Has anyone worked with Adafruit Neopixels 60 led strips with Arduino and then in turned got it connected to ST?
Check out the ST Shield. It is is specifically made for Arduino and there is a great Arduino sketch called ST Anything:
I uploaded it and was able to trigger a relay in about 20 minutes. Once you get the sketch, you can modify it for your NeoPixel strip, ring or whatever you are using.
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I have a couple ST Shields, I was just seeing if others have got logic for the arduino to utilize the Neopixels to do different effects.
Michael,
Another option for simple lighting control may be to use the sample I created which uses a cheap Cree connected lightbulb’s zigbee board, attached to a very inexpensive Arduino nano, to drive your LED strip. ~$20 per Arduino Nano + Cree Zigbee board, instead of $35 ThingShield + $20 UNO R3.
Take a look. Another user asked a similar question - not sure if they ever got it working or not.
You don’t need an UNO specifically to use the Thing Shield.
As long as you power the Shield, only 3 pins are required (2 for UART serial at 2400 baud) and Pin 6 “reserved” for unknown reason.
Heck you could run the Shield from a PC with a USB to UART converter.
[quote=“ogiewon, post:4, topic:22774, full:true”]
Michael,
Another option for simple lighting control may be to use the sample I created which uses a cheap Cree connected lightbulb’s zigbee board, attached to a very inexpensive Arduino nano, to drive your LED strip. ~$20 per Arduino Nano + Cree Zigbee board, instead of $35 ThingShield + $20 UNO R3.[/quote]
WAIT… Are you this guy?
If yes, you’ve inspired me to start a little project of my own!
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Totally agree. Are you aware of anyone who has successfully ported the ThingShield library to any other platforms yet? I know it’s not that hard, but it would take some time. Would be nice to have it on Raspberry Pi and Windows. That would help to open up options. One does need to be very careful regarding voltages when using anything other than an Arduino. The ThingShield needs 5v TTL, whereas the Raspberry Pi uses 3.3v. Also, I do not believe connecting to a standard PC using a USB to RS232 adapter would not work directly either. I know an Arduino needs a special RS232 Shield in order to accomplish this. I believe RS232 uses -12v to +12v.
After doing a little research, I see what you’re referring to… A USB to UART (which is a 5v TTL level signal) adapter would definitely fit the bill. Would be great to have one which could supply the +5v and Gnd to the ThingShield as well… Need to keep searching…
No, I’m not “That Guy”… But his work, and the work of @drbudro, inspired me to build and share an integrated ST/Cree/Arduino solution. Hoping to find a good use for it some day!!! Maybe you could share what your idea is for using the Cree Zigbee board?
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Bingo!
No… I don’t know anyone who has attempted this connection nor ported the library.
The library is C++, so should be easy to port. The hardware is, as you summarized, just UART level conversion and basic 5v (or 3.3?) to the shield.
Either way your project inspired me too! At the moment I don’t have anything other than a Cree Connected bulb I tore down, haven’t had a chance to do some testing!
Well, I have the NeoPixel light strip and the ST shield and an Arduino Mega. I bought the NeoPixel for the fact of the chasing affect in the lights.