Newbie wants to build a LEDTriks board

[Ponddude]

I have spent the better part of the day reading over this section of the forums. I want to build an LEDTriks board, but I really don't know a few things. I am hoping you can help me.

I understand that I can't use the LOR software to control the board, (I use LOR for my show) but, can I run both LOR and Vixen at the same time? My thinking was just to create a show in both pieces of software, and run them both at the same time...will this work?

Next, on my show computer, I have no Parallel port. Is there a work around for this or is that the absolute only way of controlling the board?

Next, where do I purchase the actual PCB from?

I'm sure I will have plenty of other questions, but I will start here. Thanks for all the great info I have already received!!

[Ronp]

lor and vixen should work together but you may need a very good PC 2-3 gig prosessor ect.
Look into the triks c controller It alows the ledtriks to use serial port.....
Also it will let you run the triks in stand alone mode (depends on what you are going to do with it)
Both the ledtriks and triks c pcbs are available from Wjohn look him up in the members list

[Ponddude]

Ok, that should be fine. I just checked and I have a 2.67 gig processor. I do not, however, have a serial port either...me and my new fancy computer. But, if the panel runs stand alone, I could try and come up with a way of triggering the panel to display. I know there has been a lot of discussion about it.

Thanks for the info!

Greg

[Ronp]

Get usb to serial
Just make sure you read and ask questions before you buy...

[Ponddude]

Great!

Do you have a good adapter I should get? I searched for them and they range from about 3 bucks to over 100.

Greg

[g2ktcf]

Ok, that should be fine. I just checked and I have a 2.67 gig processor. I do not, however, have a serial port either...me and my new fancy computer. But, if the panel runs stand alone, I could try and come up with a way of triggering the panel to display. I know there has been a lot of discussion about it.

Thanks for the info!

Greg


I got a Syba 4 port PCI Express card...works great under Visa.

[Ponddude]

Ok, now I need everyone to bear with me again as I have a few more questions.

I just purchased my LEDTriks and my Triks-C...thanks Mike...and I am a little stuck on the chips. Do I need to program the chips with some sort of firmware? If so, where do I find the firmware and how do I go about programming it?

Also, now that I will be using the Triks-C, do I have to use the LTC program as well? Can Vixen just send the appropriate signals through the Triks-C and send the signal to the LEDTriks?

Thanks again guys!

[TimW]

Hi Greg,

The ATTINY2313 chip on the TRIKS-C needs to be programmed (like a PIC). The firmware you need is on a 'sticky' at the top of this thread (its the .hex file).

To load the firmware you need to use an atmel programmer (the board has an 'ISP' header on it that the programmer just plugs into. There are several designs of programmer out there to build ... or you can buy one. (I'm assuming you'd need a usb one if you go down this path.. have a look at the usbtiny ISP programmer on www.adafruit.com (http://www.adafruit.com) for an example)

Another route would be to get someone on the forum to program your chip for you. Its a 10 second job.


As to LTC, it is meant to be a stopgap until Vixen supports Triks-C. LTC does read Vixen Ledtriks files - the ultimate aim is to have Vixen support it directly.

The way we connect Vixen and LTC is to call it using the LAUNCHER plugin in Vixen. At the appropriate point in the sequence you can trigger off LTC with the appropriate LEDTRIKS file to display. Not quite the same as a fully integrated solution.. but it works fine.

Tim

[Ponddude]

Now, the is for the one chip on the Triks board, but what about the 8 chips on the LEDTriks board? Do those need to be programmed as well?

[Ronp]

That is for the ATTINY2313 chip on the triks c board only The ledtriks does not have programable chips

[Ponddude]

Great! That makes life much easier. I was told by Mike that when he purchased the PCB's during the Coop he had them preprogram the chip already. I think I am set!

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Now, will this adapter work?

http://www.cablewholesale.com/specs/usb-to-printer/10u1-06103.htm