Couple of minor tweaks - replaced a nasty magic number (20) with its constant (TWATCH_X) - better scrolling timer method (I think. It's 2:30am, I haven't tested thoroughly)
I'll have a look at this whole SVN thing once I've had some sleep
[quote author="ian"] @andrew - for simple IR control I use PC Remote Control. It's not free, but it was only a few dollars to register. [/quote]
Sounds like a fair alternative [s:]just in case[/s:] when I decide I'm too lazy to make it a HID. Having it all work without installing any software (in Win & Linux) does appeal to me though.
Thread title is pretty self explanitory. After not being able to find a virtual serial port to get LCD Smartie to work, I decided to have a go at writing my own code to do it.
The bulk of the program is the winamp IPC junk that I stole via google. (Link to original is in source).
It's pretty basic at the moment, but I thought people might like to see. I've got some speakers in my lounge room driven by my computer (long wires), this lets me know what's playing.
It shows artist on row 1, title on row 2, and a test string on row 3. Long stuff scrolls at a rate proportional to its length. The winamp code has hooks to add a play/pause indication, times, and a bunch more. It can also control winamp, but that's not really applicable to this application (unless there's a way to add buttons to the twatch, then it would be).
You'll proably need Python 2.6, and you will need pywin32. I'm running Python 2.6.4, pywin 214, and winamp 5.572.
{Attachment renamed to .txt for forum rules compliance, change it back to .py when you download}
TODOs: make scrolling more robust port to Python 3
I don't have an MCE remote, but I do want to make my IR toy into an HID-type IR receiver when I get it.
Hopefully the microchip HID stack is fairly easy to use. I'd imagine making it work with the MCE remote (or any other random remote) is just a matter of knowing the codes and what keystroke you want them to map to.
Hopefully I'm not the only one that wants to drive winamp from an IR remote, so maybe someone else will figure out the HID side before I get around to it
Ahh, I see. I was deceived by the seemingly better heat/power figures of the SMD packages, didn't notice that you need a giant hunk of copper to solder the "PowerPAD" on to.
[quote author="iDream"] How about consider making the TLS5940 and LEDs as an add-on daughter board that plugs into the controller? (or attach via cables) [/quote]
If I understand this right: the main controller board just has the µP etc, no TLC5940s. Instead it has a port to plug in daughterboard(s), each with n TLC5940s. That sounds like a good idea to me. That way people only pay for the amount of LED drivers they need. A version of the daughterboard could easily cater for the 24V strings mentioned previously.
The daughterboard connector would need the TLC5940 serial data pins, power, and probably I2C/SPI for the digital pot.
Question for Ian: Have you seen the TLC59401? It's almost the same as the TLC5940, except it doesn't have an EEPROM inside. Since your design has EEPROM already for the MAC address, why not use that same EEPROM for the dot correction data and load it each time on power up? Then you don't need a 22V supply to program the EEPROM in the TLC5940s. Plus the 59401 is cheaper. Less suppliers listed on the TI website though.
Hi Ian, I've been keen to get into some design for a while and seemed to miss the boat on the logic analyser, so I'd like to help out here.
I like the idea of incorporating DMX, shouldn't be too difficult. If cost is an issue it could be a daughterboard (consisting of an rs485 driver chip).
I'd vote against sound output - that's a lot more complex. A control signal to sync with an external mp3 player might be helpful for that application though? ie. the LED controller presses "play" and starts the show, while all that annoying mp3 decoding is dealt with elsewhere.
Anyway, let me know how I can help (I haven't programmed PICs before, but I'm sure with some experimenting on my soon-to-arrive web platform I'll figure it out. I have used EAGLE to make PCBs.)
