Yours truly is about to teach a mixed media class and wanted to try making some stamps to enhance my (and my students') collaging experience. Stamps are used to create background patterns and give interest to surface design in 2d mixed media techniques. There is a variety of stamps available both online and in craft […]
APA102-2020 MicroNova Custom LED Choker
Solarbotics Ltd
February 23, 2018
I created this choker as a project to demonstrate the new MicroNova APA102-2020 LED strips.
Photo by Yeti, edited by Batgirl
These addressable LEDs are extremely small, less than 1/4 the size of a standard 5050 LED.
This project was built using engineering sample standard MicroNova 99 LED / meter strips . The MicroNova strips we are selling have 198/meter - twice the density!
Reason for a Choker necklace:
Hats have been done, shoes have been done, pendants have been done. This is something new for a Valentine’s dance costume, so I decided to go with a choker design. I also wanted something that was interactive, something that would add another layer of WOW to just lighting.
The Build:
I used a Wemos D1 Mini development board along with a boost-converting battery shield for the Wemos D1.
The battery shield was a particularly good choice here because the MicroNova LEDs should be supplied a solid 5VDC. This board boosts the battery voltage to 5V, and then the Wemos D1 Mini bucks it down to 3V3 for it's own operation.
A mini SPDT Slide switch toggles the power from the battery shield to the D1. This allows charging the battery using the battery shield USB connector while not powering the D1.
Epoxy locks the switch and wires in place.
The battery used is a conveniently handy older 450mAh Lithium Polymer. Depending on the lighting mode, this battery can power the necklace for a couple of hours.
I used elastic thread to attach the LED strip and components to the necklace. A heavy duty needle was all that was needed to punch through the (imitation) leather belt. Because the thread was elastic and tied under tension, it held the MicroNova strip well in place.
Operation:
When the choker powers up, it creates a WiFi Access Point called "HeartBurnChoker1".
Once I connected to this WiFi, I opened a browser and went to 192.168.4.1. The control interface is simple, but effective. The D1 Mini has more than ample power and speed to effectively drive these LEDs. The MicroNova features separate clock & data lines, so even relatively slow I/O (like Raspberry Pi) can still make it work.
Video of the Collar in Action
MORE POSTS
New Pogo Push Probes in stock
I can't imagine why, but some people want to use these push pogo pins for other uses than robot appendages. Or battery contacts. Apparently they're really good for something called "JTAG applications" too, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. Scroll down to see them listed in the "New Items" column.
Arduino Extravaganza
Hm, now there's something that'd be difficult to say five times fast. You should've seen me try to type it - it was atrocious. But I digress - we have a big announcement to make. We've decided to bring our entire catalogue of Arduino/Freeduino products to Solarbotics. This covers the Boards Themselves, Parts Bundles, Shields, […]
Cool Link Wednesday: CD-less CD Album, A...
We missed last week's Cool Links, so we'll empty our backlog and throw a few extras your way. 1-Bit Symphony This whole album is chiptunes all done on a microcontroller and placed in a CD case. The album/cover art is actually what makes the music. Ted Talk - Massimo Banzi: How Arduino is open-sourcing imagination […]
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.