Question on choosing LEDs.
Since I discovered that no AVR boards will ever work with WS2811/WS2812B LEDs[1], where shall I address my RGB adressable need? My project consist in merging MPU-6050 IMU (which is communicating with I2C and is using interrupts), MSGEQ7 for audio spectrum analysis and LED animation representing the two different data
[1] https://plus.google.com/116290059563092929907/posts/fWzNiEeDEbP
Apa102, adafruit sells them as dotstars
cool. Thanks Daniel.
Is Adafruit the only one selling APA102 LED strips this dense?
BTW, the chipset/led is the very same of this, right? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5m-DC5V-APA102-36-60LEDs-m-LED-Srip-White-Black-PCB-with-DATA-and-CLOCK-seperately/32313051749.html
No, if you search around on http://aliexpress.com you can find a number of suppliers, most cheaper as well.
Sorry to spamming you about resellers’ choices, and thanks for the quick feedback (I guess I’m going to test these one here http://www.aliexpress.com/item/APA102-5050-rgb-flexible-led-strip-144leds-m-144Pixel-m-DC5V-black-PCB-non-waterproof-IP65/32276316019.html
If you already have the WS2812’s, you can use OctoWS2811 as a driver for streaming the LED output without blocking interrupts, and still enjoy all the awesomeness that is FastLED. OctoWS2811 only runs on Teensy 3.1 [full disclosure - I’m the guy behind it], but if you’ve already bought a lot of LEDs, that’s a cheap way to make use of them. If you haven’t bought LEDs yet, APA102 gives you a lot more options. But if your project has a lot of LEDs and you don’t need persistence-of-vision PWM speed inside the LEDs, the extra expense for a Teensy & Octo driver board might be worth the savings for less expensive LEDs. Options are good. 
Hi Paul (I know who you are :)).
Options are always good.
I appreciate your comment, and I may follow your advice and finally give Teensy 3.1 a try. The point is that I want this project to run on any strip Fastled is compliant to. The project is sorta of a kit.
So I guess I’m taking the MPU-6050 out and use a simple gyro.
I’'ll keep you posted anyway.
Ciao for now
d
I just ordered some APA102’s from Ray Wu on Ali Express based on positive feedback I read on here. I haven’t received them but tracking says they left hong kong today. The price was amazing, $19 or $20 per meter IIRC.
What a coincidence: I have a couple 6050s, 1 msgeq7, and a bunch of LEDs sitting in a project box right here!
I’m designing a handheld ‘light-show’ device for a techno/club-loving friend. It will push light patterns through a 10" fiber-optic ‘tuft’ (like a floppy paint brush) and change in relation to its position/velocity/accel, combined with the timbre/tempo of music (that’s where the eq7 comes in). I experimented with the idea last fall, but since then other projects have taken priority. It’s good to know someone else is working on the exact same set of hardware - I’ll have to make time to work on this project now!
For my prototype I used NeoPixels, simply because they made it easy to run on 1 LIPO. Now that I’m more experienced, I may switch to APA102s - they’re better for POV effects. On the other hand, my device needs to fit in a small flashlight, and a NeoPxiel ring makes this easy.
The hardware side of development is relatively new to me, so soldering up a handheld device (the only way to get real-world data from the 6050) that won’t fall apart and can emit usable debug-data has been the biggest challenge… so far I think I’ve just scraped the surface of what the 6050 can do and I haven’t wired up the msgeq7 at all. Nonetheless, I’d love to touch base with you and share tips, tricks, or ideas.
Keep up the good work!
-Matt
PS: For a long time, I thought the timing requirements of the 2812s were causing 6050 buffer overruns. Recently, I learned that some 6050 libs are built with incorrect interrupt bitmasks - I thought I was responding to ‘data ready’ but I was actually responding to ‘overrun!’