Arduino is on the way!!!
I just ordered my first microcontroller.
I chose to start with the Arduino 2009 as I have a lower level of electronics experience. I purchased a Getting Started with Arduino Kit from Maker Shed. I also have purchased some RGB LEDs from a distributor on Ebay and some M5451 LED Display Drivers from Future Electronics. I am building up to my first project which I plan on being an RGB LED lamp, well lamps. The concept is there will be two lamps (ether connected to each other or to a base controller box). At the heart of it all will be the Arduino. The lamps will be built in a Japanese window pane style and mounted on the wall. The idea here is that colored light will escape both the top and bottom of the lamps and wash the wall with the light. Each lamp will house 1 M5451 and 18 LEDs. The arduino will have individual control over the color of every 2 LEDs giving a total of 18 active colors at any time in a pair of lamps (9 active colors each). Some really cool effects can be done this way. Though it is limiting in other ways. I will probably have to do software PWM. However, this is a low cost method. And will good programming I am hoping to get the WOW factor nonetheless.
Basic Flow:
UI Buttons -> Arduino -> M5451 -> LEDs
Or under USB operation (such as a winamp plugin)
USB -> Arduino -> M5451 -> LEDs
At the current time I am unsure of some things. Resistor use (there will only be one resistor, but its value is unknown, assumed 1K), Capacitor (the value and necessity of this is unknown to me, prototyping will help), Power (will this all run off the 5V USB or Wall Wart power coming through the Arduino, if not the LED’s will have to be powered by a voltage regulator before the Arduino).
I was thinking of some modes for the lamps and I came up with these (USB controlled, Mood lighting, Lightshow (LEDs cycle in fast patterns), Mic controlled loudness, Lamp (sudo-white constant on for use as a regular light). These would all be selected by a button on the base. I was thinking of using a mic for controlling the lights in a VU style, however, I will need to see how much processing power I have left for FFT after the LED cycles, Plus the USB mode can handle this.
I have made some preliminary Schematics to keep my thoughts straight on the matter. I made them in three sections. The base board, the lamp, and light sections (Each controlling 6 LEDs). These are all really simple and probably will go through some changes over time. After I finish all the projects in the getting started kit I will begin bread boarding this concept.
As for the MIDI project, it has been canceled as I no longer have a need for it. Some software was released that does everything that I want. Native Kontrol released a second version of their software for NanoLive and it does a good job. However, the skills I acquired from this exercise may resurface again when I attempt an accustic to Digital drunk kit conversion in a few years.
