to put the Nano board in, but the plug that connects to power source is fully exposed to the elements, and I don't think I've ever come across a USB charger that was outdoor rated.
So for the questions, am I right in that those 3 components (plus a pc to do the initial program load) are all I need?
No you will need a 470R resistor and a 100uF capacitor.
I'm not sure what the rules are on here for posting links,
If you read the how to use this forum sticky post at the top of every section of the forum would tell you. But yes you can post links and should use the chain icon 12 from the left to make it a clickable link.
You should put your power supply in a weather proof box, and coat any exposed wiring with an electrical grade silicon sealant. Don’t use the bathroom stuff as that produces an acid while it cures, that will corrode wiring.
Grumpy_Mike:
No you will need a 470R resistor and a 100uF capacitor.
If you read the how to use this forum sticky post at the top of every section of the forum would tell you. But yes you can post links and should use the chain icon 12 from the left to make it a clickable link.
You should put your power supply in a weather proof box, and coat any exposed wiring with an electrical grade silicon sealant. Don’t use the bathroom stuff as that produces an acid while it cures, that will corrode wiring.
I actually did read the sticky, but admittedly was on a conference call at the time, so clearly missed the links part, and since what I had was Amazon links, figured I'd err on the side of caution.
On the power supply, in my searching today, I didn't come across any usb or mini usb supply that was outdoor rated, but figure there has to be one out there. I'd be a bit worried about running a cord into the box and sealing the power supply in with the board. Even a 5v 3a charger outs out some decent heat at the wall wart, think it would generate too much for a sealed enclosure?
didn't come across any usb or mini usb supply that was outdoor rated, but figure there has to be one out there. I
I would be surprise if there were, it is the connectors that can be made waterproof. By the way the proper term for this is IP rating and there are various levels