DOF Addressable LED – Help a Noob

[topper-2k]

Ok, my first cabinet is finally “complete.” So….   of course I’m already looking at upgrades.

Addressable LEDs seem like the most logical next step for me. But I have a few questions to help me start to plan this out. I’m planning something fairly standard with strips down the left and right side of the playfield and some sort of panel/matrix on the back wall.

Controller

I see most people use the Teensy controller. I also see that the Teensy is Arduino compatible. I happen to have an Arduino Uno just sitting about collecting dust. Can I use it and just follow the same instructions for the Teensy?

LED Strips

I also have some addressable LED strips left over from an old project. They are the 5v, 60 LED/meter variety. I see most people opt for the 144 LED/meter 12v variety. Any advice on whether I should bother trying to use the strips I have? The 12v ones look too bright, so I’m not super worried about that. I’m more concerned with the pixel density.

Matrix

The strips down the sides seem the most straightforward. But the matrix at the back looks more complicated. I have several questions about this.

1. If I try to make my own matrix, Are the 60 LED/meter strips adequate?
2. Has anyone used flexible addressable LED panels like these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33025679652.html ?
3. If I use those, a single panel is going to be too small to fill my back wall. Can I combine multiple panels? And if so, can I mix/match sizes? For example I might need a 8×32 and a few 8×8 panels to fill my back wall.

Many thanks for your help.

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[topper-2k]

I found some answers to my questions in these two threads on different forums.

http://vpuniverse.com/forums/topic/3060-is-there-a-tutorial-for-addressable-led-strips/

https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=36156

From those, it looks like those flexible led matrices are pretty commonly used and you can daisy chain more than one matrix together.

I also some samples of people who used the 60 led/meter variety of led strips for the sides of the cab. It looks fine to me, online anyway.

I guess that only leaves the questions about using an Arduino in place of the Teensy board. Anybody know about that?

 

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[outhere]

You will more than likely be disappointed you didn’t use the 144 For the sides
As far as the Arduino I don’t know but I would recommend this — Pinball Addressable LEDs board for addressable LEDs
https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=43173&hl=
This by setup  — https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=39093#entry393762

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[topper-2k]

Thanks, Outhere. The screw terminals on that board look pretty nice.

I’d still like to try using what I’ve already got. If the 60 led/meter strips disappoint, they should be pretty easy to upgrade. For the Arduino, I guess I’ll just have to try loading the Teensy code on there and see what happens.

I wish I’d seen Mike’s plunger kit when I was building my cabinet. I spent almost as much on a pieced together solution. His looks pretty slick.

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