LED Light Suit

Hey everyone, new to the forum, thanks for all of the great information here...

Anyway I'm looking at putting together this LED light suit with a buddy, at the same time we'll be getting into Arduino for the first time pretty much: http://shanesalta.com/projects/iphone-controlled-light-up-led-suit/

Before even getting started we have a few questions, like;

  • How exactly are so many LEDs individually controlled from an Arduino Pro Mini?
  • What is the purpose of the voltage regulator in this project (where does it go)?
  • Lantronix seems to have several 802.11 b/g MatchPort wireless "modules" but do we want the "Device Server" or the "AR Embedded Device Server"? Search Results – Grid Connect
  • We noticed in the Arduino sketch application there are two 3.3V Arduino Pro Mini devices listed, is it possible we need one of these and not the other?

Thanks in advance for any help, obviously we're very new and just getting our hands dirty. :slight_smile:

davidmonaghan:

  • How exactly are so many LEDs individually controlled from an Arduino Pro Mini?

The particular LEDs this person is using are custom made modules which contain a controlling IC built-in, so from the Arduino (clone), all you need are two pins to send a signal down the wire which then controls all the LEDs. It's very similar to many of the individually addressed LED strings you can buy on line.

davidmonaghan:

  • What is the purpose of the voltage regulator in this project (where does it go)?

The LiPo battery provides well above the 3.3V for the Arduino (clone), so you need the regulator to lower the voltage.

davidmonaghan:

  • Lantronix seems to have several 802.11 b/g MatchPort wireless "modules" but do we want the "Device Server" or the "AR Embedded Device Server"? Search Results – Grid Connect

Unknown. I'm not familiar with that product line, someone else might be.

davidmonaghan:

  • We noticed in the Arduino sketch application there are two 3.3V Arduino Pro Mini devices listed, is it possible we need one of these and not the other?

Um, huh? What are you referring to?