BlinkyTape Fun — Blinkinlabs Forum

My Color Fade Example

oddacon — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 16:15:51 +0000

here is my color fade example for blinkytape. It randomly fades thru RGB. I recommended adding these files to your "production sketch" in the blinkytape examples or you can just add them in however works.

https://github.com/oddacon/BlinkyTape/blob/master/MyBlinkySketch/RandomColorFade.cpp
https://github.com/oddacon/BlinkyTape/blob/master/MyBlinkySketch/RandomColorFade.h

External USB-connected switch?

daveagp — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 16:09:29 +0000

Hi everyone,

I wanted to find out if there's some way to attach a bigger button to my blinkytape. I found this post which points out you can do it if you're willing to solder something new to the board.

However, is there another way to do it which takes advantage of the USB connection? What I'm wondering is, is there some kind of T-shaped cable that can go between the blinkytape and the power source, which can have a button and whose button state the Blinkytape can access over the USB interface?

Thanks to everyone who made the device possible, it's been a ton of fun so far!

Cheers,

Dave

Blinky Tape and video! ?? How to implement.

awardblvr — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 21:02:14 +0000

I have blinkytape (and blinky tile)...
I I have a video of blue water with sunlight reflecting off of it. I want to take 1 line of video and convert it into a blinky tape pattern. (resolution and playback rate not expected to be high.)

HOW TO DO THIS?

Blinkytape board battery supply

Katiej — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 01:39:20 +0000

I'm trying to make a hula hoop and was wondering if it would be possible to power the blinkytape using a battery supply connected to the pads at the back of the board instead of using the USB port?

Running Blinkytape processing code on arduino + neopixel strip: possible?

axel — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 14:52:07 +0000

Hi everyone, I have a BlinkyTape and I've found it lots of fun. I've especially enjoyed using it with processing programs to react to music (BlinkySpectrogram, BlinkyMusicShow and DiscoParty come to mind, all great programs). A friend of mine recently got an arduino (uno) and some led strips (neo pixel type, WS2812) and we were wondering if it is possible to run the programs designed for the BlinkyTape on the arduino + WS2812. Is it doable? Does it require efforts to adapt the programs? lots? ;) Any advice is welcome on this issue, we have a big party in about a week and would love to have multiple strips flashing away to the BlinkyMusicShow for instance! Cheers and thanks for the forum, it's been helped me out in getting my BT to do what I wanted to do. axel

Sparkle example

scott — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 11:49:51 +0000

Hello all, I wanted to share something I made the other week, inspired by the BlinkyShimmer by @dat It uses the Adafruit NeoPixel library, which I find to be more straightforward than FastLed. It's not the most elegant, but it works. Feel free to use or build upon as you like. https://www.dropbox.com/s/wmvsgidba2onc1h/vic4.ino

How to download animation from Blinkytape back to a PNG

baat — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 02:38:53 +0000

How could this be done? For example, I'd like to get the factory default rainbow animation as a PNG so I can use it as a starting point.

Multiple BlinkyTapes Connected together

milonti — Fri, 30 Dec 2016 01:35:31 +0000

Looking at the blinkytape, it looks like I could hook up a second strip to the first by soldering them along the 3 connectors. Would this work and still be programmable by PatternPaint? I want to make slightly longer strips to attach to a set of metal fans to create LED Flow Fans.

New PatternPaint release!

Matt Mets — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 18:32:51 +0000

Hi all,
After a long hiatus, we have a new version of PatternPaint available:
https://github.com/Blinkinlabs/PatternPaint/releases/

It fixes some instabilities, and implements some long outstanding features such as proper 'export for Arduino' support. We've also improved our development environment by setting up a build server to manage builds on Windows, macOS, and Linux, so hopefully this will help speed development in the future.

Cheers,
Matt

Edited to remove buggy URL

Go Library for the BlinkyTape

wI2L — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 12:48:47 +0000

Hello Folks

I've recently acquired a BlinkyTape to light up a custom PSU cover and i wanted to use Golang to control my own strip. Since i couldn't found a library with enough features, i've created my own.

I released it on Github at https://github.com/wI2L/blinkygo
The source is well documended and the Readme should be enough. It just lacks of tests at this moment (lazyness).

Let me know what you think.

William

Responsive BlinkyTape?

intenseapple — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 03:13:47 +0000

Hi guys, I just built a computer and wanted some custom lights for it. Upon buying the Blinkytape I realized that there was far less information about it than I had assumed. I am attempting to be able to run programs, probably form a batch file, when I do certain things on my computer such as run a program. I exported files from Patternpaint and added them to my Arduino project. This is one of the header files:
`#include ~stuff~

const uint8_t animationData[] PROGMEM = {
~RGB values~
};

Animation animation(66, animationData, ENCODING_RGB24, 60);
`
I always get the error: ~'ENCODING_RGB24' was not declared in this scope~ and I have no idea why. I am not very familiar with any libraries involved in using BlinkyTape, but I am using all BlinkyTape and FastLED libraries. Thanks !

Adding sensors to BlinkyTape

Matt Mets — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 04:27:07 +0000

This discussion was created from comments split from: What goes in the "diagnostic byte"?.

Flaky thin led strip

fern — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 22:39:08 +0000

Just got an ultra thin digital LED strip last month. Worked great connected to a Spikenzielabs Rainbow Light Show at home, took the combo to school (I teach) to demo RGB colors for a class.

Looks like in the transport to school, which wasn't rough, the first in pixel has gone flaky. Now the strip only works if I hold the first second section of the tape (from solder to first pixel) between my fingers. (Tested the Light Show with other strips). Strip is either off, flaky (sticks at one color) or behaves correctly.

Wondering the best strategy to debug and fix the strip. Cut off the first LED and solder new leads? Can't really alligator clip the pads past the first LED given the thin strip. Have postponed adding the JST connector for now.

Discoparty how to for noobs?

preske — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 17:01:09 +0000

So I'm trying to get Discoparty working, and quite franky, I don't get it. The discoparty page makes it looks like it's a simple "open program X and open Script Y and you're done."

I keep getting error after error, about missing libraries and files and what not. So what am I doing wrong? Processing help says it needs to be put in a very specific folder (which wasn't mentioned on the discoparty page).

The errors are

No library found for ddf.minim
No library found for ddf.minim.analysis
Libraries must be installed in a folder named 'libraries' inside the 'sketchbook' folder.

BlinkyTape and DMX - a HUGE Opportunity

Ken — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 11:42:22 +0000

I want to put this concept out to the community now, as I think there's a huge market waiting for the BlinkyTape if someone (probably not me) can do the coding to allow for easy control via DMX. The prosumer holiday lighting market is pretty substantial. One of the most popular systems is Light-o-Rama, which includes sophisticated sequencing software and lighting controllers for creating amazing displays. One of the products LOR sells is a pixel-level RGB light string that can be controlled via their sequencing software at the individual pixel level, making for some wonderful effects. These strings cost about $250 a pop. However, the LOR software will also put out DMX. There are a number of enthusiasts hacking together their own versions of the light strings with over-the-counter parts, but they are still very much in the DIY stages of development (usually soldering involved). I can imagine that if Blinkinlabs could make it possible to just download and install a sketch onto the BlinkyTape that would get it up and running on DMX immediately, the prosumer holiday lighting enthusiasts would go nuts for it.

BlinkyTape Tutorials

blinkyPea — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 19:08:56 +0000

I'm working on a set of very easy BlinkyTape Tutorial Applications.

The samples are meant to be very easy, and the progression to be very methodical (script 3 builds on scripts 1 & 2) samples. I'm in the very beginning of the work, but I wanted to share it as-is and see if others wanted to review what I have, offer suggestions or provide samples of your own.

Code lives here:
https://github.com/W7PEA/BlinkyTapeTutorials

Hope you find this useful!

Combat SAD -- Use BlinkyTape for Sunrise alarm clock?

JohnD — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:05:06 +0000

I've been looking for a reasonably priced sunrise alarm clock...they don't exist, and the overpriced ones that do seem to be white-light only. How cool to have a BlinkyStrip behind the headboard that can glow deep blue, and slowly brighten through orange hues and then brighter yellow? control the duration of "sunrise" with an input parameter. So I have this idea, but where would I start? could an arduino program be triggered from a commercial alarm clock?

FakeTV simulation via Blinkytape

speakerman — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 04:51:32 +0000

There is a product called "FakeTV" available from http://faketv.com which is a TV simulator, basically a set of LED"s with a program running which makes the light pattern in the darkened room appear to be from an actual television for security purposes. Has anyone designed a Blinkytape pattern which would look realistic enough to perform this function? trying to balance colors, speed, and avoiding obvious repetition It seems like it would be hard to do given the limited program space on the tape, but I think it could be done. Shall we start a challenge to see who can come up with the best pattern? I'll start off with my contribution, attached

Blinky PC Lighting: Project Snowblind

AZTricky — Mon, 11 May 2015 18:16:57 +0000

Hey guys, Thought I would stop by and show off my PC case lighting done with Blinkytape. I'd never seen a PC lightshow before, kind of like the ones you see of houses during Christmas so I wanted to see if I could do it myself. Here's the results! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTt1dBpbC_g

Blinky Tape Powershell example. Monitoring for missed Skype chat messages

sturwin — Thu, 21 May 2015 17:54:53 +0000

I've just received my BlinkyTape today and I've had lots of fun hooking it up to PowerShell and Skype to provide a more obvious visual indicator when I miss a chat message... A little over the top perhaps, but still fun. Note: this only works with 32-bit PowerShell as Skype is 32-bit only (sorry for the poor formatting): function flash() { $port= new-Object System.IO.Ports.SerialPort COM3,115200,None,8,One $port.open() $port.Write([byte]0xFF, 0, 1) for ($k=0; $k-lt3;$k++){ for ($j=0;$j-lt60;$j++){ for ($i=0;$i-le $j;$i++) { $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) $port.Write([byte]0xFE, 0, 1) } $port.Write([byte]0xFF, 0, 1) } for ($j=0;$j-lt60;$j++){ for ($i=0;$i-le $j;$i++) { $port.Write([byte]0xFE, 0, 1) $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) } $port.Write([byte]0xFF, 0, 1) } } for ($i=0;$i-lt60;$i++) { $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) $port.Write([byte]0x00, 0, 1) } $port.Write([byte]0xFF, 0, 1) $port.close() } $skype = New-Object -COM "Skype4COM.Skype" while (1) { if ($skype.MissedChats.count -gt 0){ "eek!" flash } sleep(10) } Cheers, Steve

Subliminal Words / Nystagmus?

andy — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:30:50 +0000

I really want to create a word that appears only when your shake your eyes past the light, as you turn away... kind of painting with light but onto your retina. I have created my word in pattern paint in a variety of methods and turned the speed up to max but its still not working. Im not too crash hot at coding so anyone who might be able to help with this fun little project would be held in great appreciation and I'll definitely get you a beer or two. Im starting to think that this wont be possible with the Blinkin Tape as the 60 LEDS might be too spaced out. Has anyone else tried this? Any ideas code would be great! My Uncle had an LED light from Guinness which used to do this but wasn't programmable.... just subliminal light of 'Guinness"

Programming BlinkyTape from Android?

Nentuaby — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 03:16:23 +0000

Has anybody yet created a way to program BlinkyTape from an Android device using e.g. ArduinoDroid? It seems like it would be very useful to be able to pull out one's phone and load a sketch from it, or program on a keyboarded tablet without the need to fetch a bigger laptop! If not, can somebody point me to the specs and learning resources I'd need to start cooking something of the sort up? Context: I am a professional software dev, however my usual beat is miles from the metal. I really don't have any idea how one writes an Arduino-oid 'programmer', or what BlinkyTape's programming protocol is.

New PatternPaint release: 0.3.0

Matt Mets — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 13:08:48 +0000

I just released a new version of Pattern Paint, with a number of improvements (the strip length can be modified, and the drawing area is now resizable): https://github.com/Blinkinlabs/PatternPaint/releases/tag/0.3.0 I'm working on adding full support for the LightBuddy controller, however I wanted to get this out to get some feedback on it's stability. The upload code has some major changes, so I'd appreciate any reports of how it works.

Worlds Best Sign Flipper trying for America Got Talent

flipperj13 — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:52:04 +0000

Hey everyone Im going for a million hopefully with your help looking to program my led sign. I used with blinky tape to go with a 3min performance for America Got Talent is there a way to program 3mins long of play time and if so how. Please YouTube me and subscribe flipperj13 Thank you

Blinky XMas Lights

ssozonoff — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 12:35:23 +0000

Here is a little sketch for the Blinky XMas lights for those interested. https://gist.github.com/ssozonoff/9d5df46b54759f7572b0#file-gistfile1-ino It uses the following library. https://github.com/cpldcpu/light_ws2812 Enjoy, Serge

Rearranging the pixels & control > BlinkyMatrix project [done]

Remon — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 15:12:18 +0000

Hi there! While in anticipation of the arrival of my first blinks tape as it seems a pretty unique offering I'm trying to solve the next issue. I will cut up the blinky and create 3 4x4 pixel panels from it, sized at +- 60x60 cm, to show some cool Xmas messages and possibly animations. For text I'll use a 4bit font. (No tears, I'll play with blinky as it is first for a day or two). Could I use the same blinky software and reconfigure it somehow to support my panels? Any other advice? If needed I can use a raspberry pi as well.

Connector on Blinky Light String

jackw — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:41:40 +0000

So this doesn't fit in any BlinkyTape category, but I got my Blinky Light String today. I like they colors and the quality of the LEDs because they're more shielded. One end of the string has the usb connector and the controller. The lights are connected by two pairs of wires, one white-red and one white-green. At the far end one pair (white-red) is just cut. The other pair (white-green) has this "interesting" black connector on it. Can anyone offer any info about these? Like is one pair power and the other pair data??

Controlling BlinkyTape with Switches

jonlangager — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 22:51:01 +0000

Hi, I'm interested in building an interactive device with BlinkyTape that includes changing the programming on the BlinkyTape using a physical switch. For example, if the switch is on one setting, the BlinkyTape remains totally lit with white light. If you flip the switch, it animates a programmed image using various colors. Can anyone give me advice on how to achieve this? With Arduino, perhaps? Or is there a simpler way of doing it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Python - Driving Time Meter

revsin — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 04:42:54 +0000

They've been doing some major road construction in my city lately and has made for some frustration. My commute home can take over an hour with traffic, I'm not in a hurry to get home as much as I'd rather not sit in stop'n'no-go traffic, wasting gas, wearing out my clutch, inhaling fumes. Plus it's going to be Winter soon and since I ride a motorcycle 90% of the year, I don't wanna freeze to death out there. 15 minutes is fine, hour plus of exposure is life threatening. I typically will just loiter at work after-hours till traffic subdues, rather surf the web for an hour than sit in traffic anyways. But at the same time, I'd rather be at home. So I wrote this script that takes starting/ending addresses, a desired driving time I think is tolerable to endure, how long I want the script to run. Then uses bing maps to find out what the current driving time will be with traffic, find the fastest route home, compare that to the desired time to get home and then prints out the time/route as well as lights up my BlinkTape with visual information. Each lit light is how many minutes long my driving time will be. The color of the light tells me if the drive time is longer than I'd like it to be or not.


from BlinkyTape import BlinkyTape
from time import sleep
import simplejson, urllib, sys, os, time

bb = BlinkyTape('/dev/tty.usbmodem1441')
bingkey = 'put your bing maps API key here' # <---- won't work without one! You'll need to get a Bing Maps API key, they are free within reasonable limits for personal/educational use

def blink(driving_time,desired):
	lights = []
	
	for x in range(60):
		if x < driving_time:
			rgb = 0,255,0 #green
			if driving_time > desired:
				rgb = 255,0,0 #red
			lights.append(rgb)
		else:
			rgb = 0,0,0
			lights.append(rgb)

	for d in range(60*5): #lazy, but keeps the lights on for 5 minutes before requesting more traffic/map data
 		time.sleep(1)
		for x in lights:
			bb.sendPixel(x[0],x[1],x[2])
		bb.show()

	
def travel(origin,destination,desired,runtime):
	url = "http://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/V1/Routes?wp.0={0}&wp.1={1}&optmz=timeWithTraffic&key={2}".format(str(origin),str(destination),str(bingkey))
	runfor = int(runtime / 5)

	for i in range(runfor):
		result = simplejson.load(urllib.urlopen(url))
		driving_time = round(result['resourceSets'][0]['resources'][0]['travelDuration']/60.0)

		print "Current travel time is: %s minutes" % (int(driving_time))

		if driving_time < float(desired):
			os.system('say GTFO') #Mac OSX method to read output aloud, this one says 'go home' in Southern
		else:
			shittosay = 'say "travel time is %s minutes"' % (int(driving_time)) #handy for when away from my desk
			os.system(shittosay)

		route = result['resourceSets'][0]['resources'][0]['routeLegs'][0]['itineraryItems']

		for i in route:
			for i in i['details']:
				if i.has_key('names'):
					print '%-20s: %-100s' % (i['maneuverType'],i['names'][0])
					
		blink(driving_time,desired)

travel('201 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN','W Valleywood Dr, Collierville, TN',15,60)

Is this possible TIME + Color + Fade

MIKEO — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 15:13:59 +0000

I want to create a simple fade on a single blinkytape. Basically all of the lights simultaneously running a program that goes from off, and slowly growing in intensity to bright red over a period of 5 secconds, then the red shifts into orange and sustains untill it is repeated again. We have a super cool video movie that needs this effect and i bought a couple of blinky tapes in hope that this would be easy. Most of the software seems to be about patterns and i am not up to speed with Processing or any other software to know how difficult this is going to be. Please throw me a bone... i will attempt to learn anything just could use the most straightforward path if possible!!! Thanks Mike