Prop48LSD daughterboard

budude

budude

Active member
The Prop48LSD daughterboard is basically a Ren48LSD that is driven via the PropController vs the combination of six PICs. It will implement the same power regulation circuit and output drivers as the Ren48LSD and the 32-channel dimmer circuit from Ben but expanded to 48 channels. I have a board layout mostly complete but it's still a work-in-progress. It will be just a bit smaller than the current Ren48LSD.

Greg (Mr. Helix) was kind enough to provide me with some test code to expand the 32-channel code to 48 and flipped outputs to drive the transistors. I have the circuit running on a proto board with this code and so far so good. The plan is to implement Bit Angle Modulation (BAM) dimming and individual channel dimming curves so it should have really smooth/linear fading properties when done.

I will be updating this post with schematic/board changes.

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Re: Prop48LSD

Do you plan on bumping the frequency a lot higher since you're running BAM?

Will there be the possibility of a DMX firmware?

Josh
 
Re: Prop48LSD

I should make that clear - can you change the title of the thread to 'Prop48LSD daughterboard'?
 
I've been "slacking" lately (or so Dirknerkle tells me... ;)) and I haven't touched blinky/flashy stuff for a couple of weeks as life/work has taken priority! I had to redo the whole layout because I had each group of 8 channels backwards - argh... I didn't notice it till I laid the circuit out and ran some sequences that I realized my silly mistake. Anyway - that part is done and I think I'm very close to having the layout done. In another thread someone pointed out a different DC-DC converter that is a bit cheaper and would be a much simpler layout than my current setup so I may switch to that

Currently I am using RJ45s to support 4-channels as with the Ren48LSD but with the advent of lots of "dumb" RGB strips now, I'm wondering if using a different style connector like others have used (Jim's E680 or AussiePhil's Tiger stuff) would be a better approach? An MTA100 or 156 4-pin connector could be handy as well. While it would be neat to have both connectors available, I'm not sure if that will be possible without being a routing nightmare. I'll take a look at it for grins. The other option would be to have two versions of the board with different connectors on them (RJ45 or MTxxx).

Anyway - I'm hoping to get a full-scale demo running before finalizing things and having the full BAM/curve code running as well. You could have up to four of these board running if you wanted for 192 channels of DC goodness.
 
budude said:
Currently I am using RJ45s to support 4-channels as with the Ren48LSD but with the advent of lots of "dumb" RGB strips now, I'm wondering if using a different style connector like others have used (Jim's E680 or AussiePhil's Tiger stuff) would be a better approach? An MTA100 or 156 4-pin connector could be handy as well. While it would be neat to have both connectors available, I'm not sure if that will be possible without being a routing nightmare. I'll take a look at it for grins. The other option would be to have two versions of the board with different connectors on them (RJ45 or MTxxx).
Click to expand...

Might I suggest screw terminals, then you can wire up whatever you want.
 
Personally, I like the push on connectors, rather than the screw type. This way, the cable is connected via a plug, and it's very easy to swap around to another connector without the expense of the extra piece to screw into that connects...ala jstjohns new European style connector.

If I look at the commercial Stellascape E16, it has push on connectors. I liked the ones on the E680. I'll be connecting twist-on waterproof connectors to these, and just don't want to mess with screws.

Just my input...
 
mschell said:
Personally, I like the push on connectors, rather than the screw type. This way, the cable is connected via a plug, and it's very easy to swap around to another connector without the expense of the extra piece to screw into that connects...ala jstjohns new European style connector.

If I look at the commercial Stellascape E16, it has push on connectors. I liked the ones on the E680. I'll be connecting twist-on waterproof connectors to these, and just don't want to mess with screws.

Just my input...
Click to expand...

Don't forget that this project controls "dumb" LED strips AND any other low voltage DC source. Choosing a "universal" connector type to cover all of these items is important.
 
DynamoBen said:
Don't forget that this project controls "dumb" LED strips AND any other low voltage DC source. Choosing a "universal" connector type to cover all of these items is important.
Click to expand...

Given that premise, then we should stay with the RJ45 jacks. Cat5 handles the current requirements of those controllers. This way, a Ren48LSD or a Prop48LSD Daughter card all could be the same...
 
Well - it's not so much the connector itself - it's more the grouping of 4 channels (with an RGB+W premise) versus a 3-channel grouping with RGB only in mind - that's really where I'm thinking out loud here. Several folks have mentioned this in the past when discussing the Ren48LSD as well. While the premise has always been to drive Frank's strips or Mighty-mini's - this may not be the case from here out as more and more people pick up cheap RGB strips instead to complement their pixel string setups.
 
Re: Prop48LSD

why don't you place a row on 4way (RGB +V) MTA-100s behind the RJ45s. You don't have to fit them if you don't want to use them.
 
Re: Prop48LSD

Matt_Edwards said:
why don't you place a row on 4way (RGB +V) MTA-100s behind the RJ45s. You don't have to fit them if you don't want to use them.
Click to expand...

Well - that's what I was looking at - however the spacing gets off pretty quick since there would be 16 connectors vs 12 connectors (or 8 vs 6 if looking at one side) - that is my reference to a possible routing issue. I haven't placed them yet so maybe it will be a piece of cake so we'll see...
 
Re: Prop48LSD

budude said:
Well - that's what I was looking at - however the spacing gets off pretty quick since there would be 16 connectors vs 12 connectors (or 8 vs 6 if looking at one side) - that is my reference to a possible routing issue. I haven't placed them yet so maybe it will be a piece of cake so we'll see...
Click to expand...

Actually the problem may be easier than you think. 4x 4way MTA100 connectors for every 3x RJ45? That shouldn't be too challenging.
 
yeah yeah... RJ45 version is ready - just haven't gotten around to adding the 4-pin/RGB connectors...

I did get my Ren48LSD half built so I could use the transistor driver portion (and power supply) and connect to the logic bits I have breadboarded already. so much to do... so little time...
 
Sorry - no - got caught up with the Ren4Flood and DIYC Flood and most of my planned new pieces are not complete - not sure this is going to happen this year at this point...
 
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