How To? Parts list?

[Mrplow123]

Is someone going to post a How to for building the board and the display? Also a detailed parts list would be great. And maybe make it a sticky so it is easy to find, and doesn't get crowded with useless info.

Just a request from someone who wants to build one.

[wjohn]

Dave,

I have written a draft manual and I have asked Brian if we can host documents on this site in preference to linking to another site. (one stop shop)

For anyone who is interested, I can email the PDF or Word doc to you.

Just PM me,

John.

[stempile]

Dave,

I have written a draft manual and I have asked Brian if we can host documents on this site in preference to linking to another site. (one stop shop)

For anyone who is interested, I can email the PDF or Word doc to you.

Just PM me,

John.


Files can now be added to posts. Please attach your PDF doc to this forum thread. Of if you only want to PM it, please send a copy my way.

Thanks

[dvanteslaar]

Is someone going to post a How to for building the board and the display? Also a detailed parts list would be great. And maybe make it a sticky so it is easy to find, and doesn't get crowded with useless info.

Just a request from someone who wants to build one.

Hi Dave,

Like you, I wanted more detailed "How to" instructions for building the LEDTRIK board(s) as I am new to this project too. With the assistance of John's LEDTRIK Assembly Manual (and some clarifications via email from Matt Stemple ** Thanks Matt ** ), I have completed the assembly of two LEDTRIK boards.

As such, I have constructed very detailed, step-by-step instructions (with detailed photos) on the assembly process itself. It was my hope that these instructions/photo's of the construction process itself could be integrated into John's existing manual in the form of an updated version - more to follow as the construction process continues.

I will continue to record detailed instructions/photos of the following processes as well:

1. LEDTRIK Board -> PC Connection (Power Supply)
2. Building the Interface Cable (now in progress)
3. Building The LED Panel(s) (now in progress)

Cheers -

David S. Van Teslaar
d.vanteslaar@ieee.org

Post Script - Below are a few photographic examples (of the competed boards). I will be posting the photo's detailing the assembly process shortly.

[dvanteslaar]

WHO IS THE MODERATOR OF THIS FORUM? I WANT TO ADD AN AVATAR TO MY SIGNATURE BLOCK, BUT THE F.A.Q SECTION SAYS I NEED TO CONTACT THE FORUM MODERATOR TO REQUEST IT. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO THAT IS ??

Cheers -

David S. Van Teslaar 8)
d.vanteslaar@ieee.org

[wjohn]

ummm,

nice big photos!

Dave, i left you an email about contributions to the current docx and wiki. If we can improve those, in preference to starting a new set of docs, i'd appreciate that. More than happy to include you and anyone else's contributions.

John.

[dvanteslaar]

ummm,

nice big photos!

Dave, i left you an email about contributions to the current docx and wiki. If we can improve those, in preference to starting a new set of docs, i'd appreciate that. More than happy to include you and anyone else's contributions.

John.

Hi John,

K.O ... I'll make my contributions, as you suggested, to the wiki and .docx files.

Yeah ... those photos were a little larger than I would have liked (forgot to resize them before posting)! Well, no one can say that they can't see any details!! :lol:

Cheers -

David S. Van Teslaar
d.vanteslaar@ieee.org

[stempile]

Dave -

Wiki Notes
Now that the Wiki is here, building / Updating an external doc is no long needed. Also you don't have to ask permission to add / update the wiki. The wiki is owned by everyone that contributes to it. Also if someone doesn't like your changes, they will update your work. Thats where the wiki power comes in.

Cable Notes
You mentioned that you were building the cable. I hope you aren't spending much time on it (maybe you are already doing this?). This is how can build the cable in 30 seconds:
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=40-9588Fvirtualkey60140000virtualkey601-40-9588M

Mouser #601-40-9588M

Use a DB25 Male to RJ45 Connector. I didn't use this exact one, I have a pile of them from various other project. All you do is push the pins from the RJ45 plug through the holes of the DB25 plug (based on the wire pin out on the PCB) and you are done. A normal cat-5 patch cable is then used between the connector and the LedTricks board. Easy Easy!

ms

[dvanteslaar]

Dave -

Wiki Notes
Now that the Wiki is here, building / Updating an external doc is no long needed. Also you don't have to ask permission to add / update the wiki. The wiki is owned by everyone that contributes to it. Also if someone doesn't like your changes, they will update your work. Thats where the wiki power comes in.

Cable Notes
You mentioned that you were building the cable. I hope you aren't spending much time on it (maybe you are already doing this?). This is how can build the cable in 30 seconds: http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=40-9588Fvirtualkey60140000virtualkey601-40-9588M

Use a DB25 Male to RJ45 Connector. I didn't use this exact one, I have a pile of them from various other project. All you do is push the pins from the RJ45 plug through the holes of the DB25 plug (based on the wire pin out on the PCB) and you are done. A normal cat-5 patch cable is then used between the connector and the LedTricks board. Easy Easy!

ms

Matt,

Thanks for the information - you basically confirmed the very same thing that John had mentioned in an email to me.

I checked out the link you posted regarding the construction of an the interface cable - that's great information and I will include that in the update to wiki! Thanks again!!

David 8)

[stempile]

Make sure you get the DB25 Male End. Parallel ports on the back of you PC are Female, so you need a male to plug into it. I put the wrong link in before and you quoted me with the wrong link. I edited my post and corrected the link and added the specific Mouser Part #40-9588M. I have not specifically verified that part. To make sure its correct update or remove my quote from your past as I was wrong.

ms

[wjohn]

David,

http://christmasinshirley.com/wiki/index.php?title=LedTriks_Controller_Assembly_Instr uctions

Nice edits to the WIKI, thanks!

[dvanteslaar]

David,

http://christmasinshirley.com/wiki/index.php?title=LedTriks_Controller_Assembly_Instr uctions

Nice edits to the WIKI, thanks!

Your welcome John! I am in the process of building the interface cable and the LED matrix ... I will update wiki once again (with text and photos) as each task is completed.

David 8)

[dvanteslaar]

Dave -

Wiki Notes
Now that the Wiki is here, building / Updating an external doc is no long needed. Also you don't have to ask permission to add / update the wiki. The wiki is owned by everyone that contributes to it. Also if someone doesn't like your changes, they will update your work. Thats where the wiki power comes in.

Cable Notes
You mentioned that you were building the cable. I hope you aren't spending much time on it (maybe you are already doing this?). This is how can build the cable in 30 seconds:
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=40-9588Fvirtualkey60140000virtualkey601-40-9588M

Mouser #601-40-9588M

Use a DB25 Male to RJ45 Connector. I didn't use this exact one, I have a pile of them from various other project. All you do is push the pins from the RJ45 plug through the holes of the DB25 plug (based on the wire pin out on the PCB) and you are done. A normal cat-5 patch cable is then used between the connector and the LedTricks board. Easy Easy!

ms

Matt,

I ordered this part and have been trying to integrate it into the design as you proposed. The problem is that the pins out on page 9 of the .pdf draft version list NINE connections ... the CAT-5 cable only has eight (as well as the modular plug on the afore-mentioned product you listed as a link). So, I contacted one of the tech guys at Allied Electronics, showed him the .pdf draft manual, and this was his response:

"After reading your PDF file this goes to the Parallel printer port on a PC and that is a 25 pin female (on the PC itself) which requires a 25 pin male connector

The part you've asked about is a female
The Allied number 510-3161 is the male version

But there is a problem I don't understand how to get around

The RJ-45 connector uses 8 pins
looking at your DB25 connector pin-out on page 8 it uses 9 pins
I can't get 9 wires into a 8 wire connector.

You might want to ask the group that's doing this project how they accomplish this.


Jim Beard
Group # 682-757-9204
Direct # 817-595-8511

Technical Sales Specialist
Allied Electronics Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
817.595.8620 FAX"

ANY HELP AND/OR FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!

David

[Ronp]

The ground does not go to the rj45.

If you use the PS from the control pc you dont need a ground.
If you use a external PS you need a ground wire from the control PC to the PS.

[P. Short]

Not having a signal return wire (a ground wire, in this case) in that cable is poor practice. Relying only on a ground wire in the power supply cabling (or a separate wire) means that the system will be fairly susceptible to interference from AC and every other signal floating through the air, as well as quite prone to radiating as well.

If I were building one or more of these boards (which I'm not), I would rework the boards to remove one of the strobe signals from the interface cable (tie pin 4 of the MBI chips to pin 1 of the 4514, and get KC to change the plugin if necessary), and use the leftover pin on the interface cable for ground.

--

Phil

[dvanteslaar]

The ground does not go to the rj45.

If you use the PS from the control pc you dont need a ground.
If you use a external PS you need a ground wire from the control PC to the PS.

That's what I thought ... the table on page 9 in very deceiving. Thanks for the info Ron!

David

[RJ]

David,

During the many changes that were made in the evolution of the LedTriks many users wanted a number of panels daisy chained. Due to data transfer speed limits I used a different data line for each of the four supported panels which left no conductors for the ground. Since we intended to use remote power supplies to feed it there was no problem to connect the ground on the computer end and allow me to support 4 units.

At the time it seemed like a good idea. 8)

[dvanteslaar]

David,

During the many changes that were made in the evolution of the LedTriks many users wanted a number of panels daisy chained. Due to data transfer speed limits I used a different data line for each of the four supported panels which left no conductors for the ground. Since we intended to use remote power supplies to feed it there was no problem to connect the ground on the computer end and allow me to support 4 units.

At the time it seemed like a good idea. 8)

Gotcha RJ - information received and understood. My understanding regarding this issue is that the newer laptop RS232 ports provide enough voltage to run the board without the need for an external power supply (transformer) - is that correct? If so, my laptop, although 3 years old, has a CPU clocked at 3.8 GHz and contains 2GB of memory; I assume that this would be sufficient enough to reach approx. +5 volts (and register a logic 1) out of my RS232. My plan (on this board) is to power the LEDTRIKS board directly from my laptop (although I have not actually physically measured the voltage out ... just an assumption)

David

[P. Short]

I don't think that you can power the LEDtriks board from the RS232 serial ports (of any vintage). Even if you added a regulator to take the +12V (give or take) of the RS232 signals down to 5V, there isn't enough current available for powering the controller. The RS232 ports can only provide a milliamps of current, far less than what is needed. You need a beefy supply for the LEDtriks board (since the full current for the LEDs is drawn from the power supply for the LEDtriks).

--

Phil

[stempile]

Dave -

Wiki Notes
Now that the Wiki is here, building / Updating an external doc is no long needed. Also you don't have to ask permission to add / update the wiki. The wiki is owned by everyone that contributes to it. Also if someone doesn't like your changes, they will update your work. Thats where the wiki power comes in.

Cable Notes
You mentioned that you were building the cable. I hope you aren't spending much time on it (maybe you are already doing this?). This is how can build the cable in 30 seconds:
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=40-9588Fvirtualkey60140000virtualkey601-40-9588M

Mouser #601-40-9588M

Use a DB25 Male to RJ45 Connector. I didn't use this exact one, I have a pile of them from various other project. All you do is push the pins from the RJ45 plug through the holes of the DB25 plug (based on the wire pin out on the PCB) and you are done. A normal cat-5 patch cable is then used between the connector and the LedTricks board. Easy Easy!

ms

Matt,

I ordered this part and have been trying to integrate it into the design as you proposed. The problem is that the pins out on page 9 of the .pdf draft version list NINE connections ... the CAT-5 cable only has eight (as well as the modular plug on the afore-mentioned product you listed as a link). So, I contacted one of the tech guys at Allied Electronics, showed him the .pdf draft manual, and this was his response:

"After reading your PDF file this goes to the Parallel printer port on a PC and that is a 25 pin female (on the PC itself) which requires a 25 pin male connector

The part you've asked about is a female
The Allied number 510-3161 is the male version

But there is a problem I don't understand how to get around

The RJ-45 connector uses 8 pins
looking at your DB25 connector pin-out on page 8 it uses 9 pins
I can't get 9 wires into a 8 wire connector.

You might want to ask the group that's doing this project how they accomplish this.


Jim Beard
Group # 682-757-9204
Direct # 817-595-8511

Technical Sales Specialist
Allied Electronics Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
817.595.8620 FAX"

ANY HELP AND/OR FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!

David


I use a cable from my bench top supply with an alligator clip hooked to the PC case. Works fine for the bench. I have only 3 panels so might make a cable with the extra single wire not connected like what Phil mentioned. Then again just clip it to the PC case.

ms

[P. Short]

Matt,

Did you ever get your LED mis-fire problem fixed?

--

Phil

[RJ]

David,

RS232 is a serial port. Phil is correct in that there is not enough current to run the system from any rs232 port either old or new. As far as logic signal levels the LedTriks is strickly a lpt setup it does not use a rs232 port at all. It is the lpt port that we are concerned about the signal voltage on. You should not have an issue on any lpt port if using the allegro chips I have been recommening for quite a long time now. by using the correct componets there should be no problem with any port that is functioning correctly. The next Ledtriks setup I am working on for next christmas will be on a different setup all together so it will not need the lpt port but will be more expensive to build as it will be full color.

Hope this helps.

[dvanteslaar]

Dave -

Wiki Notes
Now that the Wiki is here, building / Updating an external doc is no long needed. Also you don't have to ask permission to add / update the wiki. The wiki is owned by everyone that contributes to it. Also if someone doesn't like your changes, they will update your work. Thats where the wiki power comes in.

Cable Notes
You mentioned that you were building the cable. I hope you aren't spending much time on it (maybe you are already doing this?). This is how can build the cable in 30 seconds:
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=40-9588Fvirtualkey60140000virtualkey601-40-9588M

Mouser #601-40-9588M

Use a DB25 Male to RJ45 Connector. I didn't use this exact one, I have a pile of them from various other project. All you do is push the pins from the RJ45 plug through the holes of the DB25 plug (based on the wire pin out on the PCB) and you are done. A normal cat-5 patch cable is then used between the connector and the LedTricks board. Easy Easy!

ms

Matt,

I ordered this part and have been trying to integrate it into the design as you proposed. The problem is that the pins out on page 9 of the .pdf draft version list NINE connections ... the CAT-5 cable only has eight (as well as the modular plug on the afore-mentioned product you listed as a link). So, I contacted one of the tech guys at Allied Electronics, showed him the .pdf draft manual, and this was his response:

"After reading your PDF file this goes to the Parallel printer port on a PC and that is a 25 pin female (on the PC itself) which requires a 25 pin male connector

The part you've asked about is a female
The Allied number 510-3161 is the male version

But there is a problem I don't understand how to get around

The RJ-45 connector uses 8 pins
looking at your DB25 connector pin-out on page 8 it uses 9 pins
I can't get 9 wires into a 8 wire connector.

You might want to ask the group that's doing this project how they accomplish this.


Jim Beard
Group # 682-757-9204
Direct # 817-595-8511

Technical Sales Specialist
Allied Electronics Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
817.595.8620 FAX"

ANY HELP AND/OR FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!

David

I WAS ABLE TO GET A HOLD OF THE DATA SHEET FOR THIS PRODUCT (WHICH SHOWED THE PINS-OUT), SO WE'RE IN BUSINESS! A BIG THANKS GOES OUT TO JIM BEARD FROM ALLIED ELECTRONICS FOR RESEARCHING THIS PRODUCT AND ACQUIRING ITS DATA SHEET FOR ME!

A MUCH CLEANER LOOKING INTERFACE CABLE IS IN THE WORKS ... WILL UPDATE THE WIKI FILE AS SOON AS IT IS COMPLETED AND TESTED.

David

[stempile]

Matt,

Did you ever get your LED mis-fire problem fixed?

--

Phil

Not yet. I moved it around a little while working on something else then discovered some other issues. I am sure I have a couple bad solder joints. Will throw some more time at it soon.

ms