Sean Meighan
Welcome => Do You Need Help? Post it here => Topic started by: thetraveller333@yahoo.com on September 22, 2017, 11:02:12 AM
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I'm looking for suggestions on how to wire a spinner/star/snow flake combo element.
I found this in the doityourselfchristmas.com wiki (link: http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/wiki/index.php?title=StarFlake_Spinner ) and it looked very interesting as a multipurpose element and relatively easy to make. The wiring however, is a little more challenging.
I'm using WS2811 12V pixels, Xlights and the Falcon F16V2-R controller and I would like to wire it in such a way that each of the 4 elements (spinner, inner star, outer star and snow flake) could be controlled separately and it would be relatively logical to program in Xlights.
I was thinking to begin the wiring with the spinner. Start at the center and place pixels on the 12 o'clock spinner arm, from the center of the circle toward the outer edge of the circle, then splice a wire between the end of the 12 o'clock arm (at the outer edge of the circle) and the beginning of the 1 o'clock arm (at the center of the circle). Then proceed placing pixels on the 1 o'clock arm from the center of the circle toward the outer edge of the circle and then splice a wire between the end of the 1 o'clock arm (at the outer edge of the circle) and the beginning of the 2 o'clock arm (at the center of the circle). The procedure repeats for the rest of the spinner arms. This would be one string of 144 pixels which would be connected to one output of the controller.
The other wiring method is the one suggested in the wiki where you zigzag up and down each of the spinner arms. Although it is a lot more work, I felt that it would be easier to program if all of the spinner arms start at the center of the circle. I don't know if this is true and would love to hear input from the forum.
The second part would consist of wiring the small inner star, in a clockwise direction starting at 12 o'clock and then splicing a wire between the end of the inner star and the 12 o'clock point of the outer star, continuing in a clockwise direction. This would be one string of 108 pixels which would be connected to one output of the controller.
I believe this would take care of all of the pixels.
I would then create a custom model in Xlights, with 4 sub-models: spinner, inner star, outer star and snow flake.
I'm looking for suggestions of better ways to wire this element.
Thank you
Manny
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The short answer is you can wire it however you like.
When you have the model made in xlights you can use submodels to divide it up however you please.
With that in mind I would probably wire it whichever way requires the least amount of splicing and soldering.