Quick note, i have never used or even owned an Arduino so any help would be appreciated.
The project that i am attempting to accomplish here is in theory simple but due to my lack of knowledge proving to not be as simple. Firstly to outline what i am trying to do my intention is to use a dot matrix RGB panel as a type of flag system for motor sport, this entire system would be an independent unit which would use a battery to power it with a converter from AC to DC current something similar to this.
What is important to note i do not intend to have anywhere near as many features as that it just needs to be simple and be able to have RED,Green,Blue and Yellow. A similar system is used In F1 but the system i would be making would be significantly cheaper, currently i have not purchased any of the required equipment as i am struggling to find a control board that will be bale to save these different states that the Panel would be in along with controlling it with simple buttons that anyone could push and the panel would stay in the desired state similar to this. https://goo.gl/6KBBkr
If anyone could help me to figure out how i could accomplish this it would be very much apprenticed.
thank you.
Have you already selected a panel? Or are you going to build it from bare LEDs?
How many LEDs? The video shows a pretty high resolution. Just simply storing the RGB values of those pixels will exceed the memory available on most Arduinos.
Addressable RGB LEDs are the way to go. "Neopixel" or other names. That will let you have a large number of LEDs use only a single pin on your Arduino. There have been some impressive video walls done with the Arduino-compatible Teensy boards.
Currently I have not purchased anything yet, ideally the panel would be simalr in size to the one in the video but does not need to be anywhere near has high quality for what I need to use it for. I am thinking for outdoor use a panel would be best as I have seen some waterproof ones,in terms of size I’m currently looking at around 64X64.
I have taken a look at neopixel options but couldn’t see any that are on a single panel as well as being waterproof. What I have just recently found is the arduino mega which I think can have analog control so lile the buttons I mentioned previsouls to select a single colour, I’m not sure if this’ll is the best way to go though as I’m not sure if it will be able to control the pannels as well as accept analog -(Well just normal buttons)
Thanks Morgan’s any further help would be very much appreciated.
in terms of size I'm currently looking at around 64X64.
Inches? Meters?
So long as you're not 64mm size, this is likely to be a custom build. Grab a piece of plastic and some backing material that's waterproof. Stick down LED strips to the back. Test it works. Then seal around the edges. Strangely, it's significantly cheaper to buy the LEDs in strips instead of individually, even if you're buying in bulk. You may even find you can get waterproof strips, which means you only need to seal the connections to the ends.
The MEGA does not have significant extra analog capability except for a lot more pins. That's useful if you're trying to drive LEDs individually. Not useful to you since the number of LEDs will exceed the number of MEGA pins, so you have to use smart LEDs or some other port-expander device anyway.
Buttons sound like a good idea. But get it started connected to your PC and sending commands over Serial.
Sorry I definitely should have been more clear on the actual size of the panel, I meant 64X64 pixels around 160mm this method of using pixels as a type of measurement I presumed to be a normal way of describing a panel. I do however think that a panel would be better for my use as due to it being outdoors it needs to be as bright and clear to see as possible as people going past will be going past at around 60mph.
If I do use the dot matrix pannel do you have any recommendations for being able to use buttons as it’s contol method, bearing in mind their would only need to be 4 buttons needed to select these colors.
meant 64X64 pixel
So that is 4096 RGB LEDs, so that is 12288 LEDs to drive.
That is a big expensive project and way way beyond your skill level at the moment. Sadly this happens a lot, trying to do too much too soon. Spend a lot of money, it doesn’t work and you become disillusioned.
Do everyone a favour start with something small like a 4 by 4 matrix, you will have your work cut out with that without going full size straight off.
Or if you have a deep pocket and don’t mind using a Raspberry Pi then copy this