I’m sure you all love to see some colorful blinkenlights every now and then, and we are of course no exception. While these might look like coasters at a distance, do not be deceived! They’re actually [bitluni]’s latest project!
[bitluni]’s high-fidelity LED matrix started life as some 8×8 LED matrices lying on the shelf for 10 years taunting him – admit it, we’re all guilty of this – before he finally decided to make something with them. That idea took the form of a tileable display with the help of some magnets and pogo pins, which is certainly a very satisfying way to connect these oddly futuristic blinky coasters together.
It all starts with some schematics and a PCB. Because the CH32V208 has an annoying package to solder, [bitluni] opted to have the PCB fab do placement for him. Unfortunately, though, and like any good prototype, it needed a bodge! [bitluni] had accidentally mirrored a chip in the schematic, meaning he had to solder one of the SMD chips on upside-down, “dead bug mode”. Fortunately, the rest was seemingly more successful, because with a little 3D-printed case and some fancy programming, the tiny tiles came to life in all of their rainbow-barfing glory. Sure, the pogo pins were less reliable than desired, but [bitluni] has some ideas for a future version we’re very much looking forward to.
Video after the break.
Has your hunger for blinkenlights not been satiated? More posts about [bitluni] perhaps? How about the time [bitluni] made a very blinkenlight-y “super”computer?
…yep.
My original sin is bulk ordering 200 parts of a component, only to realize I cannot source another vital component for my project, or repurpose what I already have.
The way he dims the LEDs here is worth checking out if you haven’t seen it!
https://hackaday.com/2011/07/22/using-binary-code-modulation-to-control-led-brightness/
Back when our kids were little and the iPhone was new to the market I entertain them with the idea of “coaster app”. Display whatever you choose and use your expensive phone as a drink coaster.
Yeah, goofy dad joke. Fast forward to now. Most people have several old phones sitting unused snd perfect for the job.
(Of course we embellished the idea to have the app remember drips & stains like a real coaster.)