Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

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Grid21
 
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Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

I just have a few questions about the NeoPixel. I'm trying to make a RGB LED Night light for my sweet girlfriend. I had bought the Tri-Color LED Strip from Radio shack. It has three pins and uses a analog pin on the Arduino Uno to run the lights. But being I'm so new to Arduino I finally found that this is way beyond my understanding and programming knowledge. I was looking at the NeoPixel from you guys at Adafruit. http://www.adafruit.com/products/1430

My question is, how easy is it for someone like me who is new to programming to program this to have it fade through some colors and can the Arduino power this if I have a 12volt DC 1AMP power supply? I've been feeling stressed trying to find something that I understand and will do the job I want to do.

Depending on the reply I get from this first posting I may have an additional question to add on.

I hope you can help me. :(
Thanks
Josh, a confused newbie.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

My question is, how easy is it for someone like me who is new to programming to program this to have it fade through some colors
The example code in the neopixel library does some rainbow color fading. You can modify it to do other types of fades. If you have something specific in mind, we can probably help you out with the coding details.
can the Arduino power this if I have a 12volt DC 1AMP power supply?
Not really. The neopixels need a 5v supply, and (for what you want to do) about 30mA per pixel. You could safely power 6 or 8 from the Arduino 5v pin, but for more than that you should get a dedicated 5v power supply.

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Grid21
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

So are you saying that the whole Arduino can't power the whole thing? Can you point me to the exact power supply I need that can power both the arduino and the NeoPixel? Please and thank you.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

It depends on how many pixels you have. Neopixels come in many forms, and more pixels need more power: http://www.adafruit.com/category/168

You could power a stick or maybe a ring if you are careful from the Arduino directly. The strips or matrices will need more power.

This supply will handle one meter of the 30 or 60 led strip. http://www.adafruit.com/products/276
To drive a meter of the 144 led strip, you would need a bit more power: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1466

Most of the neopixel product descriptions include links to appropriate power supplies for the product.

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Grid21
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

What I'm looking to get is the "Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino - 40 RGB LED Pixel Matrix."
What power supply is needed to power both the Arduino and the shield? I don't my girlfriend to have to worry about plugging in more then one power supply.

1chicagodave
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by 1chicagodave »

This is on the page you linked to in first post -
To make it easy to start, the LEDs are powered from the 5v onboard Arduino supply. As long as you aren't lighting up all the pixels full power white that should be fine.
You can also solder in the included terminal block (pro-tip: put it on the bottom of the board so it doesn't stick up) to attach an external 4-6VDC power supply.
If you're using as a night light, you'll have them at relatively low brightness....and maybe even only some of them 'on' at once (these suckers are BRIGHT!). You'll likely be fine with the method explained in the first sentence.

If you do plan on having them set really bright, follow the second sentence.
...and one of these should work -
http://www.adafruit.com/products/276

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Grid21
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

Ok cool! Now I have one more question. Is it ok for the Arduino to be running on 9Volts from a 1Amp supply for long periods of time? I notice that the capacitors on the Arduino got a little warm.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

If you don't drive the leds too hard it will be OK. But the on-board voltage regulator will be working pretty hard to regulate that 9v down to 5v.

A better way to go is to use a 5v USB supply like this: http://www.adafruit.com/products/501 and power it via the USB cable. That will run much cooler.

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Grid21
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

This power supply is a variable supply with the ability to run at 3V, 4.5V, 6V, 7.5V, 9V, and 12V. Could I set it to 6Volts and that way the Arduino would have to take it down one volt to 5?

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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The built-in regulator on the Arduino needs about 2v of headroom to operate. The 7.5v setting should work.

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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

Ok sweet! That means I don't have to get a different power supply then! Thank you. I think I know what to order from you all! Where is the link to the source code for the NeoPixel Shield?

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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You will need the basic Neopixel Library. The link and documentation are here: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neop ... no-library
To do graphics with it, you will want the Neomatrix and GFX libraries linked and documented here: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neop ... ix-library

If you are new to installing and using Arduino libraries, this guide is a good place to start: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-all- ... nstall-use

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Grid21
 
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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

Ok awesome! Thank you so very much for your help! :) I now have a sense of direction to go.

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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by Grid21 »

Hey I went to install the Libraries for The "Adafruit_NeMatrix" folder. But when I went to verify the coding I got this error. I installed the library just like I did on the base Library. I made sure the names matched but it still gave me this error. Also the "Adafruit_GFX" doesn't even show up in the Arduino software.

C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp: In constructor 'RobotControl::RobotControl()':
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:8: error: 'LCD_CS' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:8: error: 'DC_LCD' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:8: error: 'RST_LCD' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp: In member function 'void RobotControl::begin()':
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:18: error: 'MUXA' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:18: error: 'MUXB' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:18: error: 'MUXC' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:18: error: 'MUXD' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:19: error: 'MUX_IN' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:22: error: 'BUZZ' was not declared in this scope
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-1.0.5\libraries\Robot_Control\ArduinoRobot.cpp:25: error: 'Serial1' was not declared in this scope

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Re: Adafruit NeoPixel Shield for Arduino

Post by 1chicagodave »


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