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Unread 07/19/2010, 12:27 PM   #76
der_wille_zur_macht
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You can control many drivers from a single PWM pin on an Arduino, but of course they'll be controlled together - if you have 8 drivers and you want to control all 8 independently, you'll need a Mega, or a Mega clone, as the ATMega1280 it's based on has 14 channels of PWM.


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Unread 07/19/2010, 03:10 PM   #77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht View Post
You can control many drivers from a single PWM pin on an Arduino, but of course they'll be controlled together - if you have 8 drivers and you want to control all 8 independently, you'll need a Mega, or a Mega clone, as the ATMega1280 it's based on has 14 channels of PWM.
I can't believe how helpful you are! Thanks for answering my PMs!


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Unread 07/29/2010, 07:25 AM   #78
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How about the teensyduino?? It had 9 pwm pin.


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Unread 07/29/2010, 07:30 AM   #79
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You mean the Teensy or Teensy++?

It's nice, but it uses a non-standard AVR, which means some functions are either in the "wrong" places or require workarounds. Plus, it uses a closed-source bootloader, which I don't like.


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Unread 07/29/2010, 07:53 AM   #80
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they are compatible with arduino no??
http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=v...yduino-arduino


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Unread 07/29/2010, 07:59 AM   #81
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Roughly compatible. You can program them using the Arduino IDE, once you've performed some tweaks to the environment as detailed on that site, but many of the AVR's hardware functions are in different spots (SPI, One Wire, PWM, etc.) so in some cases you need to tweak libraries or sketch code to get things to work.

Plus there's the closed source bootloader thing. If you manage to erase the bootloader, the device is bricked. Or if the vendor goes under, you're stuck with zero chance of support. Given the open source nature of the official bootloader, neither of those problems will ever happen.


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Unread 07/29/2010, 11:54 AM   #82
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Drumroll please. . . .



It's not complete yet - I forgot to get a socket for the AVR and the trimpot I ordered for contrast on the LCD has the wrong pinout. But I'll put another order in today and hopefully will be testing early next week.

Now it's time to write software. . .


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Unread 07/29/2010, 01:42 PM   #83
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sounds good

so, is this going to be an inexpensive kit or something along those lines?


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Unread 07/29/2010, 02:20 PM   #84
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I'm not in this in any sort of commercial sense - I'm releasing it as an open source hardware and software project. That means you'll be free to build it yourself. That said, I will likely have leftover prototype PCBs so if you want to work something out, shoot me a PM.


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Unread 07/29/2010, 06:37 PM   #85
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LOOKS GOOD Der Wille


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Unread 07/29/2010, 06:53 PM   #86
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Kthx, I'll buy one now!


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Unread 07/29/2010, 10:17 PM   #87
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Quote:
Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht View Post
I'm not in this in any sort of commercial sense - I'm releasing it as an open source hardware and software project. That means you'll be free to build it yourself. That said, I will likely have leftover prototype PCBs so if you want to work something out, shoot me a PM.

So if you are out of those prototype boards, how would we go about getting one made up? I only ask because I have absolutely no idea of where to even start.

Thanks for all your work on this!!!

Scott


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Unread 07/30/2010, 07:02 AM   #88
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Der, with regards to increasing the PWMs, i have used the TLC5940, and increased the PWMS to 32... i dont use all of them though.

Just made a separate board between my controller and the LED driver to accomodate the PWMS.

The details are here: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/TLC5940

i have tested it and it works. It totally uses 5 Digital pins, plus you have 2 free PWM pins also.


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Unread 07/30/2010, 10:29 AM   #89
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Scott,

There are a bunch of ways to get a PCB made from a design. I'll publish the design as Eagle project files, so you can generate gerbers and send them to any board house you want to use. Board houses vary in price, minimum orders, and features so it helps to know what you want before you set out. For example, patchPCB will make one-offs but they're a little more expensive than other places. Seeedstudio has great prices but only sells in sets of 10. And so on.

Perikaruppan, I've played with the TLC series a bit. It works great for some things but not so good for other things. It consumes a fair amount of resources on the AVR and the PWM frequency it generates is too high for some uses. I've never used it to drive ELNs though, so maybe it would be OK in that role.


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Unread 07/30/2010, 12:07 PM   #90
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driving LED's using those, do you see any problems? or can i get the proper PCB made?


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Unread 07/30/2010, 12:11 PM   #91
der_wille_zur_macht
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If you're talking about driving HP LEDs DIRECTLY from the TLC in order to light a fish tank, it won't really work. The current/power limits on the chip are way too low to be practical. You'd be driving a very small number of LEDs on each TLC and you'd need enough of them that cost would be pretty high.


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Unread 07/30/2010, 01:22 PM   #92
perikaruppan
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I am using the TLC's to drive the CAT4101 Driver to Drive 6 LEDs, so each TLC will drive 16X6 =96 LEDS, not directly though.


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Unread 07/30/2010, 01:53 PM   #93
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Yeah, I could see that working. You'll probably get some cutoff near the bottom of the dimming spectrum thanks to the TLC's high frequency but that's probably OK for most people.


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Unread 08/05/2010, 03:11 PM   #94
der_wille_zur_macht
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Got the rest of the parts. The base hardware (AVR, RTC, LCD) is working.



Next up: Verify the PWM outputs and write firmware.


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"It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)
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Unread 08/05/2010, 03:40 PM   #95
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Uber cool! Very smart idea. Once all is up and running, would love to buy a board to tinker with.


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Unread 08/05/2010, 04:18 PM   #96
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+1 here


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Unread 08/05/2010, 09:14 PM   #97
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I would love one of the boards as well if there are any left
Just let me know

Cory


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Unread 08/08/2010, 07:24 PM   #98
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(Sorry Dwizum, couldn't help myself. Its all that time I've spent in the lounge)

I just got Dwiz's working prototype. Here's a pic. LOL.

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Unread 08/08/2010, 08:57 PM   #99
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wow looks great dwzm!


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Unread 08/11/2010, 07:16 AM   #100
der_wille_zur_macht
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It's 8:48 AM. Do you know what duty cycle your LEDs are running at? I do. All 4 channels are at 80%.




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