Hardware - mens-amplio/config GitHub Wiki

Necessary equipment for lighting dev:

  • Raspberry Pi
  • SD card. At least Class 4. Not sure about minimum size - I just got 16gb because it wasn't much more expensive than smaller ones.
  • USB keyboard, USB mouse, and external monitor with HDMI out - once everything is set up you can connect headlessly by SSH instead, but will need these for initial configuration.
  • 5V micro-USB power supply for Pi
  • LEDs. We are using 12V WS2801 LED strands ordered in bulk from China. We may have extras to loan to people, but I'm not sure yet. Adafruit sells an equivalent product for those who want their own. It's 5V instead of 12V, but that doesn't matter for dev purposes: http://www.adafruit.com/products/322 Any other strand that uses the WS2801 chipset should also work. I believe they show up on eBay, etc.
  • Power supply for LEDs (either 12V or 5V, depending on your LEDs; at least 60ma/pixel). I just found an old wall wart and cut the end off.
  • A breadboard and whatever jumper wires/alligator clips/etc you need to connect everything to everything else.
  • (Optional, but highly useful) Breakout board: http://www.adafruit.com/products/914
  • (Optional) Wifi dongle: http://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7811Un-Wireless-Adapter-Wizard/dp/B003MTTJOY/

Connecting the LEDs:

  • Red LED wire to +12v (or +5V if you have 5v LEDs) power supply. Don't try to drive the LEDs from the Pi - they draw too much current.
  • Black LED wire to both power supply ground and Raspberry Pi ground
  • Yellow (data) LED wire to MOSI
  • Green (clock) LED wire to SCLK

Misc other equipment: