Build your own Mini-Jumbotron Workshop @ NYCResistor #BeagleBoneBlack @TXInstruments @BeagleBoardOrg

Trammell Hudson will be leading a workshop at NYCResistor featuring who to use the RGB LED Matrix “jumbotron” panels to create video display sculptures that run on a BeagleBone Black using the Octoscroller^2 cape and LEDscape code:

A few months ago we introduced Octoscroller, NYC Resistor’s eight-sided RGB LED matrix display built with jumbtotron RGB LED matrix panels. The interface “cape” has been reworked twice and the LEDscape source code has been refined to handle various arrangements of panels, from rectangular displays to larger polygons to six-sided cubes and miniature pyramids. We’ve also updated the code to receive from OPC and other transmitter formats, in addition to local drawing into a user-space framebuffer.

The good news is that we finally have the supply of panels and control boards to offer a class on building your own mini-jumbotron or other shaped display! Included in the class fee are eight of the 32×16 RGB panels, a BeagleBone Black with the Octoscroller^2 cape (capable of driving up to 64 panels at 30-60Hz), a 10A power supply and the wiring to put it together.

You can print or lasercut your own brackets based on how you want to arrange your panels — OpenSCAD and STL files for the octagon, cube and flat brackets are in the source, and Misumi 15mm extrusion works great for larger structural pieces….

Featured Adafruit Product!

Medium 16×32 RGB LED matrix panel: “Bring a little bit of Times Square into your home with this 16 x 32 RGB LED matrix panel. These panels are normally used to make video walls, here in New York we see them on the sides of busses and bus stops, to display animations or short video clips. We thought they looked really cool so we picked up a few boxes of them from a factory. They have 512 bright RGB LEDs arranged in a 16×32 grid on the front. On the back there is a PCB with two IDC connectors (one input, one output: in theory you can chain these together) and 12 16-bit latches that allow you to drive the display with a 1:8 scan rate.” (read more)

Each Tuesday is BeagleBone Black Day here Adafruit! What is the BeagleBone? The BeagleBones are a line of affordable single-board Linux computers (SBCs) created by Texas Instruments. New to the Bone? Grab one of our Adafruit BeagleBone Black Starter Packs and check out our extensive resources available on the Adafruit Learning System including a guide to setting up the Adafruit BeagleBone IO Python Library. We have a number of Bone accessories including add-on shields (called “capes”) and USB devices to help you do even more with your SBC. Need a nice display to go along with your Bone? Check out our fine selection of HDMI displays, we’ve tested all of them with the Beagle Bone Black!