When you’re going to build something big, it’s often a good idea to start small and work out the bugs first. That’s what [bitluni] did with his massive 1200-pixel LED video wall, which he unveiled at Maker Faire Hanover recently.
We covered his prototype a while back, a mere 300 ping pong ball ensconced-LEDs on a large panel. You may recall his travails with the build, including the questionable choice of sheet steel for the panel and the arm-busting effort needed to drill 300 holes with a hand drill. Not wanting to repeat those mistakes, [bitluni] used the custom hole punch he built rather than a drill, and went with aluminum sheet for the four panels needed. It was still a lot of work, and he had to rig up some help to make the tool more comfortable to use, but in the end the punched holes appear much neater than their drilled counterparts.
[bitluni] mastered enough TIG welding to make nice aluminum frames for the panels, making them lightweight and easy to transport. 1200 ping pong balls, a gunked-up soldering iron, and a package of hot glue sticks later, the wall was ready for electronics. It took a 70-amp power supply and an ESP32 to run everything, but that’s enough horsepower to make some impressive graphics and even stream live video – choppy and low-res, but still usable.
We love the look this wall and we appreciate the effort that went into it. And it’s always good to see just how much fun [bitluni] has with his builds – it’s infectious.
Thanks to [Käpt’n Blaubär] for the tip.
Holy Balls!
I think better resolution would be possible if the balls/LEDs were staggered. Though that would take additional programming to convert images for display.
Queuing the campfire song,
“I’ve got a head like a ping pong ball!”
I think it’s an unwritten rule that, anytime you make a display out of addressable RGB LEDs, you must run NyanCat on it.
We always do. On everything. Just to be safe.
What’s that old retort?
“If you don’t, someone else will!”
B^)
1200 ping pong balls is quite an achievement…
I know because some years ago, I had ping pong LED projects that were even larger.
MUCH larger and it was a nightmare.
So, it’s an ultra-low-resolution video monitor.
I do not get the appeal of rectangular LED arrays. But if you’ve just gotta have one, you could put a cardboard mask over an ordinary monitor and get a similar effect (in this case, augmented by gluing on ping pong balls).
I understand the idea of doing something kooky & fun just to do it, but LED arrays are so very 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯. The only interesting use I can imagine for one would be to hang a diffuser (white bedsheet, maybe) over it and use it as a giant swirling mood light. But in that case, a random jumble of LED strings would work just as well (maybe better).
We share some opinions here ;-)
Coincidence : I must repair and enhance this 4-years old dude …
https://hackaday.io/project/167500-ping-pong-screen-24×24-synchronous-controller
(his twin brother will come soon for updates as well)
Only 576 LED but it’s already a crazy challenge !
Will it display Doom? #JustSayin