Published February 5, 2018

DIY 15*10 Dual Mode LED Matrix

A homemade LED matrix controlled by a Raspberry Pi Zero for animated pictures and disco lights.

IntermediateFull instructions provided778

Things used in this project

Hardware components

led strip

power supply

level shifter

mini breadboard

plastic box

rocker switch

Pi Zero

power supply

Story

The beginning

I stumbled upon a video made by Andrew Oakley of an inexpensive LED matrix that he'd made using a Raspberry Pi. I thought it was pretty cool and decided I'd like to make something like that myself. I have pretty much followed the essence of his build as described here. So there probably isn't too much point in me going over everything in great detail. The main difference between his project and mine is that I'm using a Raspberry Pi Zero and I've gone for an extra strip of LEDs, making a total of 150 rather than his 96. I wanted it to be a little higher res as our front window is almost directly on the front street and felt that the picture quality might suffer from such close range.

Setting up the Pi

The first thing to do was to follow this tutorial on setting up the Raspberry Pi Zero to operate a neopixel string of LEDs.

Raspberry Pi Zero with pins soldered

Hook up the level shifter and Pi through the breadboard.

Connections

Then turn everything on and see if you get the strandtest example to work. I did have a bit of trouble at first, only one LED in the strip was changing colours. After a bit of head scratching I eventually found that it was because of this line in the example.

LED_DMA = 10

I changed it to 5, like it is in the tutorial, and then I had them all.

Everything connected

You can see in the image above that the three sets of LED strips are connected to the power supply individually. My first attempt I wired the three sets together in series but I noticed that the last strip wasn't getting full power, so be sure to wire them to the power supply positive and negative rails in parallel. The data wires, the green one, can be connected using the supplied connectors. Although when I came to put the matrix together I cut those off and just soldered the wires together.

I don't own a staple gun like Andrew used so I had to think about how I could attach the LEDs to the wooden batons without one. The solution that I chose was to drill holes the size of the LEDs and push them through, I could then glue them in place. A bit more work involved but it seemed like the best approach.

1 / 2 • Wooden batons with some LEDs

Once all the LEDs are glued onto the batons it's a case of attaching all the batons together.

Batons attached

Again without a staple gun I went with the trusty hot glue gun, so gluing the fabric strips onto the batons.

Then hooking up the data wires and connecting the positive and negative rails.

Data wire connected.

At the end of the run, just cut off the excess wires and wrap them up with a bit of insulating tape.

A new purpose

My main problem with the matrix as it is, was that it has a very limited usage range. Christmas and Halloween are the obvious choices and then maybe a birthday or two, but after that, what are you going to do with it? It was a side thought until my wife, in passing, commented that it could be used for disco nights. With two young children, 6 and 3, we sometimes have the occasion of turning off the lights, getting torches and jumping around the living room while dancing to music. If you have kids you have most probably experienced this wonder of the modern age. So that was it, it had to be a disco thing, but it couldn't just scroll an image, it needed to be something a bit more.

So that was where the two mode matrix came into being. Mode one, it would scroll an image, while mode two it would randomly flash some lights in an amazing 80s light show. I needed this to be super simple to use though. My wife, although being very technically minded, didn't really want to mess about SSHing into a Raspberry Pi of an evening and setting up which python scripts to run. It just needed to turn on and run, so I decided to add a button.

Button connected, but there's a problem.

There are tonnes of examples of adding a button to a Pi I picked this one, simply because it was the first one returned by the google search. In my rush to add the button I hadn't thought about how I was going to attach it to the lid of the box. My idea was to make a small hole in the lid and slot the button into it, but as I'd now attached it to the Pi I couldn't do this :(

1 / 5 • Holes for power.

So I had to cut the wires and re-solder them back on once I'd attached the button to the lid. I'd recommend attaching the wires to the button then the button to the lid and then soldering the button to the Pi :)

Before I sealed the Pi in the box, I connected it to a display and setup the wifi on it and enabled the SSH, this can be done in headless mode but I just thought that would be easier.

That's it for the hardware, you now have an LED matrix that can be rolled up and transported about quite easily.

1 / 2 • The matrix 80cm wide by 50cm high.

The code

Most of the script for displaying the picture animation is the same as what Andrew did. I wanted two extra display possibilities though. I wanted to be able to repeat animations and ping pong them. So I added a new command and an extra parameter. Also as I want to be able to just turn it on without too much messing about with scripts and things I added a new text file called imagelist which is a list of images that will be stored on the Pi. When you want to make one active just add the # symbol in front and the script will attempt to find a png and txt file of that name. It just means that I could have Christmas, Halloween, birthday1, birthday2, etc in one file and then it's just a case of changing a hash symbol for which one I actually want displayed.

Getting it to run is quite straight forward, I just followed this tutorial on getting SSH on my phone so that it could talk to the Pi over the wifi. Then for sending the files it's just a case of SFTP, some examples of that are here. I used AndFTP which worked pretty well, allowing me to send the pictures and code without a physical connection, to the device. I created a directory called ledmatrix where I put the images, text files and scripts. You could split them up into further directories if you wanted though.

The last step

Finally we just need it to run something when the Pi starts up. So add these two lines to the end of /etc/rc.local but before the exit 0, see here for more info on that if you want it.

python /home/pi/ledmatrix/picanim.py &
python /home/pi/ledmatrix/disco.py &

Now when you turn on the Pi both scripts will be run but depending on which way the switch is switched one of them will exit.

Time to turn out the lights and fire up the disco mode and get down with some funky beats.

Challenges

I thought it would be really cool to attach a microphone to the Pi and have it monitor the sounds to react to the music in some spectrum analyser type way, like this only without the music being routed through the Pi. I couldn't figure out how to do that though, too far out from my knowledge base.

Rewrite the whole thing in C. I still might do this. Running through python is not bad but doing it in C would be so much faster. Not written any C programs for the Pi yet so that might be a fun thing to try.

Code

import time, math 
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
from neopixel import * # See https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixels-on-raspberry-pi/software 
from random import *

# LED strip configuration:
LED_COUNT      = 150     # Number of LED pixels.
LED_PIN        = 18      # GPIO pin connected to the pixels (must support PWM!).
LED_FREQ_HZ    = 800000  # LED signal frequency in hertz (usually 800khz)
LED_DMA        = 5       # DMA channel to use for generating signal (try 5)
LED_BRIGHTNESS = 128     # Set to 0 for darkest and 255 for brightest
LED_INVERT     = False   # True to invert the signal (when using NPN transistor level shift)
LED_CHANNEL		= 0		 # Set to '1' for GPIOs 13, 19, 41,45 OR 53
LED_STRIP		= ws.WS2811_STRIP_RGB	#Strip type and colour ordering

# Size of matrix
MATRIX_WIDTH=15
MATRIX_HEIGHT=10

myMatrix=[	149,148,147,146,145,144,143,142,141,140,139,138,137,136,135,
			120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,
			119,118,117,116,115,114,113,112,111,110,109,108,107,106,105,
			 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,100,101,102,103,104,
			 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75,
			 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,
			 59, 58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45,
			 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44,
			 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15,
			  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]

# pin used for the mode button
BTNPIN = 8

# we want disco mode when the button is on, which means we return 1 
# when the pin is 0, as the pin goes low when the  switch
# connects to ground
def isDiscoMode():
	input_state = GPIO.input(BTNPIN) 
	if input_state == False: 
		return 1
	return 0
		
def allonecolour(strip,colour):
	# Paint the entire matrix one colour
	for i in range(strip.numPixels()):
		strip.setPixelColor(i,colour)
	strip.show()
	
def initLeds(strip):
	# Intialize the library (must be called once before other functions).
	strip.begin()
	# Wake up the LEDs by briefly setting them all to white
	allonecolour(strip,Color(255,255,255))
	time.sleep(0.01)
	
def rainbow(pos):
	"""Generate rainbow colors across 0-255 positions."""
	if pos < 85:
		return Color(pos * 3, 255 - pos * 3, 0)
	elif pos < 170:
		pos -= 85
		return Color(255 - pos * 3, 0, pos * 3)
	else:
		pos -= 170
		return Color(0, pos * 3, 255 - pos * 3)

def plot(strip, x, y, colour):
	if x < 0 or x >= MATRIX_WIDTH:
		return
	if y < 0 or y >= MATRIX_HEIGHT:
		return		
#	print("plot x %d y %d", x,y)
	strip.setPixelColor(myMatrix[int(y) * MATRIX_WIDTH + int(x)],colour)


def newLine(strip, x0,y0,x1,y1,colour):
	lx = x1 - x0
	ly = y1 - y0
	len = math.sqrt(lx*lx + ly*ly)
	if len == 0:
		return
	intLen = int(len)
	lx = lx / len
	ly = ly / len
	sx = x0 + 	lx * 0.5
	sy = y0 + ly * 0.5
	while intLen >= 0:
		plot(strip, sx,sy,colour)
		sx += lx
		sy += ly
		intLen = intLen - 1
		
def drawSquare(strip, x,y,rot,size,colour):
	angSin = math.sin(rot)*size
	angCos = math.cos(rot)*size
	x1 = angCos - angSin
	y1 = angSin + angCos
	
	x2 =  y1
	y2 =  -x1
	
	x3 = -x1
	y3 = -y1
	
	x4 = -y1
	y4 = x1
	
	newLine(strip, x+x1,y+y1,x+x2,y+y2, colour)
	newLine(strip, x+x2,y+y2,x+x3,y+y3, colour)
	newLine(strip, x+x3,y+y3,x+x4,y+y4, colour)
	newLine(strip, x+x4,y+y4,x+x1,y+y1, colour)
	
def wipe(strip, type, var, colour):
	if type == 0:
		newLine(strip, var,0,var,10,colour)
	if type == 1:
		newLine(strip, var,0,var,4,colour)
		newLine(strip, 15-var,5,15-var,9,colour)
	if type == 2:
		newLine(strip, var,0,var+15,10,colour)
		newLine(strip, -var,0,15-var,10,colour)
	if type == 3:
		newLine(strip, 0,var,2,var,colour)
		newLine(strip, 3,10-var,5,10-var,colour)
		newLine(strip, 6,var,8,var,colour)
		newLine(strip, 9,10-var,11,10-var,colour)
		newLine(strip, 12,var,14,var,colour)
		
def circle(strip, x0,y0, radius, colour):
	x = radius - 1
	y = 0
	dx = 1
	dy = 1
	err = dx - (radius << 1)
	
	while x >= y:
		plot(strip, x0+x, y0+y, colour)
		plot(strip, x0+y, y0+x, colour)
		plot(strip, x0-y, y0+x, colour)
		plot(strip, x0-x, y0+y, colour)
		plot(strip, x0-x, y0-y, colour)
		plot(strip, x0-y, y0-x, colour)
		plot(strip, x0+y, y0-x, colour)
		plot(strip, x0+x, y0-y, colour)
		if err <= 0:
			y += 1
			err += dy
			dy += 2
		else:
			x = x-1
			dx += 2
			err += dx - (radius << 1)

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM) 
# set the pull up resistor
GPIO.setup(BTNPIN, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP) 

# check if we're in disco mode
if not isDiscoMode():
	print("Disco mode not set, exiting Disco script.")
	quit()
			
strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(LED_COUNT, LED_PIN, LED_FREQ_HZ, LED_DMA, LED_INVERT, LED_BRIGHTNESS, LED_CHANNEL, LED_STRIP)
initLeds(strip)

# a list of states
SQUARE = 0
WIPE1 = 1
WIPE2 = 2
WIPE3 = 3
WIPE4 = 4
CIRCLES = 5
SQUARES = 6
HYPNOTIZE=7
LASTSTATE=7
# set the first state
state = SQUARE
stateNext = SQUARE
# various timing and sizing things
frame = 0.00
stateTime = 0.0
radius = 4.0
hlfRadius = radius/1.2
fader = 0.5
fadeDir = 0
# list for circles, contains x,y and time
pointArray = [0,0,0 ,0,0,0 ,0,0,0 ,0,0,0]
while(True):
	# pick a random colour for this frame
	rainbowCol = rainbow(randint(0,255))
	# fade background colour, this doesn't want to be too bright so reduce
	rainbowBG = rainbow(int(frame*3)&255)
	bgR = (rainbowBG & 0x00ff0000) >> 21
	bgG = (rainbowBG & 0x0000ff00) >> 13
	bgB = (rainbowBG & 0x000000ff) >> 5
	# clear frame
	for i in range(strip.numPixels()):
		colour = strip.getPixelColor(i)
		red = bgR + ((colour & 0x00ff0000) >> 16)*fader
		grn = bgG + ((colour & 0x0000ff00) >> 8)*fader
		blu = bgB + ((colour & 0x000000ff))*fader
		if red > 255:
			red = 255
		if grn > 255:
			grn = 255
		if blu > 255:
			blu = 255
		strip.setPixelColor(i,Color(int(red),int(grn),int(blu)))
	
	# increase/decrease the fade rate of the background colour
	if fadeDir == 1:
		fader = fader*0.99
		if fader <= 0.5:
			fadeDir = 0
	else:
		fader = fader*1.01
		if fader >= 1.0:
			fader = 1.0
			fadeDir = 1
	
	if state == SQUARE:
		drawSquare(strip, 7, 5, frame,radius+math.sin(frame*1.4)*hlfRadius,rainbowCol)
		if stateTime > 5:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == WIPE1:
		wipe(strip,0,abs(math.sin(stateTime*4))*15, rainbowCol)
		if stateTime > 3.14159:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == WIPE2:
		wipe(strip,1,abs(math.sin(stateTime*4))*15, rainbowCol)
		if stateTime > 3.14159:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == WIPE3:
		wipe(strip,2,abs(math.sin(stateTime*4))*15, rainbowCol)
		if stateTime > 3.14159:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == WIPE4:
		wipe(strip,3,abs(math.sin(stateTime*4))*10, rainbowCol)
		if stateTime > 3.14159:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == CIRCLES:
		idx = 0
		for i in range(0,4):
			pointArray[idx+2] += 1
			if pointArray[idx+2] > 0:
				circle(strip,pointArray[idx+0], pointArray[idx+1],pointArray[idx+2]>>2, rainbowCol)
			if pointArray[idx+2] > 64:
				pointArray[idx+0] = randint(0,15)
				pointArray[idx+1] = randint(0,10)
				pointArray[idx+2] = randint(0,4)-4
			idx += 3
		if stateTime > 5:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == SQUARES:
		idx = 0
		for i in range(0,4):
			pointArray[idx+2] += 1
			if pointArray[idx+2] > 0:
				drawSquare(strip,pointArray[idx+0], pointArray[idx+1],frame*i,pointArray[idx+2]>>3, rainbowCol)
			if pointArray[idx+2] > 64:
				pointArray[idx+0] = randint(0,15)
				pointArray[idx+1] = randint(0,10)
				pointArray[idx+2] = randint(0,4) - 4
			idx += 3
		if stateTime > 5:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
	elif state == HYPNOTIZE:
		idx=0
		for i in range(0,8):
			pointArray[i] += 1
			if pointArray [i] > 0:
				circle(strip,7,5, pointArray[i]>>1,rainbowCol)
			if pointArray[i]>64:
				pointArray[i]=0
		if stateTime > 5:
			stateNext = randint(0,LASTSTATE)
		
	strip.show()
	frame += 0.1
	stateTime += 0.02
	time.sleep(0.02)
	
	if state != stateNext:
		stateTime = 0.0
		state = stateNext
		if state == CIRCLES or state == SQUARES:
			for i in range(0,4):
				pointArray[i*3+0] = randint(0,15)
				pointArray[i*3+1] = randint(0,10)
				pointArray[i*3+2] = -i*20+randint(0,4) - 4
		if state == HYPNOTIZE:
			for i in range(0,8):
				pointArray[i]=-i*8

# ledmatrix-scroll by Andrew Oakley www.aoakley.com Public 
# Domain 2015-10-18
#
# Takes an image file (e.g. PNG) as command line argument and scrolls it
# across a grid of WS2811 addressable LEDs, repeated in a loop until CTRL-C
#
# Use a very wide image for good scrolling effect.
#
# If you have a low resolution matrix (like mine, 12x8 LEDs) then you will
# probably need to create your image height equal to your matrix height
# and draw lettering pixel by pixel (e..g in GIMP or mtpaint) if you want
# words or detail to be legible.
# Modified for 150 LEDs by Craig Richardson 24/01/2018

import time, sys, os, re
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
from neopixel import * # See https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixels-on-raspberry-pi/software
from PIL import Image  # Use apt-get install python-imaging to install this

# LED strip configuration:
LED_COUNT      = 150     # Number of LED pixels.
LED_PIN        = 18      # GPIO pin connected to the pixels (must support PWM!).
LED_FREQ_HZ    = 800000  # LED signal frequency in hertz (usually 800khz)
LED_DMA        = 5       # DMA channel to use for generating signal (try 5)
LED_BRIGHTNESS = 255     # Set to 0 for darkest and 255 for brightest
LED_INVERT     = False   # True to invert the signal (when using NPN transistor level shift)
LED_CHANNEL		= 0		 # Set to '1' for GPIOs 13, 19, 41,45 OR 53
LED_STRIP		= ws.WS2811_STRIP_RGB	#Strip type and colour ordering
# Speed of movement, in seconds (recommend 0.1-0.3)
SPEED=0.075

# Size of your matrix
MATRIX_WIDTH=15
MATRIX_HEIGHT=10

# LED matrix layout
# A list converting LED string number to physical grid layout
# Start with top right and continue right then down
# For example, my string starts bottom right and has horizontal batons
# which loop on alternate rows.
#
# Mine ends at the top right here:     -----------\
# My last LED is number 150                       |
#                                      /----------/
#                                      |
#                                      \----------\
# The first LED is number 0                       |
# Mine starts at the bottom left here: -----------/

myMatrix=[	149,148,147,146,145,144,143,142,141,140,139,138,137,136,135,
			120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,
			119,118,117,116,115,114,113,112,111,110,109,108,107,106,105,
			 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,100,101,102,103,104,
			 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75,
			 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,
			 59, 58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45,
			 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44,
			 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15,
			  0,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]


# pin used for the mode button
BTNPIN = 8

# we want picture mode when the button is off, which means we return 1 
# when the pin is 1, as the pin goes high when the  switch
# is disconnected from ground
def isPictureMode():
	input_state = GPIO.input(BTNPIN) 
	if input_state == True: 
		return 1
	return 0
	
# I got my LEDs from https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/50-X-12mm-LED-Module-RGB-Ws2811-Digital-Pixel-Addressable-LED-Strip-Waterproof-5/2074447882?_trksid=p2047675.l2644
# I also used an 74AHCT125 level shifter & 10 amp 5V PSU from https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC100V-240V-to-DC5V-10A-50W-Power-Supply-Adapter-DC-Female-for-LED-Strip-Light-/182208116955?var=&hash=item2a6c7338db
# Good build tutorial here:
# https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixels-on-raspberry-pi?view=all

# Check that we have sensible width & height
if MATRIX_WIDTH * MATRIX_HEIGHT != len(myMatrix):
  raise Exception("Matrix width x height does not equal length of myMatrix")

def allonecolour(strip,colour):
	# Paint the entire matrix one colour
	for i in range(strip.numPixels()):
		strip.setPixelColor(i,colour)
	strip.show()

def colourTuple(rgbTuple):
  return Color(rgbTuple[0],rgbTuple[1],rgbTuple[2])

def initLeds(strip):
  # Intialize the library (must be called once before other functions).
  strip.begin()
  # Wake up the LEDs by briefly setting them all to white
  allonecolour(strip,Color(255,255,255))
  time.sleep(0.01)

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM) 
# set the pull up resistor
GPIO.setup(BTNPIN, GPIO.IN, pull_up_down=GPIO.PUD_UP) 

# check if we're in picture mode
if not isPictureMode():
	print("Picture mode not set, exiting picture script.")
	quit()

imageList=[]
imageFile = ""
if os.path.isfile("/home/pi/ledmatrix/imagelist.txt"):
	f=open("/home/pi/ledmatrix/imagelist.txt",'r')
	imageList=f.readlines()
	f.close()
	start=0
	while start<len(imageList):
		match=re.search( '(?<=#)\w+', imageList[start], re.M|re.I)
		if match:
			imageFile = match.group(0)
			print("Found image %s" % imageFile)
			start = -1
			break
		start += 1
	if start == 0:
		print("No image found!")
		
# now try to open the image
try:
	loadIm=Image.open('/home/pi/ledmatrix/'+imageFile+'.png')
except:
    raise Exception("Image file %s could not be loaded" % imageFile)

# If the image height doesn't match the matrix, resize it
if loadIm.size[1] != MATRIX_HEIGHT:
  origIm=loadIm.resize((loadIm.size[0]/(loadIm.size[1]//MATRIX_HEIGHT),MATRIX_HEIGHT),Image.BICUBIC)
else:
  origIm=loadIm.copy()
# If the input is a very small portrait image, then no amount of resizing will save us
if origIm.size[0] < MATRIX_WIDTH:
  raise Exception("Picture is too narrow. Must be at least %s pixels wide" % MATRIX_WIDTH)

# Check if there's an accompanying .txt file which tells us
# how the user wants the image animated
# Commands available are:
# NNNN speed S.SSS 
#   Set the scroll speed (in seconds)
#   Example: 0000 speed 0.150 
#   At position zero (first position), set the speed to 150ms
# NNNN hold S.SSS
#   Hold the frame still (in seconds)
#   Example: 0011 hold 2.300
#   At position 11, keep the image still for 2.3 seconds
# NNNN-PPPP flip S.SSS repeat
#   Animate MATRIX_WIDTH frames, like a flipbook
#   with a speed of S.SSS seconds between each frame
#   Example: 0014-0049 flip 0.100 2
#   From position 14, animate with 100ms between frames
#   until you reach or go past position 49
#   for as many times as repeat is set to
#   Note that this will jump positions MATRIX_WIDTH at a time
#   Takes a bit of getting used to - experiment
# NNNN-PPPP ping S.SSS repeat
#   Animate MATRIX_WIDTH frames, like a flipbook back and forth
#   with a speed of S.SSS seconds between each frame
#   Example: 0014-0049 flip 0.100 2
#   From position 14, animate with 100ms between frames
#   until you reach or go past position 49
#   for as many times as repeat is set to
#   Note that this will jump positions MATRIX_WIDTH at a time
# NNNN jump PPPP
#   Jump to position PPPP
#   Example: 0001 jump 0200
#   At position 1, jump to position 200
#   Useful for debugging only - the image will loop anyway
txtlines=[]
#match=re.search( r'^(?P<base>.*)\.[^\.]+$', sys.argv[1], re.M|re.I)
#if match:
#	txtfile=match.group('base')+'.txt'
txtfile='/home/pi/ledmatrix/'+imageFile+'.txt'
if os.path.isfile(txtfile):
	print "Found text file %s" % (txtfile)
	f=open(txtfile,'r')
	txtlines=f.readlines()
	f.close()


# Add a copy of the start of the image, to the end of the image,
# so that it loops smoothly at the end of the image
im=Image.new('RGB',(origIm.size[0]+MATRIX_WIDTH,MATRIX_HEIGHT))
im.paste(origIm,(0,0,origIm.size[0],MATRIX_HEIGHT))
im.paste(origIm.crop((0,0,MATRIX_WIDTH,MATRIX_HEIGHT)),(origIm.size[0],0,origIm.size[0]+MATRIX_WIDTH,MATRIX_HEIGHT))

# Create NeoPixel object with appropriate configuration.
strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(LED_COUNT, LED_PIN, LED_FREQ_HZ, LED_DMA, LED_INVERT, LED_BRIGHTNESS, LED_CHANNEL, LED_STRIP)
initLeds(strip)

# And here we go.
try:
	while(True):
		time.sleep(2)
		# Loop through the image widthways
		# Can't use a for loop because Python is dumb
		# and won't jump values for FLIP command
		x=0
		# Initialise a pointer for the current line in the text file
		tx=0

		repeat = 0
		pinged = 0
		while x<im.size[0]-MATRIX_WIDTH:

			# Set the sleep period for this frame
			# This might get changed by a textfile command
			thissleep=SPEED

			# Set the increment for this frame
			# Typically advance 1 pixel at a time but
			# the FLIP command can change this
			thisincrement=1

			# Set for how many repeats a flip animation should do
			thisRepeat = 0
	  
			ping = 0
	  
			rg=im.crop((x,0,x+MATRIX_WIDTH,MATRIX_HEIGHT))
			dots=list(rg.getdata())

			for i in range(len(dots)):
				strip.setPixelColor(myMatrix[i],colourTuple(dots[i]))
			strip.show()

			# Check for instructions from the text file
			if tx<len(txtlines):
				match = re.search( r'^(?P<start>\s*\d+)(-(?P<finish>\d+))?\s+((?P<command>\S+)(\s+(?P<param>\d+(\.\d+)?))(\s+(?P<param2>\d+))?)$', txtlines[tx], re.M|re.I)
				if match:
					print "Found valid command line %d:\n%s" % (tx,txtlines[tx])
					st=int(match.group('start'))
					fi=st
					print "Current pixel %05d start %05d finish %05d" % (x,st,fi)
					if match.group('finish'):
						fi=int(match.group('finish'))
					if x>=st and tx<=fi:
						if match.group('command').lower()=='speed':
							SPEED=float(match.group('param'))
							thissleep=SPEED
							print "Position %d : Set speed to %.3f secs per frame" % (x,thissleep)
						elif match.group('command').lower()=='flip':
							thissleep=float(match.group('param'))
							thisincrement=MATRIX_WIDTH
							thisRepeat=float(match.group('param2'))
							print "Position %d: Flip for %.3f secs" % (x,thissleep)
						elif match.group('command').lower()=='hold':
							thissleep=float(match.group('param'))
							print "Position %d: Hold for %.3f secs" % (x,thissleep)
						elif match.group('command').lower()=='jump':
							print "Position %d: Jump to position %s" % (x,match.group('param'))
							x=int(match.group('param'))
							thisincrement=0
						elif match.group('command').lower()=='ping':
							thissleep=float(match.group('param'))
							thisincrement=MATRIX_WIDTH
							thisRepeat=float(match.group('param2'))
							ping = 1
							print "Position %d: Pinging for %.3f secs Repeat: %d" % (x,thissleep,thisRepeat)
					# Move to the next line of the text file
					# only if we have completed all pixels in range
					if x >= fi:
						print "End of line"
						if repeat >= thisRepeat and not ping:
							tx = tx + 1
							repeat = 0
						else:
							repeat = repeat + 1
							if ping:
								if repeat <= thisRepeat:
									pinged = 1
							else:
								x = st
				else:
					print "Found INVALID command line %d:\n%s" % (tx,txtlines[tx])
					tx=tx+1

			if pinged:
				x = x - thisincrement
			else:
				x = x + thisincrement
			if x <= st and ping == 1:
				x = st
				pinged = 0
			time.sleep(thissleep)

except (Keybo

Credits

craig richardson

3 projects • 2 followers

DIY 15*10 Dual Mode LED Matrix

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Story

The beginning

Setting up the Pi

A new purpose

The code

The last step

Challenges

Schematics

image1.png

Code

disco.py

image1.txt

imagelist.txt

picanim.py

Credits

craig richardson

Comments

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DIY 15*10 Dual Mode LED Matrix

DIY 15*10 Dual Mode LED Matrix

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Story

The beginning

Setting up the Pi

A new purpose

The code

The last step

Challenges

Schematics

image1.png

Code

disco.py

image1.txt

imagelist.txt

picanim.py

Credits

craig richardson

Comments

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