Beacon4

From Hackstrich
Revision as of 03:23, 25 November 2012 by SarahEmm (talk | contribs) (Adding hours spent on the project.)

Beacon4 will be the fourth incarnation of the flagpole beacon (after Beacon2 and Beacon3), for Burning Man 2012. This year the plan is to take a different approach, and light the entire scaffold tower rather than just a beacon on top of the flagpole.

Project Status

  • 2012-11-24: Wrote up lessons learned and the log of what happened on-playa. Will still continue to look into the tech issues we had scalability-wise, but other than that Beacon4 is considered to be complete. The StrichLux hardware that was used will be reused next year for InvisibleMaze.
  • BRC2012: Project went up (partly) at Burning Man 2012, many lessons were learned, and it looked cool. See Lessons Learned section for more details.
  • 2012-08-21: Fixed StrichLux C board set (bad soldering on a level shifter on an IO-SPI shorting out a power rail), found the slow refresh rate bug was actually VMware Fusion dropping UDP packets on my laptop, won't be an issue on the real thing as there's no VMware.
  • 2012-08-20: Shipped all cabling, all LED strips (except the 1m test strip S33), StrichLux A and B, and the PC box w/ PC. StrichLux enclosure C shipped but the board set is still here to try to get it fixed/working properly, and to try to fix the slow refresh rate bug. Woot!
  • 2012-08-19: Another 12h workday. All cabling terminated, all boards populated, all PWR-DC5s working well enough to use. StrichLux C's CORE board seems to not work, as the system sends no data out. Partial system was set up with StrichLux A and B and sort of worked, excep the refresh issue on higher channel numbers is still there and makes 3/4 almost useless. Supposed to ship tomorrow, but I don't see how it can.
  • 2012-08-18: Epic workday. All PWR-DC5s done (but one channel on one not working yet), connectors added to the 2 COREs that didn't have them and all IO-SPIs that didn't have them, all feeders, jumpers, and strips labeled, all feeders except two connectorized, power feeders purchased and connectorized.
  • 2012-08-17: Signal wiring terminated, but not yet inserted into the Mini-Fit plastic shells.
  • 2012-08-15: Foam cut to fit, Sabres terminated.
  • 2012-08-14: All in-box high power connectors are terminated except Sabre-side of the inputs. Tomorrow will get signal wiring terminated and all wiring installed in boxes.
  • 2012-08-13: All connectors mounted on the 3 StrichLux boxes. Wiring of B and C still needs to be done.
  • 2012-08-12: All LED strip now cut/terminated/sealed. Test of StrichLux A channels 1-3 are working mostly, though each higher numbered channel seems to refresh slower than the one before it. More troubleshooting will need to be done.
  • 2012-08-11: StrichLux A enclosure has all connectors mounted and wired up (except only 1/2 of the power connector so far).
  • 2012-08-06: 35m of LED strip cut/terminated/sealed.
  • 2012-08-05: Reels A-I marked for cutting, so far all measurements add up correctly. Plan for tomorrow is to pick up StrichLux C enclosure, customize it, and get all LED strips terminated.
  • 2012-08-04: All LED strip wire cut, terminated, and inserted into connectors. StrichLux B enclosure has all connectors drilled. Thermal tests failed running the PC inside a box, will need to add an external radiator.
  • 2012-07-29: All feeders and jumpers now have female MX150Ls, and StrichLux A enclosure has output connectors drilled. Plan for tomorrow is to get the LED strip wire (832 inches total, ideally 208 inches/18 feet each of 4 colours) and get it cut into 4 inch pieces.
  • 2012-07-28: 9 feeders connectorized with MX150Ls, power and Ethernet jacks installed in StrichLux A enclosure.
  • 2012-07-25: All feeders and jumpers cut to length.
  • 2012-07-24: Finalized all strip IDs and created an empty project in LightJams that has all fixtures added in their correct places. Built the other two required Core Boards and they power/program OK.
  • 2012-07-23: Work on the installation helping system (BITS) is coming along, currently can scan a part and get a 3D model of where it goes. Inter-strip connectors, bulkhead M12 connectors, and Ethernet switch arrived. Cable ordered.
  • 2012-07-19: fitPC is here!
  • 2012-07-15: Ordered inter-strip connectors and remaining PWR-DC5, CORE, and IO-ETH parts.
  • 2012-07-14: First successful end-to-end test of the whole StrichLux system driving 5m of LED strip from the PWR-DC5.
  • 2012-07-11: Ordered the switch.
  • 2012-07-09: Ordered the majority of enclosure connectors.
  • 2012-07-07: First functioning test of StrichLux system driving 5m of LED strip.
  • 2012-06-24: LED strips all obtained. Lighting design continues, as does firmware development.
  • 2012-06-17: Hardware bring-up and firmware writing continuing. Lightjams is almost certainly going to be the software of choice. Lighting design is coming along.
  • 2012-06-07: Work on StrichLux continues. Evaluated lots of software, Lightjams is looking the best at this point, though would require Windows.
  • 2012-05-27: Completed rev. 1 StrichLux system design of all modules required for this project and sent all boards off for manufacturing.
  • 2012-04-30: Started planning the power architecture for the project.
  • 2012-04-29: Work continuing on IO-DMX module.
  • 2012-04-24: Permission received!
  • 2012-04-23: Requested permission from NeonBunny to attach LEDs to the tower.
  • 2012-04-22: Started putting together idea.

On-Playa

Overview

  • Project took many days of work to set up, and only ever got about 2/3 of it put up
    • Setup took a lot more time away from enjoying BRC than I would have liked, need to emphasize quick setup time more next time
  • Channels 3/4 on each control box were essentially useless due to the lighting control software not scaling
    • Resulted in only having 6 total channels available (2 from each of the 3 boxes)
  • Same MAC address was accidently programmed into each IO-ETH, meaning that whatever was sent to channel X on one box went to channel X on all boxes (Art-Net is UDP broadcast)
    • Resulted in having only two channels of unique data total, each duplicated 3 times
    • Had everything we needed to reprogram the boards (as an issue like this was thought to be likely) but the diagnostic PC wouldn't talk to the PICkit3
  • Only one cabling issue, data/clock were backwards on one cable
    • Given the other issues, this segment was abandoned and others were connected instead
  • The parts that went up still looked cool, and got a lot of positive comments

Lessons Learned

  • Way too much running around/stress/work at the last minute before it shipped
    • Lesson: Start earlier, set milestones and scale the project back/put it off until the next year if they aren't met
  • Shipping was a nightmare
    • Took longer than expected/guaranteed due to customs, project almost didn't get there before we departed for BRC
    • Cost over $1000 all together as tax/duty had to be paid both ways
    • Lesson: Ship much earlier (ideally beginning of August) and consider shipping with another large local project or the Big Ole' Truck
    • Lesson: Ship as Strich Labs under the program designed for shipping things down for demos that will then return
  • Lack of good documentation meant that the setup work couldn't be efficiently parallelized
    • Lesson: Put more of a priority on documentation that others can read/understand to help set the project up
  • Amount of cabling required to be sorted out/pulled/secured made the project take a huge amount of time to set up
    • Documentation would have helped parallelize setup if it was available, which would have made it a bit less painful
    • Lesson: Minimize cabling wherever possible by having one part attach directly to the previous part
    • Lesson: Minimize the number of connections between parts where possible
  • Setup diagram lead to having cables running down one vertical riser, then plugging into a box that wasn't there.
    • This was noted earlier on, but never recorded and was forgotten about.
    • Lesson: Document all issues found/thought about on a wiki page immediately, so they're not missed later
  • Some of the setup was near-impossible due to needing to put LED strips up where there was nothing to stand on
    • Resulted in a lot of overly-dangerous leaning/hanging with one hand while trying to velcro up strips with the other
    • Lesson: Think about how the project will be put up, not just the final state it will be in
  • Same MAC address was programmed into each board
    • Tried to fix it on-playa, but the troubleshooting/programming laptop wouldn't talk to the PICkit3 that was with us
    • Lesson: Leave more time to test hardware before it ships
    • Lesson: Test all troubleshooting/programming equipment that is needed before leaving for BRC
  • Lighting control software didn't scale properly, only ran two universes well per box
    • Lesson: Again, leave more time to test everything well
    • Lesson: Minimize software that isn't under directly under our control
  • Fit-PC 2i worked as-expected other than producing more heat than we had figured
    • Needed to leave the Pelican case with the control PC in it slightly open during operation
    • Lesson: Need to do better thermal calculations/testing on any high-power equipment in the future
  • Toughbook CF-U1 UMPC worked great, no issues with it other than needing one recharge during burn
    • Survived rain and being covered in playa with no issues at all
    • Wouldn't have needed recharging at all if things went better
    • Fluke 28 also lived up to expectations, no issues at all despite getting wet and covered in playa
    • Lesson: Reliable troubleshooting equipment is really important! This was totally worth the research/money put into it.

Outstanding Issues

  • How do we attach strips to toe boards?
    • Can't ziptie/cable tie like we do everywhere else as the toe boards are wide

Ideas/Plans

  • Main idea is to cover most of the scaffold tower in addressable LED strips, driven by multiple StrichLux modules
  • Art-Net will be used between the controller and the StrichLux box
  • Fit-PC 2i is being looked at to control the whole thing
    • As nice as ARM would be power-wise, x86 will be much more flexible software-wise
    • Need to make sure it will be powerful enough before we order
  • Need to find a fanless very low power 4 or 5 port Ethernet switch
    • Allied Telesis AT-FS705LE V5 might work, it's rugged, low power (1.5-2.5W), and cheap
      • But it takes 7.5V which would be another regulator and is a potential point of failure that would bring the entire system down
    • Alternative option is the GarrettCom S14H-Hi, it takes 8-15V in via screw terminals and is ruggedized, but $140 and draws 4W
    • Best option may be the Sixnet SL-5ES-1, it's $100, rugged, takes 10-30VDC via screw terminals, and only draws 2W
    • Ended up going with an M12 ethernet switch, the Octopus 5TX EEC

System Components

  • Fit-PC 2i (controller)
  • Octopus 5TX EEC 5-port Ethernet switch
  • 3 StrichLux boxes (driver), each with:
  • 60m of LED strips
  • Power setup
  • Debugging terminal (XO-1? Toughbook?)

Power Details

  • Power requirements (peak)
    • Fit-PC 2i - ???
    • Ethernet Switch - ???
    • StrichLux box(es) - ???
    • LEDs - 10W/m (~1.8A/m at 5V measured, so 10W/m after losses is reasonable)

Power Architecture

http://www.asciiflow.com/#4007824742034929919/13747898[YOB-2]
                                                                              +--------------+
                                                                         +--->| LED Strip  0 |
                                                                         |    +--------------+
                                                                         |
                                                                         |    +--------------+
                                                       +---------------+ | +->| LED Strip  1 |
                                +--------------+       |               +-+ |  +--------------+
                                |              |       |   StrichLux   +---+
                                |     Dome     |    +->| Controller A  +---+  +--------------+
                                |   Lighting   |    |  |               +-+ +->| LED Strip  2 |
                                |              |    |  +---------------+ |    +--------------+
                                +--------------+    |                    |
                                        ^           |                    |    +--------------+
                                        |           |                    +--->| LED Strip  3 |
                             +----------+---------+ |                         +--------------+
                             |                    | |
                             |                    | |                         +--------------+
                             |                    +-+                    +--->| LED Strip  4 |
                             |                    |                      |    +--------------+
                             |                    |                      |
                             |                    |                      |    +--------------+
                             |                    |    +---------------+ | +->| LED Strip  5 |
    +---------------+        |                    |    |               +-+ |  +--------------+
    |               |        |    Distribution    |    |   StrichLux   +---+
    |    Battery    +=======>|                    +--->| Controller B  +---+  +--------------+
    |               |        |        Box         |    |               +-+ +->| LED Strip  6 |
    +---------------+        |                    |    +---------------+ |    +--------------+
                             |                    |                      |
                             |                    |                      |    +--------------+
                             |                    |                      +--->| LED Strip  7 |
                             |                    |                           +--------------+
                             |                    +-+
                             |                    | |                         +--------------+
                             +--+-------+---------+ |                    +--->| LED Strip  8 |
                                |       |           |                    |    +--------------+
                      +---------+       |           |                    |
                      v                 v           |                    |    +--------------+
              +--------------+   +--------------+   |  +---------------+ | +->| LED Strip  9 |
              |              |   |              |   |  |               +-+ |  +--------------+
              | Convienience |   |    System    |   |  |   StrichLux   +---+
              |   Outlets    |   |  Controller  |   +->| Controller C  +---+  +--------------+
              |              |   |              |      |               |   +->| LED Strip 10 |
              +--------------+   +--------------+      +---------------+      +--------------+

Lighting Layout

Random Notes

  • Decided on 60m length total (3 StrichLux boxes)
    • That's 1920 RGB LEDs and ~600W peak!
    • Will need to come up with a lighting layout/design that will fit within this

Dimensions

Main Module (4 of these vertically, 2 of which will be lit)
-----------------------------------------------------------

+-----D-----+------E------+       |\                                   /|
|           |             |       |    \                           /    |
|-----D-----|             |       |        F                   /        |
|           H             |       |            \           /            |
|-----D-----|             |       |                \   /                |
|           |             |       |                /   \                |
|-----D-----+------E------|       |            /           \            |
|                         |       |        F                   \        |
A                         A       A    /                           \    A
|-----------B-------------+       |/                                   \|


Top Module
----------

|                         |       |                                     |
|                         |       |                                     |
|                         |       |                                     |
|                         |       |                                     |
|-------B-----------------|       |------------------C------------------|
|            |            |       |  /                               \  |
|            G            |       |------------------C------------------|
|            |            |       |                                     |
A============B============A       A                                     A
|                         |       |                                     |
  • A - Module Height (5ft 1in)
  • B - Module Width (5ft)
  • C - Module Depth (7ft)
  • D - Ladder Width (2.5ft)
  • E - Beside-Ladder Width (B - D) (2.5ft)
  • F - Cross-brace Length (7.37ft)
  • G - Top Rail Support Height
  • H - Ladder Section Height (3.5ft)
  • n - Number of Modules (3)
  • x - Number of Main Modules (2)

Idealized Layout

  • Vertical Mains: A * 4 * n = 5.083 * 4 * 3 = 61ft (done piecing)
  • Beside-Ladder Boxes: (E * 2 + H) * 2 * x = 34ft (done piecing)
  • Cross-braces: F * 2 * 2 * x = 7 * 2 * 2 * 2 = 59ft (done piecing)
  • Top Rail: B * 2 + C * 2 = 24ft (done piecing)
  • Top-Middle Rail: C * 2 = 14ft (done piecing)
  • Toe Board: B * 4 = 10ft (done piecing)
  • Total: 202ft / 61.5m

Actual Layout

  • Vertical Mains: 4.5m each * 4
  • Cross brace tubes: 1.125m each * 8
  • Toe board: 1.5m each * 2
  • Top middle rail: 2.1m each * 2
  • Top rail long side: 2.1m each * 2
  • Top rail short side: 1.5m each * 2
  • Ladder box vertical: 1m each * 4
  • Ladder box horizontal: 0.75m * 8
  • Total: 60.00m

Universe <-> Controller Mapping

Since physical locations of the controllers changed after all the channels were laid out, the universe numbers don't map linearly to the controller channels anymore.

  • Controller A (Base of VM2)
    • A-1 - U0
    • A-2 - U1
    • A-3 - U5
    • A-4 - U6
  • Controller B (Base of VM3)
    • B-1 - U2
    • B-2 - U7
    • B-3 - U9
    • B-4 - U10
  • Controller C (Base of VM4)
    • C-1 - U3
    • C-2 - U4
    • C-3 - U8
    • C-4 - U11

LED Strip List

ID Piece Location Length # of LEDs Reel Universe DMX Channels LightJams IDs
S01 Vertical Main 1 Vertical Main 1 450cm 144 C U0 1-432 BAA-BFN
S02 Vertical Main 2 Vertical Main 2 450cm 144 D U1 1-432 CAA-CFN
S03 Vertical Main 3 Vertical Main 3 450cm 144 E U2 1-432 DAA-DFN
S04 Vertical Main 4 Vertical Main 4 450cm 144 F U3 1-432 EAA-EFN
S05 Cross brace tube 1 MF1/2 B Right 218.75cm 70 G U4 1-210 FAA-FCR
S06 Cross brace tube 2 MF1/2 A Right 218.75cm 70 G U5 1-210 GAA-GCR
S07 Cross brace tube 3 MF1/2 A Left 218.75cm 70 H U6 1-210 HAA-HCR
S08 Cross brace tube 4 MF1/2 B Left 218.75cm 70 H U6 211-420 HCS-HFJ
S09 Cross brace tube 5 MF3/4 A Right 218.75cm 70 I U8 1-210 JAA-JCR
S10 Cross brace tube 6 MF3/4 B Right 218.75cm 70 I U9 1-210 KAA-KCR
S11 Cross brace tube 7 MF3/4 B Left 218.75cm 70 J U10 1-210 LAA-LCR
S12 Cross brace tube 8 MF3/4 A Left 218.75cm 70 J U10 211-420 LCS-LFJ
S13 Toe board 1 1 (Close) 150cm 48 A U11 349-492 MEM-MGH
S14 Toe board 2 2 (Far) 150cm 48 A U11 1-144 MAA-MBV
S15 Top middle rail 1 Left 212.5cm 68 K U11 145-348 MBW-MEL
S16 Top middle rail 2 Right 212.5cm 68 K U8 307-510 JDY-JGN
S17 Top long rail 1 Right 212.5cm 68 L U9 307-510 KDY-KGN
S18 Top long rail 2 Left 212.5cm 68 L U7 145-348 IBW-IEL
S19 Top short rail 1 TF1 150cm 48 B U7 1-144 IAA-IBV
S20 Top short rail 2 TF2 150cm 48 B U7 349-492 IEM-IGH
S21 Ladder box vertical 1 MF1 100cm 32 A U4 283-378 FDQ-FEV
S22 Ladder box vertical 2 MF2 100cm 32 A U5 283-378 GDQ-GEV
S23 Ladder box vertical 3 MF3 100cm 32 B U8 211-306 JCS-JDX
S24 Ladder box vertical 4 MF4 100cm 32 B U9 211-306 KCS-KDX
S25 Ladder box horizontal 1 MF1 Top 75cm 24 C, D U4 211-282 FCS-FDP
S26 Ladder box horizontal 2 MF1 Bottom 75cm 24 E, D U4 379-450 FEW-FFT
S27 Ladder box horizontal 3 MB2 Top 75cm 24 K U5 211-282 GCS-GDP
S28 Ladder box horizontal 4 MF2 Bottom 75cm 24 L U5 379-450 GEW-GFT
S29 Ladder box horizontal 5 MF3 Top 75cm 24 G, H U0 433-504 BFO-BGL
S30 Ladder box horizontal 6 MF3 Bottom 75cm 24 I, H U1 433-504 CFO-CGL
S31 Ladder box horizontal 7 MF4 Top 75cm 24 J, H U2 433-504 DFO-DGL
S32 Ladder box horizontal 8 MF4 Bottom 75cm 24 F, H U3 433-504 EFO-EGL

Reel Assignment

  • Reel A (100% used)
    • Toe Board 1: 150cm
    • Toe Board 2: 150cm
    • Ladder box vertical 1: 100cm
    • Ladder box vertical 2: 100cm
  • Reel B (100% used)
    • Top short rail 1: 150cm
    • Top short rail 2: 150cm
    • Ladder box vertical 3: 100cm
    • Ladder box vertical 4: 100cm
  • Reel C (100% used)
    • Vertical Main 1: 450cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 1a: 50cm (chunk 1)
  • Reel D (100% used)
    • Vertical Main 2: 450cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 1b: 25cm (chunk 2)
    • Ladder box horizontal 2b: 25cm (chunk 2)
  • Reel E (100% used)
    • Vertical Main 3: 450cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 2a: 50cm (chunk 1)
  • Reel F (100% used)
    • Vertical Main 4: 450cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 8a: 50cm (chunk 1)
  • Reel G (100% used)
    • Cross brace tube 1: 218.75cm
    • Cross brace tube 2: 218.75cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 5a: 62.5cm (chunk 1)
  • Reel H (100% used)
    • Cross brace tube 3: 218.75cm
    • Cross brace tube 4: 218.75cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 5b: 12.5cm (chunk 2)
    • Ladder box horizontal 6b: 12.5cm (chunk 2)
    • Ladder box horizontal 7b: 12.5cm (chunk 2)
    • Ladder box horizontal 8b: 25cm (chunk 2)
  • Reel I (100% used)
    • Cross brace tube 5: 218.75cm
    • Cross brace tube 6: 218.75cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 6a: 62.5cm (chunk 1)
  • Reel J (100% used)
    • Cross brace tube 7: 218.75cm
    • Cross brace tube 8: 218.75cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 7a: 62.5cm (chunk 1)
  • Reel K (100% used)
    • Top middle rail 1: 212.5cm
    • Top middle rail 2: 212.5cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 3: 75cm
  • Reel L (100% used)
    • Top long rail 1: 212.5cm
    • Top long rail 2: 212.5cm
    • Ladder box horizontal 4: 75cm

Cable Routing

  • Overview
    • When viewing the tower end-on with the ladder on the left:
      • Vertical Main 1 is on the left of the close end
      • Vertical Main 2 is on the right of the close end
      • Vertical Main 3 is on the left of the far end
      • Vertical Main 4 is on the right of the far end
      • Main Frame 1 is the lower close frame of the 2 lit ones
      • Main Frame 2 is the lower far frame of the 2 lit ones
      • Main Frame 3 is the higher close frame of the 2 lit ones
      • Main Frame 4 is the higher far frame of the 2 lit ones
      • Top Frame 1 is the close top frame
      • Top Frame 2 is the far top frame
      • Cross Brace A are the tubes running low-to-high from MF1/3 to MF2/4
      • Cross Brace B are the tubes running high-to-low from MF1/3 to MF2/4
      • Toe Board 1 is the close board
      • Toe Board 2 is the far board
  • Controller A
    • Channel 1
      • Feeder (up VM1) -> Vertical Main 1 -> Long Jumper (via Toe Board 1, down VM2) -> MF3 LBH Top
    • Channel 2
      • Feeder (up VM2) -> Vertical Main 2 -> Long Jumper (down VM2) -> MF3 LBH Bottom
    • Channel 3
      • Feeder (up VM3) -> Vertical Main 3 -> Long Jumper (via Toe Board 2, down VM4) -> MF4 LBH Top
    • Channel 4
      • Feeder (up VM4) -> Vertical Main 4 -> Long Jumper (down VM4) -> MF4 LBH Bottom
  • Controller B
    • Channel 1
      • Feeder (up VM4) -> CB MF1/2 B Right -> MF1 LBH Top -> MF1 LBV -> MF1 LBH Bottom
    • Channel 2
      • Feeder (up VM2) -> CB MF1/2 A Right -> MF2 LBH Top -> MF2 LBV -> MF2 LBH Bottom
    • Channel 3
      • Feeder (up VM1) -> CB MF1/2 A Left -> Short Jumper -> CB MF1/2 B Left
    • Channel 4
      • Feeder (up VM3) -> Short Jumper (via TF2 Top Short Rail) -> TF2 Top Short Rail -> Left Top Long Rail -> TF1 Top Short Rail
  • Controller C
    • Channel 1
      • Feeder (up VM4) -> CB MF3/4 A Right -> Short Jumper -> MF3 LBV -> Long Jumper (via MF3 LBH Top, VM2) -> Right Top Middle Rail
    • Channel 2
      • Feeder (up VM2) -> CB MF 3/4 B Right -> Short Jumper -> MF4 LBV -> Long Jumper (via MF4 LBH Top, VM4) -> Right Top Long Rail
    • Channel 3
      • Feeder (up VM3) -> CB MF3/4 B Left -> Short Jumper -> CB MF 3/4 A Left
    • Channel 4
      • Feeder (up VM4) -> Toe Board 2 -> Left Top Middle Rail -> Toe Board 1

Feeders and Jumpers

  • Feeders
    • Feeder A-1 - 310cm (F01)
    • Feeder A-2 - 310cm (F02)
    • Feeder A-3 - 310cm (F03)
    • Feeder A-4 - 310cm (F04)
    • Feeder B-1 - 360cm (F05)
    • Feeder B-2 - 360cm (F06)
    • Feeder B-3 - 360cm (F07)
    • Feeder B-4 - 711cm (F08)
    • Feeder C-1 - 576cm (F09)
    • Feeder C-2 - 576cm (F10)
    • Feeder C-3 - 516cm (F11)
    • Feeder C-4 - 687cm (F12)
  • Jumpers
    • Jumper A-1 - 308cm (J01)
    • Jumper A-2 - 262cm (J02)
    • Jumper A-3 - 308cm (J03)
    • Jumper A-4 - 262cm (J04)
    • Jumper B-3 - 92cm (J05)
    • Jumper B-4 - 152cm (J06)
    • Jumper C-1.1 - 73cm (J07)
    • Jumper C-1.2 - 142cm (J08)
    • Jumper C-2.1 - 73cm (J09)
    • Jumper C-2.2 - 142cm (J10)
    • Jumper C-3 - 92cm (J11)

Pinouts

Power+Data Cables

Signal Wiring Colour MX150L Pin RT360 Pin
GND White 1 A
+5V Black 2 B
Data Red 3 1
Clock Green 4 2

Power Only Cables

Signal Wiring Colour RT360 Pin
Bus A+B Negative Black A
Bus A Positive Green B
N/C N/C C
Bus B Positive White D

StrichLux Enclosures

  • Each StrichLux controller with its 4 output modules, 1 input module, and 1 power module will need an enclosure of some kind.
    • Pelican case? Could do one larger one with all 3 controllers in it, or 3 smaller ones
    • Assuming each StrichLux box has its own enclosure, would need a bunch of connections made through it:
      • Power - 2x12V @ 20A each - 4 20A power pins
      • Ethernet input - RJ45 - 1 RJ45
        • Will use M12 ethernet connectors (either from L-com or wherever else we're getting connectors) rather than RJ45s as they're cheap and IP67
          • Not RJ45-compatible, but an M12->RJ45 cable will be brought for troubleshooting, and they're not expensive
      • Strip outputs - SPI+5V - 2 signal pins, 2 10A power pins each x 4
        • JAE SRCN2A16-7S / SRCN6A16-7P would be good and extremely rugged, but the cost may be too high
          • Not weatherproof, doh!
        • Amphenol SINE MotionGrade M23/M40-series connectors look really nice, aren't too badly priced (compared with 5015 connectors anyway) and are weatherproof
          • They're really tall though, sticking out would negatively affect durability, so RT360 connectors might be better (but a bit more expensive)
        • Pricing is Receptacle, Sockets, Plus, Pins, Grip/Shell (* 4 per box * 3 boxes)
        • SINE M23: (6.46 + 0.728*4 + 8.430 + 0.640*4 + 3.61) * 4 = $95.88 * 3 = $287.64
        • SINE M40: (8.09 + 1.660*4 + 11.05 + 1.780*4 + 7.83) * 4 = $162.92 * 3 = $488.76
        • SINE RT360: (4.85 + 0.351*4 + 12.28 + 0.351*4 + 6.62) * 4 = $106.23 * 3 = $318.69
  • Molex MX150L will be used for inter-strip connections
    • Reasonably priced
    • Tooling is reasonably priced
    • Matte sealed

Enclosure Connectors

Function Description Part # Qty Req'd per Enclosure Status
Ethernet Connector Female Panel Mount Receptacle CON-M124PF 1 Ordered
Power Connector Male Flanged Receptacle RT00144PNH 1 Ordered
Power Connector Male Pins SP12A1T 4 Ordered
Power Connector (mating) Female Cable Plug RT06144SNH 1 Ordered
Power Connector (mating) Female Sockets SS12A1T 4 Obtained
LED Connector Female Flanged Receptacle RT00142SNH 4 Ordered
LED Connector Female Power Sockets SS12A1T 8 Obtained
LED Connector Female Signal Sockets SS20M1T 8 Obtained
LED Connector (mating) Male Cable Plug RT06142PNH 4 Ordered
LED Connector (mating) Male Power Pins SP12A1T 8 Ordered
LED Connector (mating) Male Signal Pins SP20M1T 8 Obtained


Inter-Strip Connectors

Description Part # Qty Req'd Status
Female Receptacle 19418-0019 51 Obtained
Female Crimp Socket 19420-0001 204 Obtained
Male Plug 19419-0004 51 Obtained
Male Crimp Pin 19417-0047 204 Obtained

Test Setup

  • Want to be able to power the whole setup from AC power for configuration/testing/programming
    • ATX power supplies provide plenty of +12V which could feed the PWR-DC5 modules
      • A modular supply like the OCX ZT-series would be cleanest, could modify the cables with Sabre connectors on the ends
      • Need 100W per channel, 200W per board, 600W total @ 12V
      • 100W per channel @ 12V means 8.33A
      • PCI-E and 8-pin CPU power connectors on ATX PSUs provide 6 amps per pin
        • PCI-E connectors have 3 pin pairs each
        • 8-pin CPU power connectors have 4 pin pairs each
      • Need four pins per board
        • Two boards get 8-pin CPU power -> Sabre connectors
        • The last board gets a 2xPCI-E power -> Sabre connector
      • OCZ ZT-series 750W power supply has all the required connectors

Lighting Programs

Specific Programs

  • Program 1 - Moving Rainbow
    • Track: ???
    • Rainbow pattern moves along the track
  • Program 2 - Wandering LEDs
    • Track: 4 parallel tracks, each following:
      • Counterclockwise along top rail to VM
      • Down VM to top MF bottom LBH, loop around LB
      • Down VM and repeat the loop at the bottom MF
      • Down VM to the very bottom then up the CB
      • Not included: middle rails, toe boards, top CBs
    • A number of LEDs wander around the track randomly
  • Program 3 - Random Flashes (programming complete)
    • Brief flashes of random LEDs/groups of LEDs
  • Program 4 - Random Fades
    • Fading in/out of random groups of LEDs

Program Ideas

From Jammies

  • a quick-moving plasma effect scaling upwards, with LEDs at the top glowing more and more brightly white, that makes the tower look like it's "powering up"

LightJams Snippets

  • Random stepped values over time: if(randpulse(1, 75, 0.01), gmem(0, rand(0, 100)), grecall(0))
  • Bouncing (still needs work at the top): fadein.linear(1.5, fadeout(2.5, pulse(3.5, 1)))

Cost

Item Status Cost
IO-DMX + IO-BO Rev. 1 PCBs Obtained $40.69
IO-DMX + IO-BO Parts Obtained $18.31
IO-SPI Rev. 1 PCBs Obtained $49.65
CORE + IO-ETH + PWR-DC5 PCBs Obtained $454.66
CORE + IO-SPI + IO-ETH + PWR-DC5 Parts Obtained $184.40
Test LED Strip Obtained $25.00
OCZ ZT 750W Test PSU Obtained $107.34
60m LPD8806 LED Strip Obtained $1320.00
Fit-PC 2i Obtained $455.00
Lightjams License (design PC) Obtained $78.59
Lightjams License (installation PC) Obtained $78.59
Ethernet Switch Obtained $363.85
2 sets of StrichLux IO-CORE + IO-ETH + PWR-DC5 Parts Obtained $512.83
12 sets of StrichLux IO-SPI Parts Obtained $190.39
Enclosure A Obtained $62.15
Enclosures B-D Future $186.45
Enclosure Connectors (order 1) Obtained $563.09
Enclosure Connectors (order 2) Obtained ~$0.00
Inter-Strip Connectors (order 1) Obtained $320.55
Inter-Strip Connectors (order 2) Ordered $30.01
250ft 14/4 SJOOW Cable Ordered $371.44
SSD for Controller Obtained $101.69
Windows License for Controller Obtained $113.00
Shipping (outbound) Done $455.92
Shipping (return) Done $224.29
Tax/Duty (return) Done $443.06
Total Ordered $6564.50
Total Future $0.00
Grand Total $6564.50
Hours Spent 577

Photos

  • Beacon4 Scaffold 3D Model

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