This means you could make an RGB single pixel and output an area of the display to an LED par can, or you could make a long thin fixture to output 60 pixels to an RGB addressable strip using a board like the PixLite.įirstly I set up MadMapper to output 16 universes of data to the IP address of the PixLite board. You can also define what exactly a "fixture" is in terms of number of pixels, byte ordering, pixel placement and size. MadMapper has a fairly new feature called MadLight that lets you output a mapped area of the source video to fixtures over ArtNet.
I used the advanced options to set each port for a different universe with a start address of one since ArtNet universes are effectively free and this greatly simplified the configuration in MadLight. By checking the Advanced checkbox you can specify the exact start address and universe for each port, or it will automatically map them in a packed fashion. In the last picture above, you can see how the universe->port mapping is made. You can also set the protocol used to drive the pixels and the byte ordering. The company that makes this board has a configuration tool that is used to set up the mapping of ArtNet or sACN to each port, as well as lets you configure the ethernet interface. It has a handy test mode to verify that everything is working which is wise to check before you fly this thing in the air. As you'll see in further along the line we'll be using MadMapper so we'll have to use ArtNet mode, but if you use Madrix or LightJams the sACN output will be handy.Īfter we threaded the wiring for each strip through holes in the curtain rods I attached the terminal block headers and plugged them into the PixLite board. Additionally, if you are using it in sACN mode you will get an additional 4 universes of DMX output. This board has 16 channels of around 300 pixels per channel, it will work with about 10 different addressable strip protocols, and it speaks ArtNet and sACN/E1.31. There are a few different options for the LED control from a computer, but by far one of the easiest PCBs I've found to work with is the PixLite 16 by Advantek.
We also drilled a hole to pass through the wires and loaded it full of hot glue to strain relief and protect the wiring from the metal edges.
The curtain rods were white, so we painted them flat black and attached the LED strip. It turns out that 4' curtain rods are about $3 per pair at your local box hardware store and they have a pleasant 90deg bend at the end.
Also not breaking the bank was an important factor. I wanted the LED bars to have a little bit of shape to them instead of just being made of flat bar, and also thought that some form of extrusion would wobble less. Boom, you have an adhesive backing on your strip. An exacto knife then can be used to trim away the excess 3M tape. Then you can use both hands to lay down your LED strip in a straight line. Then use some other tape (we used that green electrical tape) to attach the 3M tape sticky-side-up to the table from each end to keep it taut. To do this simply, roll out a piece of the 3M tape a little bit longer than the strip. The easiest way I've found to adhere it to things is to apply a layer of 3M double-sided tape. Since the strip I had laying around was 'outdoor silicone sleeve' type, it had no adhesive backing. Then I layed out a quick second page showing the length and the angles for each bar so that I could laser etch it onto the circle as a guide.
Since I set up my page at 1:1 scale in CorelDraw I measured the length of each LED bar before it met the circle and took note of that. By following the circumference of these circles, I adjusted the prospective LED bar positioning until I felt that it looked nice. When I get stuck for an aesthetically pleasing pattern I often end up dropping in circles as guides. The next iteration looked a bit too much like the New Mexico flag so that was also scrapped. The first design ended up looking like a clock with the bars spaced uniformly, so I scrapped that and starting rotating them around. I'd already decided a 4' circle would make a pretty nice screen size and fit on the back wall above the DJ, so I fired up CorelDraw and starting laying in approximately 1 meter spikes coming off of it. Since the controller had 16 outputs, this would be enough strip to do somewhere around a meter on each header. Digging through the reels of addressable strip I found a few spools of WS2811 strip with a 60px/m spacing.