90 x 16 Addressable LED sign with Arduino Uno and Bluetooth

I have added the ability to select the background color to my LED sign software.  The format is 080100 TEXT.  The numbers are for RGB foreground colors and RGB background colors.  Our cat Momo photobombed one of my video shoots.

Here is the video:


This is a picture of the controller.  The Bluetooth module is plugged directly into D0 and D1 at the top.  The network jack has eight 330 ohm resistors in series.  Power comes in on the Vin and ground pins.

The strips come in rolls of five meters or 16.4 feet and need to be cut into 4 or 5 foot lengths depending on the size of the sign.

Here I am adding the strips to a sign board background.

This is the back side of the sign. Power comes into all 16 LED strips but the lower eight have their data from the other side of the top eight strips.  There are two power connectors for five volts at 15 amps each.  You can connect them together to a 5 volt 30 amp power supply.

 This is the eight data wrap around lines from the top eight strips going to the lower eight strips.

This next picture is of some LED strip lights decorating some windows.  I used automotive trim tape to hold the strips in place

Here are two pictures of one of my signs in a store window.

Here is another Video showing some new features.

Panasonic AG-HVX200 Recorder with DigitNow! P2 Card Alternative

I purchased a DigitNow! Video Capture Device to use as a P2 card alternative.  It works at 720P with a Panasonic AG-HVX200 Camera. You have to select the input every time you turn it on.  It has built in RCA jacks that makes connection it to the camera easier and more reliable.  It also has a wired remote "Record" Button.  It costs about the same as a Panasonic P2 card but can work with any USB memory stick.

Here is the video recorded on the DigitNow! recorder.


Here are front and back views of the DigitNow! video recorder.

Quick and Easy Retrofit Fluorescent Street Sign With LED's

I recently retrofitted a street sign with a 10 meter (about 33 feet) string of 24 volt LED's and a 24 volt three amp AC adapter.  I was thinking of taping the LED's to the sides of the bulbs, but then I realized that if I wrap the leds around the bulbs they would be held in place much better.  This sign needed three 5 foot (Very hard to find)  light bulbs and likely a new ballast.  The LED conversion took all of 10 minutes to do.  Total power consumption is now about 50 Watts.

This picture was taken at 9 AM in the morning, it looks like it was dark out because of the camera compensating for the brightness of the LED's.

This is the label that was on the LED strip.  It could be bought with waterproofing already done but you can also spray on a clear coat of waterproofing.

The LED strips cost about $20 and the 24 Volt AC adapter was laying around.  Here is an advertisement for a 10 Meter strip of LED's like the ones I used.