I'm very confused, likely to the point where I'm confused about how confused I actually might be :)
Christmas 2013 was my first year, nice and simple:
2014 Expansion:
For the DMX to SPI adapter this appealed to me for some reason: eBay: DMX to SPI Board
I have a long eave that extends from the left side of the two garage bays, across the foyer, and across the front stoop. That's 65' long minus a foot where a pair of gutter leaders are annoyingly in the way. So, 64' of homemade 8 pixel icicles on 6" centers = 64 x 8 x 2 = 1024 pixels = 2 DMX universes exactly.
That makes sense to me, regardless how it actually gets wired up and with what boards, parts, and power supplies.
Let's say I do the pixel megatree thing. 4M height = about 13', 16 strands.
Is that how this works out? Do I have that right? What happens with the leftover channels?
Of the many things that confuse me, the biggest one is how do DMX to SPI adapters of any kind know how many pixels to drive? The start address can be set from 1-512 easily enough, but I'm not understanding something here. Lets say controller "A" has 10 pixels set to start at DMX 200. Controller "B" on the same DMX line has 10 pixels set to start at 210. How does "A" know it only has 10 pixels?
I'm sure I'll have a zillion questions about mapping pixels to channels later on, but I figured I'd start with trying to visualize how it all goes together.
I'm thinking of ordering two of the $19 controllers I linked earlier in this post and 1M of the cheapest pixels I can find to slice in half and experiment with.
Christmas 2013 was my first year, nice and simple:
Vixen 2.1 --rs232--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS
2014 Expansion:
Vixen 2.1 --> ethernet --> E1.31 six-channel bridge
- --> DMX to SPI (Pixel) Adapter --> 512 pixels
- --> DMX to SPI (Pixel) Adapter --> 512 pixels
- --> DMX to SPI (Pixel) Adapter --> 512 pixels
- --> DMX to SPI (Pixel) Adapter --> 512 pixels
- --> DMX to SPI (Pixel) Adapter --> 512 pixels
- --> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS --cat5--> REN24SS
For the DMX to SPI adapter this appealed to me for some reason: eBay: DMX to SPI Board
I have a long eave that extends from the left side of the two garage bays, across the foyer, and across the front stoop. That's 65' long minus a foot where a pair of gutter leaders are annoyingly in the way. So, 64' of homemade 8 pixel icicles on 6" centers = 64 x 8 x 2 = 1024 pixels = 2 DMX universes exactly.
That makes sense to me, regardless how it actually gets wired up and with what boards, parts, and power supplies.
Let's say I do the pixel megatree thing. 4M height = about 13', 16 strands.
- 30/M (1.312" spacing) x 4M = 120 pixels x 16 strands = 1920 pixels (5V 120A) = 4 DMX universes with 128 DMX channels "leftover".
- 60/M = 0.66" spacing. x 4M = 240 pixels x 16 strands = 3840 pixels (5V 240A) = 8 DMX universes with 256 DMX channels "leftover".
Is that how this works out? Do I have that right? What happens with the leftover channels?
Of the many things that confuse me, the biggest one is how do DMX to SPI adapters of any kind know how many pixels to drive? The start address can be set from 1-512 easily enough, but I'm not understanding something here. Lets say controller "A" has 10 pixels set to start at DMX 200. Controller "B" on the same DMX line has 10 pixels set to start at 210. How does "A" know it only has 10 pixels?
I'm sure I'll have a zillion questions about mapping pixels to channels later on, but I figured I'd start with trying to visualize how it all goes together.
I'm thinking of ordering two of the $19 controllers I linked earlier in this post and 1M of the cheapest pixels I can find to slice in half and experiment with.