Trouble deciding on microcontroller for Neopixel cosplay pro

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sspain87
 
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Trouble deciding on microcontroller for Neopixel cosplay pro

Post by sspain87 »

Edit: Just realized the posted subject line is cutoff from the original. The original said : "Trouble deciding on microcontroller for Neopixel cosplay prop - Absolute newbee"

When I say absolute, I mean I just discovered the existence of Neopixels and microcontrollers a week ago absolute. But I know it's exactly what I'm looking for for the project I'm working on.

I'm currently working on making a prop dagger, and I want to light up the blade with Neopixels and give it it a fire/flame effect. No sound, just the lights. And also a rechargeable battery.

After doing a ton of research on Adafruit's learning pages, the three microcontrollers I've narrowed it down to are the Feather 32u4, the ItsyBitsy 32u4, and the Trinket M0. Since this is a dagger, internal component space is at a premium, which makes me lean toward the ItsyBitsy or Trinket and a LiPo Backpack. However, I am constantly seeing the Feather series boards being pushed when it comes to cosplay props. So, does this mean I should try and squeeze the Feather into the design instead of going with the smaller (and cheaper, for that matter) ItsyBitsy or Trinket? If so, why? Again, all I'll be doing is lighting and animating the Neopixels with a flame effect.

Also, the Trinket M0 is smallest option of the three. However, it's also the most advanced. Does this mean it's harder for beginners to use over the 32u4 boards, or is the learning curve the same and it just happens to do more?

Thank you for your help!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Trouble deciding on microcontroller for Neopixel cosplay

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Either the 32U4 or the M0 are more than capable for what you are building. And both are pretty straightforward to use. The M0 has is faster and has more memory. But the 32U4 has way more than enough for lighting up a dagger.

The main advantage of the Feather is the built-in LiPo charger. That offsets much of the size advantage of the Itsy or Trinket once you add in the extra board for charging. The Feather also has more available pins, but you probably don't need that many for your project.

Bottom line? Any of them will do the job. I'd suggest mocking it up with some cardboard cutouts to see what fits best into your project. Don't forget that stacking a backpack charger will more than double the thickness of the processor board alone.

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sspain87
 
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Re: Trouble deciding on microcontroller for Neopixel cosplay

Post by sspain87 »

I got the idea for using the Trinket/Backpack from this article: https://learn.adafruit.com/breath-of-th ... d/assemble. Where instead of placing it on top of the board, it was moved up the handle. Width is my main constraint on this design, I have some length I can play with. So if it's too big to stack, I thought I could just do what's seen here. And yes, the 0.4" difference between the Trinket and the Feather makes a huge difference, considering the handle currently sits at less than 1" thick.

It's good to know all three would work and that one isn't more skill demanding than the other. Might make me get the Trinket after all. Provided I can also run Arduino on it. CircuitPython may be more beginner friendly, but all the support for the lighting effects I want to run are Arduino based.

Thank you for your help!

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freddyboomboom
 
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Re: Trouble deciding on microcontroller for Neopixel cosplay

Post by freddyboomboom »

For small form factor, I think the Qt Py's are slightly smaller.

The SAMD21 (Cortex M0+): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4600

Battery charger BFF: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5397

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