Open-Source PIXEL LED Artnet sACN Controller project > Ethernet, 16 universes, 4 outputs, 5~24v!

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mdethmers

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Node.jpg

Hey all! Ive been working on this project for the past year, and Ive finally settled on a software and hardware package that can rival some of the more expensive Art-Net and sACN controllers. With a hardware revision that now supports resettable fuses, variable input voltage, hot-swappable plugs, and reverse polarity protection, I am more than confident that the node will appeal to LED-strip enthusiasts out there! For the non-professional, tinkerer, DIY geek or Christmas nerd, this node is a game-changer!

So, in short, what does it do?
  • 16 universes over 4 outputs, so 2700+ RGB leds in total!
  • Support for WS2812 type (800khz) and SPI driven leds (SK9822, apa102), so basically any LED-type on the market!
  • RGB, RGBW, and RGBAW colour arrangement support
  • Ethernet and wifi capable
  • Fused Integrated power distribution up to 5A per output and 20A total
  • With a 5~24v variable input, this means almost 500W of power!
  • OLED display for status updates
  • Hardware button to change between different modes (DHCP, Static IP, Static colour, Test pattern)
  • But, most importantly, completely open source! Every piece of the software and hardware design is available for you to tinker with!
Now, let me know if you have any questions about this project! Before I see comments about WLED: Yes, WLED does Art-Net and SACN, but performance is worse at a maximum of ~9 universes, and IMO WLED setup is a lot more complicated. This node is straight to the point and ready to use with Art-Net out of the box!

Now, if you are excited, check out the GitHub! GitHub - mdethmers/ESP32-Artnet-Node-receiver: ESP32 based artnet node to push 16 universes of LED pixels at 40fps · GitHub

Want to get a working node in your hands? Check out my shop! https://www.etsy.com/nl/listing/1890697316/artnet-led-controller-diy-kit-bedien
 
This looks cool. I used a WLED-based controller last season for the first time, based on price alone (it was the Wasatch Quad+). One thing I like about the Quad+ is it has a dumb receiver port to add another 4 ports on. I'll be taking advantage of that this year.

Perhaps something to think about for a future hardware revision, since 2700 over 4 channels is a lot of channels per port (at least based on how I like to wire things up)
 
MartinMueller2003 said:
Looks nice. I seriously hope you added an SD card reader in there. That way you can tie in to FPP remote functionality
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Hey! No plans to add SD card on there yet. However, there is still quite some Flash available to implement your own static effects, selectable (physical/online) through the menu, so that should have you covered! How else would you use an SD card? interested to hear your use-case.

MartinMueller2003 said:
Will you be publishing a set of GPIO assignments?
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Thats all on the GitHub!

tfischer said:
This looks cool. I used a WLED-based controller last season for the first time, based on price alone (it was the Wasatch Quad+). One thing I like about the Quad+ is it has a dumb receiver port to add another 4 ports on. I'll be taking advantage of that this year.

Perhaps something to think about for a future hardware revision, since 2700 over 4 channels is a lot of channels per port (at least based on how I like to wire things up)
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Nice controller! Daisy chaining is definitely a nice feature to have, agreed. If I ever support daisy-chaining, it would be through ethernet, so you can run ethernet and artnet nodes in series. With my controller, I'm aiming at the semi-professional market, instead of the purely DIY market most WLED controllers seem to target. Those branches run more pixels per output, and need higher output currents. In any case, Im always interesting to learn about other's designs!
 
We have found that more than 10 controllers on a wifi network starts overloading the network. We use FPP to transmit sync signals and then stroe the data normally in the data stream on an SD card. My show fills about 900MB of SD card that gets played in a 30 minute show.
 
MartinMueller2003 said:
We have found that more than 10 controllers on a wifi network starts overloading the network. We use FPP to transmit sync signals and then stroe the data normally in the data stream on an SD card. My show fills about 900MB of SD card that gets played in a 30 minute show.
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Interesting, thanks for sharing! With overloading, do you mean that the wifi cannot handle the number of devices connected? Or does the amount of data slow down the network too much? The whole point of my node is that it's wired Ethernet, so that it can be used in installations where stability and range are important.

angus40 said:
Does this gem support tls 3001 pixels ?
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I checked the datasheet and it seems to be similar to the way WS2812 leds are controlled; 12bit color and ~800khz data speed. Ive not physically tested them, but from what I read they should work!
 
Thinking that
MartinMueller2003 said:
We have found that more than 10 controllers on a wifi network starts overloading the network. We use FPP to transmit sync signals and then stroe the data normally in the data stream on an SD card. My show fills about 900MB of SD card that gets played in a 30 minute show.
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Can you be more specific about the circumstances where you encountered lag? And for that matter, what do you mean by lag?
 
When using WiFi to transport time sensitive (aka Real TIme) data, you need to be aware of the overhead incurred by the WiFi media. When there are a large number of devices and each of them consume significant data, then there are variations in the timing when the data is delivered to the WiFi connected devices. This causes the LEDs to not be in sync with the music. The lights tend to "lag" behind the music.
 
Sigh. I was looking for specific information, not generalities. You don't need to bother to respond.
 
MartinMueller2003 said:
We have found that more than 10 controllers on a wifi network starts overloading the network.
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I found the same thing initially, somewhere around 10-13 connections with the initial router firmware. Maybe newer routers would work better with factory firmware.

I reprogrammed an old Linksys WRT54G router from 2003 with DD-WRT and was able to connect a minimum of 60 connections (that's all I had). Unfortunately, there's no way to simulate more with a single device. I initially tried 35 connections on my display last year and saw no delays or hesitations while running sequences. And that was with xLights running on an old HP Notebook from 2019 and Windows 11. No FPP needed so far.

I split the connections over three routers and ran that way though, because I didn't have time for further testing.
 
Did that depend on the size of the packets, or the number of packets sent over each connection?
 
MartinMueller2003 said:
When using WiFi to transport time sensitive (aka Real TIme) data, you need to be aware of the overhead incurred by the WiFi media. When there are a large number of devices and each of them consume significant data, then there are variations in the timing when the data is delivered to the WiFi connected devices. This causes the LEDs to not be in sync with the music. The lights tend to "lag" behind the music.
Click to expand...
plenty WiFi lag experienced here with HLS sequence player -csco valet -dd-wrt firmware.
Could it be the player possibly ?
 
angus40 said:
Could it be the player possibly ?
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Might be. I'm also using DDP exclusively, it's supposed require less data.

P. Short said:
Did that depend on the size of the packets, or the number of packets sent over each connection?
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I never put a scope on it, if that's what you're asking. Other than Renard, all of the controllers are outputting pixel data at 44 FPS. I'm assuming that xLights is blasting at all IP addresses as fast as it can. Before, it had issues and after, it didn't.
 
That's not what I'm asking, my question was poorly phrased. Are there a lot of pixels per controller (in multiples of 100's), or just a few (perhaps 100 each or fewer?

In any case, the fact that changing the AP firmware allowed for a lot more 'connections' suggests that the problems with lag are not intrinsic to WiFi, but at least in part a result of AP designs that could be fixed by making better Access Point selections. Whether this means that people should avoid streaming over WiFi depends on how difficult it is to find out which access points are good, how difficult it is to obtain them and how expensive they are.
 
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