Prop48LSD daughterboard

**budude** · 06-04-2011, 01:51 PM

The Prop48LSD daughterboard is basically a Ren48LSD that is driven via the PropController vs the combination of six PICs. It will implement the same power regulation circuit and output drivers as the Ren48LSD and the 32-channel dimmer circuit from Ben but expanded to 48 channels. I have a board layout mostly complete but it's still a work-in-progress. It will be just a bit smaller than the current Ren48LSD.

Greg (Mr. Helix) was kind enough to provide me with some test code to expand the 32-channel code to 48 and flipped outputs to drive the transistors. I have the circuit running on a proto board with this code and so far so good. The plan is to implement Bit Angle Modulation (BAM) dimming and individual channel dimming curves so it should have really smooth/linear fading properties when done.

I will be updating this post with schematic/board changes.

Prop48LSD-Schematic.pdf

Prop48LSD-PCB.pdf

**chilloutdocdoc** · 06-04-2011, 01:58 PM

Do you plan on bumping the frequency a lot higher since you're running BAM?

Will there be the possibility of a DMX firmware?

Josh

**DynamoBen** · 06-04-2011, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by chilloutdocdoc

Do you plan on bumping the frequency a lot higher since you're running BAM?

The BAM driver I wrote runs about about 300Hz so it should look nice and smooth.

Will there be the possibility of a DMX firmware?

This is just a daughterboard so it will work with both the DMX/RS485 and Ethernet board.

**budude** · 06-04-2011, 02:05 PM

I should make that clear - can you change the title of the thread to 'Prop48LSD daughterboard'?

**DynamoBen** · 06-04-2011, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by budude

I should make that clear - can you change the title of the thread to 'Prop48LSD daughterboard'?

Done.

**chilloutdocdoc** · 06-04-2011, 02:38 PM

Just make sure you click reply on a post with the new thread title.

**pmcpa** · 06-19-2011, 12:42 AM

hmmm.... a LSD with E-net.... good idea!

**budude** · 06-19-2011, 02:37 AM

I've been "slacking" lately (or so Dirknerkle tells me... ;)) and I haven't touched blinky/flashy stuff for a couple of weeks as life/work has taken priority! I had to redo the whole layout because I had each group of 8 channels backwards - argh... I didn't notice it till I laid the circuit out and ran some sequences that I realized my silly mistake. Anyway - that part is done and I think I'm very close to having the layout done. In another thread someone pointed out a different DC-DC converter that is a bit cheaper and would be a much simpler layout than my current setup so I may switch to that

Currently I am using RJ45s to support 4-channels as with the Ren48LSD but with the advent of lots of "dumb" RGB strips now, I'm wondering if using a different style connector like others have used (Jim's E680 or AussiePhil's Tiger stuff) would be a better approach? An MTA100 or 156 4-pin connector could be handy as well. While it would be neat to have both connectors available, I'm not sure if that will be possible without being a routing nightmare. I'll take a look at it for grins. The other option would be to have two versions of the board with different connectors on them (RJ45 or MTxxx).

Anyway - I'm hoping to get a full-scale demo running before finalizing things and having the full BAM/curve code running as well. You could have up to four of these board running if you wanted for 192 channels of DC goodness.

**DynamoBen** · 06-19-2011, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by budude

Currently I am using RJ45s to support 4-channels as with the Ren48LSD but with the advent of lots of "dumb" RGB strips now, I'm wondering if using a different style connector like others have used (Jim's E680 or AussiePhil's Tiger stuff) would be a better approach? An MTA100 or 156 4-pin connector could be handy as well. While it would be neat to have both connectors available, I'm not sure if that will be possible without being a routing nightmare. I'll take a look at it for grins. The other option would be to have two versions of the board with different connectors on them (RJ45 or MTxxx).

Might I suggest screw terminals, then you can wire up whatever you want.

**mschell** · 06-20-2011, 05:39 PM

Personally, I like the push on connectors, rather than the screw type. This way, the cable is connected via a plug, and it's very easy to swap around to another connector without the expense of the extra piece to screw into that connects...ala jstjohns new European style connector.

If I look at the commercial Stellascape E16, it has push on connectors. I liked the ones on the E680. I'll be connecting twist-on waterproof connectors to these, and just don't want to mess with screws.

Just my input...