Prop 128 v2 Light Controller

[gmbartlett]

The Prop 128 v2 Light Controller is my second generation light controller that can synchronize up to 128 light channels to music. Each light channel has 255 levels of intensity. The heart of the system is the Main Board controlled by the Parallax Propeller chip. The Main Board can directly control 32 light channels using four 74HC4094 SIPO chips to trigger eight, standard 4 channel (SSR) Boards connected via Cat5e patch cords. It can also control up to three Daughter Boards via an RS422 link connected by Cat5e patch cords. Each Daughter Board can directly control 32 light channels using four 74HC4094 SIPO chips to trigger the SSR boards.

The Prop 128 v2 Light Controller operates in one of two modes.

Mode 1: Stand alone mode. The controller waits for a predefined start time. It then plays MP3 encoded songs and synchronizes the light channels to the music using data stored on an SD card until a predefined end time. This is the primary mode of operation.

Mode 2: Controlled by a PC running Vixen via a wireless ZigBee radio link. Vixen plays the MP3 songs and sends the light channel data to the controller using a MaxStream XBee Pro ZigBee radio link. This is the fallback operating mode if Mode 1 fails to initialize. Mode 2 is also used during display setup to test and troubleshoot the display.

I wrote a Windows application I call the Prop 128 Show Builder to take the Sequence data generated by Vixen and reformat it for use by the Prop 128. It groups sequences and pauses into a show that the Prop 128 v2 plays. The pauses can be anywhere between 1 second and 3599 seconds (59 minutes and 59 seconds).

Planned Future Improvements: The power of the Propeller chip and the flexibility of the architecture of the Prop 128 v2 controller will allow several improvements to the software without the need to upgrade the hardware. Some of the planned future improvements are:

1. Add the capability to start a show or specific sequence stored on the SD card at anytime via the ZigBee link while in Mode 1.

2. Add the capability to stop or pause a running show via the ZigBee link while in Mode 1.

3. Add the capability to operate like Mode 2 while in Mode 1; i.e., be controlled by a PC running Vixen to send channel data to the controller when it is not running a show off of the SD card.

4. Add the capability to update the Real Time Clock in Mode 1.

5. Add the capability to hot insert an SD card. This would allow switching from Mode 2 to Mode 1 without shutting down the system.

6. Add the capability to synchronize two or more Prop 128 v2 Light Controller systems from a single master controller via the ZigBee link. The master controller would play the MP3 songs, control its 128 light channels and send a synchronization pulse every event to all of the other controllers in the immediate area using the ZigBee link. The synchronization pulse would be a broadcast transmission. All of the other controllers would have their sequence data stored on their local SD card. They would update their light channel intensities on every event synchronization pulse. This methodology should allow nearly an unlimited number of channels to be synchronized since the XBee Pro radio has an exterior line-of-sight range of up to 1 mile. With the right placement of the master controller it should be possible to synchronize the lights on every house on a block.

[BuzzKill]

Drooooooooooooolllllll

[TimW]

Nice work Greg!

Love the modularity, the wireless, the stand alone elements. Its certainly next generation! Looks like a bit of effort's gone into it along the way!!

So much potential. Simply.. great.

Tim

[kmc123]

WOW!!!
Awesome Work!!!

[omzig]

WOW indeed!

[jderba]

Nice job Greg, VERY nice

[TonyK]

Sounds like a fantastic design Greg! I was actually planning on taking a similar route before I found this site a year or so ago. The propeller chip has huge potential but I knew I couldn't get it together in time for my first show so it made sense for me to go with the proven/tested designs by others in the forum instead of designing my own from scratch. I'm glad I did and it worked out great for me but I'm still interested long term in a design such as yours. Any plans on making the prop chip code and conversion software public at some point?

[gmbartlett]

Thank you everyone for the nice compliments.

TonyK,
I agree with you that it takes a lot of time to develop something like this; but, I tell people that my job costs me a lot of money. I'm an electronics engineer that doesn't do any real engineering at work. So I decided to fulfill my engineering needs by designing the controller I wanted. It took me about 1 1/2 years to develop the Prop 128 v1. This is the controller I uses last Christmas. It operates like Mode 2 of this controller. I have spent most of this year developing the software and hardware for the Prop 128 v2. I didn't set out to compete with anyone else’s controllers; I just wanted to build one that did everything that I wanted.

The Prop 128 v2 is kind of like the BMW of controllers. It has a lot of bells and whistles but it also comes with a fairly high price tag when you compare it with the other controllers out there. The approximate cost per channel is $5.40 not including the CAT5e patch cords or the power cables.

That being said, I would be happy to share the source code and the Prop Show Builder. The source code is best viewed using the Propeller IDE. This is a free application you can download from the Parallax website at: http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Do...-Tool-v1.2.exe

A note of caution about the Prop Show Builder, I wrote it for me, so it is not the most user friendly or intuitive application. It does not have a help file. If you want to use it I will probably need to talk you through it on the phone. Let me know your phone number by PM and I will call you or I can PM you my number and you can call me.

I’m also including a couple of block diagrams that I meant to include in the original post.

[wjohn]

Greg,

Are you sure this is not a fully blown commerical product. That must be the best thing this side of Xmas I have seen!

The modularity is great, the ability to work with Vixen or in standalone mode makes the design.

At 5.40 a channel, it may be priced at the BMW level of the market, but it has all the BMW/Lexus bells and whistles.

Well Done, we can all learn from you.

[gmbartlett]

WJohn,

My wife wishes I would sell these commercially to try and recoup some of the development costs. But I just tell her it is money well spent on my sanity ;-). The real reason is I don't want to try and compete with the established commercial vendors, nor do I want the liability that goes with selling it.

I've had a request via PM for a BOM, so I'm attaching it here. The PM asked if I would be willing to open this up to the general DIY community for use. I certainly don't have a problem sharing any of this with anyone that would like to use it. Just let me know what you guys think.