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Building A Pixel Matrix


Dcroc

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50 minutes ago, rgardner518 said:

I see some say indoor rated and some say outdoor rated. Does it "really" have to be outdoor rated? I say this because we all know not everything we use in our displays are outdoor rated...vampire plugs is just an example of something not outdoor rated and we ALL use them on our displays for years, lol.

Only sort of.  If the P10 is in a TRULY weather protected location, you can put bare P10 panels outside.  I have for the past two seasons.  Here are two photos that show how my P10 matrix was mounted.  I fully admit that the only reason I did that was because of a lack of time.  I got that mounted about 4 hours before my opening night event - and I still had to bake a few hundred chocolate chip cookies...

Front_of_House_2018-12-03.jpg

P10_2018_mounting-1.jpg

Even if you do have weatherproof panels, you will still need an enclosure because the Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone that drives it is not waterproof.

The other catch with outdoor panels is that they are intended primarily for advertising billboard that can be seen in daylight.  That means that they are seriously BRIGHT!

39 minutes ago, rgardner518 said:

Your p10 matrix looks amazing...yet this guy makes p10...look bad, lol

P10 panels have LEDs every 10mm.  P5 panels have LEDs every 5mm - four times time pixel density.  If you are very far away, you may not notice much difference, but particularly if you are close, the P5 will look better.  This photo shows my P10 and P5 matricies hanging in my family room.  For my application, the P5 will have people within a few feet of it whereas in most cases, the audience is much farther away from the P10 matrix.

Matrix_panels_hanging_close-up.jpg

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With all your help I think I have decided to go with P5 if I do a matrix board.

I'm thinking lexan comes in the biggest 48"x96". So I think I can do 7x7 and still have play for frame around it. But I think that number will not work out. So I may have to do 6x7...I fear I maybe stuck do 6x6. I want to go a big as possible. But it seams where I'm having issues is finding a clear piece of plexiglass product to cover the front to waterproof. Unless I do a seam down the middle, and that would look like [Foul Language Used]!

Now...how do I control it? What Im seeing on YouTube is something about raspberry controller software that's NOT lor. Im sorry but I want to stay with lor! So i dont know what do do.

Any opinions?

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1 hour ago, rgardner518 said:

Now...how do I control it? What Im seeing on YouTube is something about raspberry controller software that's NOT lor. Im sorry but I want to stay with lor!

Currently the only way to control a P10 or P5 panel is with Falcon Player.  Don't let that scare you.  Falcon Player can be set up in Bridge mode which make it simply appear to be an E1.31 controller - and LOR controls E1.31 controllers just fine.  That is how I am running my matricies.  Falcon Player (also called FPP) gets installed on either a Raspberry Pi or a BeagleBone single board computer.  Installation is as simple as downloading a file and writing that to a uSD card.  There are a couple settings to do, but that's about 5 minutes, and you're done.

 

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9 hours ago, rgardner518 said:

I see some say indoor rated and some say outdoor rated. Does it "really" have to be outdoor rated? I say this because we all know not everything we use in our displays are outdoor rated...vampire plugs is just an example of something not outdoor rated and we ALL use them on our displays for years, lol.

Saw this video that if I build something like that allows me to get indoor P10's.

So now to find a P10 chat about how boards are made. Any advice?

there is a Facebook group dedicated to all things P10 and P5

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7 hours ago, rgardner518 said:

With all your help I think I have decided to go with P5 if I do a matrix board.

I'm thinking lexan comes in the biggest 48"x96". So I think I can do 7x7 and still have play for frame around it. But I think that number will not work out. So I may have to do 6x7...I fear I maybe stuck do 6x6. I want to go a big as possible. But it seams where I'm having issues is finding a clear piece of plexiglass product to cover the front to waterproof. Unless I do a seam down the middle, and that would look like [Foul Language Used]!

Now...how do I control it? What Im seeing on YouTube is something about raspberry controller software that's NOT lor. Im sorry but I want to stay with lor! So i dont know what do do.

Any opinions?

Look around at glass/window companies, you can get lexan in any size you want.   In my case I had to drive a couple of hours but I was able to get what I needed and they cut it for me (needed it 54" x 54").  you can find raspberry Pi's at Amazon for $35.  FPP is a free download and there is no shortage of help configuring it.

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14 hours ago, caniac said:

there is a Facebook group dedicated to all things P10 and P5

Thanks...I just joined it. Ive been trying to join the LOR Facebook gr for months. And its still pending. Anyone know John Wiechmann?

Screenshot_20200728-185710_Facebook.jpg

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4 hours ago, rgardner518 said:

Thanks...I just joined it. Ive been trying to join the LOR Facebook gr for months. And its still pending. Anyone know John Wiechmann?

Screenshot_20200728-185710_Facebook.jpg

FYI- You do know that the LOR FB Group you mention does not represent LOR. However Light O Rama does have a FB group buts its usually active during the LOR contest times.

Just wanted to inform you

JR

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  • 1 month later...

I have built a matrix controller using the Beaglebone Black and Octascroller and have it running FPP, but, I'm not exactly sure how to define the matrix prop in S5. Can anyone offer an advice or share their setup? Thanks.

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31 minutes ago, David in Apache said:

I have built a matrix controller using the Beaglebone Black and Octascroller and have it running FPP, but, I'm not exactly sure how to define the matrix prop in S5. Can anyone offer an advice or share their setup? Thanks.

You may want to start your own thread in the S5 section of the forums for a better reply.

JR

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1 hour ago, David in Apache said:

I have built a matrix controller using the Beaglebone Black and Octascroller and have it running FPP, but, I'm not exactly sure how to define the matrix prop in S5. Can anyone offer an advice or share their setup? Thanks.

That's easy.  Here is my 4W x 3H P10 matrix as shown in the S5 Preview Editor.  The only thing not shown is the last few universes.

P-10_matrix_prop_in_S5.png

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