Over the last couple of years, Pixelblaze controllers have been a mainstay on my workbench along with bits of wire, masking tape, soldering irons, LED strips, scribbled schematics, recycled 18650’s and lots of half-baked ideas. These items have slowly transitioned into finished projects and I’ve made a video showing four of these “blinky light things”. They all live in our pine-panelled, orangey-brown-vinyl-floor-tiled basement that has a 1960’s rec room vibe, sharing the space with vintage Maytag laundry equipment and a modest gym. The room is called Glitch’s Hot Laundry because it’s a laundromat, gym and private nightclub. There is a sound system with 4 speakers, a decent 10” powered sub-woofer, and of course, lots of lighting powered by Pixelblaze!
The video shows two black LED acrylic light boxes, “Trees” wall art, and an Ikea floor lamp.
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Light Box 3.0 (Pair of black LED acrylic light boxes)
These are my 3rd generation of sound-reactive light boxes. Thanks to this black LED acrylic post from @teaderechoweb on this forum last year, I saw how awesome this acrylic is for showcasing LED lighting. The boxes are built around a 12” x 12” piece of 3mm black LED acrylic. There are 289 WS2812B RGB LEDs (60/m) in a 17 x 17 zigzag matrix mounted on a sheet of .025” aluminum. The LEDs have 23mm clearance from the top of the diode to the back of the acrylic sheet. Each box has a 3S2P 18650 lithium battery pack with charge and balance ports wired to connectors on the back panel for charging from an iMax B6AC V2 charger. A Tobsun 75w 12V-5V DC DC converter supplies the 5V and there is also a battery monitor to warn when voltage gets low. A Pixelblaze Standard V3 controller is mounted behind a speaker cloth covered cutout in the rear of the box which allows the mic on the sensor board better access to sound. You can also see through the cloth to check the voltage of the battery pack. -
Trees
This is a canvas-mounted black and white photograph showing a view skyward through tall trees on a misty day. My wife stumbled across it at a discount houseware store and thought it would work as a Pixelblaze demonstration canvas. It measures 37” x 25” x 1.75” and there are 1144 WS2812B RGB LEDs mounted on a hardboard panel about 13mm from the back of the canvas which gives excellent diffusion. When operating after dark you don’t notice the trees, while during the day it looks exactly like any normal piece of wall art. There are two 3S 18650 lithium battery packs, an RCNUN 100w 12V-5V DC DC converter, a digital voltage meter just barely visible through the bottom left-hand corner of the canvas and, of course, a Pixelblaze Standard V3 controller with sensor board. -
Floor lamp
This is an IKEA “Vidja” floor lamp that was rescued from the neighbour’s free pile following their yard sale. The slightly tired and worn condition takes nothing away from its striking effect. The 120V guts have been removed and 520 SK6812 RGBWW LEDs mounted on a length of 5” galvanized steel c-vent (aluminum would have been lighter, but I already had the steel!) in a zigzag of 13 columns of 40 LEDs. The LEDs are only on the front 2/3rds of the lamp, nothing on the back 1/3rd. There are two 3S 18650 lithium battery packs, an RCNUN 100w 12V-5V DC DC converter mounted down low, a digital voltage indicator and switch mounted on the centre top post, and of course, a Pixelblaze Standard V3 controller with sensor board. This lamp is also a perfectly functional warm white, cordless, dimmable floor lamp… until the party starts!
Party in a Box lights are all cordless and easily moved to another location. The atmosphere created by these lights elevates the energy level of a party. They appear very bright in the lower light levels that you typically see at a nightclub or party. Power levels are set at 50% brightness level in the main setting and around 20% to 25% on the slider at the top of the Patterns page in the GUI. With their current battery packs, all of these lights will run for about 7 hours.
Although I didn’t document the construction of these lights very well, I do have the component lists, dimensions, materials, and some photos taken during assembly. I’ll try to write a build guide for each of them and hopefully post soon.
