So I have kind of a big question.
I'm gonna have lots of LED Arrays.
There is a mainboard that they will connect to but that is a project for me to do on my own considering the nature of the project.
I'm curious as to what micro controller I should have. I really only want a maximum of 3 wires going to the digital and then I'll need some others going to the ground.
I'll be using RGB Leds B.T.W. The arrays will be 8x8, so 64 RGB leds per array. I would kind of like to control all of the seperatly considering i want to make a twinkle affect and a float rainbow affect. If there is some b.a. coding that i could use to do that rather than control one seperatly, then lemme know!
Eitherway, say i want to control each one, what sort of microcontrollers would i need and how many?
I'm a beginner in terms of external microcontrollers.
I've included all the numbers
What kind of microcontroller would I need and how many if I wanted to control 64 RGB leds.
It makes complete sense, i don't understand what isn't making sense.
An 8x8 RGB LED matrix. they have 4 pins each, mmkay? What kind of techniques would i need for wiring and then what kind of microcontroller would I need to control all the lighting and such.
If you want TLC5940, make sure you get the common-anode RGB LEDs. I got a bunch of common-cathode ones and found out the TLC5940 can only sink current, so it's still on my main breadboard, collecting dusts.
"Sink" means the current is pulled thru the part from a positive source
In this case from the anode, out the cathode, thru a transistor (in the TLC5940) to ground.
Vs "Source", means the current is pushed thru the part from a positive source.
In this case, from the positive supply pin (+5V), thru a transistor, to the anode, out the cathode to ground.
Sinking means letting current flow into the pin. You just connect the common anode to 5V, and connect the cathode (with serial resistor) to the TLC5940 pin so when the pin is pulled to ground, current will flow into the pin.
If you need more detailed explanation, here is my blog post:
"OH so would I need to tell it to like not sink the current, send the flow of electricity the other way?"
No - you wire 5 common anode LEDs to each TLC5940, and control them as groups of three to get your rainbow/twinkle effect.
You need 1 resistor per TLC5940 to set the current limit for the LEDs connected to that part.
The TLC5940 will take care sinking the correct amount of current per LED for the brightness level you will command using the clock & data line.