I just found out about this group. I built a 6’ LED staff with 1500 WS2812Bs, running FastLED on a Teensy. Originally a Burning Man project, but now I take it everywhere I go.
https://vimeo.com/196496943
Uh yeah… we’ll be needing a build tutorial on that. Awesome!
Yisssss.
You’ll need some kind of back scabbard to sling it over your shoulder like some techno monk. I found that carrying a staff around everywhere is tiring because you only ever have one hand free. My other idea is small folding legs so you can kick them down and let the staff stand on its own for a bit.
That is one great staff.
Glad you found us LED addicts. Welcome.
lol NICE! i take my LED Fedora everywhere i go lol
There is no 12 step program for this addiction, the only limits here are money and amperage
Lol im short on the money
Welcome 
. I love the diffusion against the corner- giving me ideas! But seriously let’s see some footage of you grocery shopping with this bad boy
How about adding a couple of small motors mounted perpendicularly to each other, with small flywheels, and the motors controlled by an Arduino with input from an accelerometer/gyro? You could just set it up on end and it would sit there “magically” on its own. 
@allanGEE I’m confused by the perpendicular motors concept - one flat on the bottom and the other next to it on the side? Do you have an example?
Hmmm… hard to explain with words. The orientation of the flywheels would be the same as two clocks hanging on walls 90-degrees to each other.
Now, let’s say you’re facing one of the flywheels and we say it’s axle is pointing front to back. The flywheel is already spinning clockwise. The 3 o’clock position would be right, and the 9 o’clock left. If the flywheel starts leaning to the right, the flywheel increases speed to bring push the top of the staff to the left. The other flywheel would control “front to back” movement the same way.
I remember seeing someone use one flywheel to keep a bicycle standing upright.
Here’s the best example I can find on short notice. https://youtu.be/d1Uy7bU6TII
@allanGEE that sounds insanely awesome!
@Elliott_Kember what material did you use for the body of the staff? I used a plastic tube thats used for protecting light bulbs for a lightsaber for my bro. But that material is too flexible and would suck as a staff. And PVC would diffuse the LEDs too much to see them individually as i can see them on your staff. Very interested in making myself one. Would go great with my light up fedora and tie lol
Very cool Elliott.
It looks like you wrapped the strings around the staff like a giant matrix…
Is that choose to accurate.
I’d like to see that tutorial as well…
@allanGEE ah ha! I see now and Yes that would be awesome! I’ve never worked with motors or servos. One of these days I’ll find a minute for a little project to experiment.
Power source?
Wait… power source? It isn’t a REAL magic staff?
@allanGEE lol
Looks amazing… how DO you power that thing?!
We all want to know @Mark_Kriegsman