Planet Arduino

Non-profits can do great work, and in order to help others visualize the needs they serve and what they are doing, Jason Wolin came up with an amazing map for his organization.

The massive map stretches down 14 feet of a brick wall, with the continents cut out of MDF, and a pair of accompanying LCD TVs that show data about different areas.

Three computers are used for control, two of which are used to play videos on each screen. The third handles overhead map lighting controlled via the DMX protocol to illuminate the map in various configurations. Each of the PCs are coordinated using a trio of Arduino Nanos, allowing video and lighting effects to be displayed in perfect sync.

Tony Keith build an Arduino DMX tester, he writes:

I work part-time (more of a hobby) in the lighting industry and use DMX since it is the industry standard for communicating or controlling devices (lighting fixtures, controllers, consoles, etc..) I have seen commercial DMX testers on the market but I wanted to create my own.

I have been working on an idea to create a low cost (<$50), Arduino based DMX tester.

The tester would provide the following functionality:
Simple input protocol for entering commands using 4 X 4 (16) key pad matrix.
Support LCD display (4 x 20) Character
Output DMX for single channel or a range of channels at a set intensity level.

Arduino DMX Tester – Inexpensive Tester for Sending DMX-512 - [Link]

[Chris] and his friends were kicking around ideas for a Burning Man project, and this is the one that stuck: a rock climbing wall with RGB LEDs embedded in the holds. The holds themselves were custom made; the group started by making silicone molds of varying shapes and sizes, then added the electronics and poured in polyurethane resin to create the casting. The boards for these LEDs are equipped with a central hole that pairs up with a peg in the silicone mold. [Chris] also solved an annoying spinning problem by affixing a bolt to the far end of the LED board: once embedded in the polyurethane, the bolt provides resistance that the thin board cannot. The finished holds bolt onto the wall with all their wires neatly sticking out of the back to be hooked up to a central controller.

The Instrucables page suggests a few ways to get the lights working, including grabbing the nearest Arduino and relying on the Neopixel Library from Adafruit. [Chris] went the extra mile for Burning Man, however, designing Arduino-software-compatible controller boards capable of communicating via DMX, which expanded the system from a simple display to one capable of more complex lighting control. Stop by the Github for schematics and PCB layouts, and stick around for a video of the wall after the break. If the thrill-seeking outdoorsman inside you yearns for more, check out WALL-O-TRON from earlier this summer.

This shield allows to connect an Arduino with DMX equipment. It implements the RS485 interface to adapt the electrical levels needed for DMX connection. This shield has been designed with flexibility in mind and allows the user to choose between several Arduino pins for digital input and output of DMX data, it supports a microSD slot and also has the serial connection to support a serial LCD display. We also suggest to use Vixen (www.vixenlights.com) to create sequences on a PC, synced with music, that are sent to Arduino over the serial port.

Arduino DMX shield for Christmas projects - [Link]

• A Voice Shield for Arduino – Give Voice to your Ideas!
• DMX Interface
• Micro SD card – Using SD cards with an Arduino!
• Statistics on the Arduino (also Pic or any microcontroller)
• Home lighting automation with DMX