Beginners

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Tmckee
 
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Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2023 7:41 am

Beginners

Post by Tmckee »

: Hello! We were just looking to get some recommendations, my
students and I are working on a project that has led us to code lights, or
rather. A large scale "light show", we aren't sure what products would be
best to execute our vision. We need something that is easily malubile and
has an oray of colors. The children have created a "map" for their lights
and given meaning to each turn and twist... what the lights will do (speed
up, slow down) and how they will change color. We were looking into the
neobixel light strips but weren't sure what would be the best ones to use,and
the best way to connect it to a motherboard. We have several "micro:bits"
but we are wanting alot of light and weren't sure if something different
would be better. We are jumping into this with zero knowledge but eager to
learn! Any help is appreciated!

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Beginners

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The Microbit is capable of controlling Neopixels. But if you have a lot of them, you will likely need an additional source of power.

This guide shows how to connect and control Neopixels with a Microbit
https://learn.adafruit.com/micro-bit-le ... -micro-bit

This is our main Neopixel guide. It has a section describing power requirements for larger projects.
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide

And a look through the various Neopixel projects here might give your students some ideas, as well as some example code they can re-purpose for their needs.
https://learn.adafruit.com/search?q=neopixels

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blnkjns
 
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Re: Beginners

Post by blnkjns »

We recently did a hackathon where students created sound and light effects, and they all got a power circuit we soldered consisting of 3 darlington transistors. So they could either switch solenoids to make noise, or switch 10W powerLED's in various colours (red, green, blue, magenta, warm and cold white and blacklight).
The same circuit can also control 12V LED strips.
Neopixels are cool as well, but not the best bang for the buck if you need a lot of light.

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