Exactly half the resolution of a TI83 (which is 96x64)
LED matrices are so fun to play with. The low resolution and chunky pixels give them the aesthetics I really enjoy.<p>I’ve built a 64x64 pixel art frame [0]. With the diffuser in front of the matrix, it looks like animations are floating in the air. I got parts for v2, but I’m yet to find time to build it.<p>I really like how electronics today are very accessible to start playing with. Basic stuff is mostly plug-and-play, and essentially it becomes a software project.<p><a href="https://github.com/Stanko/retro-frame" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Stanko/retro-frame</a>
I'm amazed at how cheap the LED matrix listed in the parts list is. About a third of a cent per LED, not even counting the rest of the hardware! Wow.
Classic project I want to do but know I’ll never make the time for lol that’s really cool man. Saving this on the off chance I one day get off my rear for it
Hehe I know what you mean. I mentioned I have parts for v2 (stronger controller, rotary encoder with a big brass knob and completely offline - hardware real time clock), but we’ll see if it will ever happen.
Neat project! I'd be interested in how the power supply is done. I've wanted to do things with LEDs like this, but not knowing much about electronics this always seems the most complicated part to me, specifically powering both the micro-controller and the LEDs with a single wall plug in a safe and reliable way.
It's not really hard at all, calculate the max power the leds will draw and get a psu that'll never exceed 90% of that. Your average usage will be waaay lower anyways since you don't usually show all white.<p>5v power supplies are easily available, Meanwell is a popular & reputable brand. The same psu can run your lights and microcontroller.
Fully lit, these would be blindingly bright, and would need tens of amps of power supply (source: I have a strip of 100 WS2813s (I think, anyway the 12V ones) and the 3A supply I have would be fully loaded if they were all on full bright white. These suckers are bright).<p>However, you can always just limit it in software. Total "brightness budget" for the display, scale everything to dimmer if exceeded.
Cool project.<p>I keep wanting to build a large "lite brite" style display for my window. I keep getting stopped even though I have a lot of the tools necessary, like this laser engraver.<p>You just gave me an idea about an extremely simple way to build this using a Raspberry Pi Zero and my cheap laser engraver.
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