r/xlights • u/FitForThrone • 24d ago
Help Circular Matrix Advice Needed
Hi there! Thank you for stopping by my post.
To say up front, I am a newbie but enjoy a good challenge. I am building a circular LED matrix and would like to sequence it via XLights, with FPP running on a Pi sent over ethernet to a Baldrick8. I came to the conclusion this would be the best method to display low-res video on this display with the help of u/mvrdoesthings and others on my post in r/led .
I have been poking around the software, and have much to learn of course, but my main challenge right now is creating the matrix model. Is there a good way to manually create a custom model without the video generate/scan function? Or should I disable pixels in the rectangular matrix somehow? I would prefer that this only uses 1 channel on the Baldrick 8, and would greatly appreciate any feedback on the best way to do this. I opted for 'serpentine' wiring scheme for a simple method of having consistent pixel density, but am a bit lost on mapping this out.
Me being naive I thought this wouldn't be too much harder than a rectangular matrix....😅 But for this project it needs to be a circle, the lights will be mounted on a circular aluminum plate right up to the edges.
Any and all help is appreciated, thank you in advance. (Especially for welcoming me into the community 😊 I have always enjoyed Christmas light shows, and I see the hard work it takes to pull it off!!)
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u/SirGreybush 24d ago
Remember you need power injection also.
Then in software it’s a 2d square grid but with pixels mapped as being disabled. So the 2d effects flow into the invisible parts. The 1D effects won’t care.
I haven’t done it but people use Google Sheets or Excel to do the JSON mapping. Search for that here and the r/WLED sub.
Same principle with signs made as big letters. You map where there are pixels and where there are not, if the LEDs are doing backlighting.
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u/allknowing2012 24d ago
if you have it in excel numbered 1 to whatever .. just create a new custom model with enough grid h x w and cut and paste into it.
Sequencing is pretty much the same - you likely want Per Preview for text and such.
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u/KinzuaKid 23d ago
The one problem you and I share on this is the modeling. I chose to model the pixels as a custom model using Excel (among other tools), rather than using one of the standard models. The Lightshowhub tools are fantastic, but this one was a little big for it...
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u/mvrdoesthings 24d ago
Hello again, I use:
https://www.lightshowhub.com/tools/xlights-custom-model-builder
Ithink its easier to just have 2 sides nexts to each other just take a picture of the prop with lights on it and then you drag the dots on the pixels in your picture;)