Customized Control for Halloween Props

[DynamoBen]

While I'm not a fan of cross posting I thought I would mention the PropController here in case you guys hadn't heard of it. I created the PropController to control not only lighting but also my Halloween props. You can program it as a standalone device or better yet have it receive information from Vixen. Because it is just a hardware platform the sky is the limit for what you can do with it.

Go here (http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?12334-NEW-PropController-Project) to learn more about it.

I'm currently in the process of gathering names of folks who are interested in building the PropController, go here (http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?14565-PropController-Group-Buy-Poll) (#22) for more info about that.

[maffeirw]

Has anyone developed a daughter board and/or software to control servos, stepper motors or relays at this point?

[DynamoBen]

Has anyone developed a daughter board and/or software to control servos, stepper motors or relays at this point?

No one has developed any of those yet. I do however have a couple of designs that are in the works unless someone else wants to step up. Personally I need a servo and relay board for my show this year, so those are at the top of my to do list.

Should the relay board have relays on it or just have terminals to connect relays?

I also have a optically isolated input board, that is complete but wasn't sure if anyone was interested.

[maffeirw]

I'm working on a quartet of skulls driven by ctmal's Vixen Addin and his Renard PIC firmware. I'm also planning on using some of Smart String LED Nodes from DLA which are DMX / PixelNet based. Between the skulls & DMX I would be interested in the PropController but would probably not have the time or skill required to write the software or design the required boards.
For myself I would prefer that the relay board contain only terminals so I can remotely locate the relays where I need them.
I currently have no plans to set up an interactive haunt so I don't see the need for the input board to trigger anything in my display but I'm sure if you post on the halloween boards you will find a following. You can try the following for a start:
http://www.halloweenforum.com/
and/or
http://www.hauntforum.com

[DynamoBen]

I need servo and relay control for my show this year, so I've been actively working on those items recently. As far as the SmartStrings go the PropController can run them too but you need to remove the smart part of it. Unless of course I get crafty and write code to run them as is (that assumes the protocol is published).

I haven't used ctmal's plugin, what does it do?

[maffeirw]

The AddIn allows you to use a mouse or joystick to sequence skull movement in Vixen.
http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?15096-Skull-Sequencer-AddIn&p=151136#post151136

The PlugIn allows you to preview the skull movement during playback in Vixen.
http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?14943-Skull-Output-plugin&p=148935#post148935

He also came up with a hardware and firmware Renard based solution to control servos which works pretty well.
http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?11737-Renard-based-Servo-controller

[DynamoBen]

Thanks for the info. So the plugin isn't specific to the renard which is good news. I may have to try that out once I get servos working.

[DynamoBen]

Also worth noting, instead of using the PropController as a RS485/DMX or Ethernet input you could use them as an output. For example you could send DMX data out to some lighting effects when a prop it activated.