Really Web Connected

So last week while searching for information on solar power I came across this post. Not only did this cover XBee wireless and some solar but it sparked my interest in the ioBridge.

My shiny new ioBridge came in yesterday and quickly it was connected to the internet and my arduino matrix setup. With a little change to my arduino code, adding a few simple if statements to decide what to show on the screens based on the serial input, I was able to type X, O, or G into a web page I created (with help from this post and this post) and instantly display it on my matrixes.

The next step would be to write a script that sent this information everytime the Snow Report system was updated.

Coming soon

Wireless connection with Xbee, solar power and more. The items are ordered and on their way.

2-8x8 working

Quick update today. I reorganized the 8x8 led and added a 2nd in sequence. We now have 2 8x8 leds displaying open/closed/groomed.

2 New Vids

Ok First we got the Red/Green function working for the 8x8 Matrix.

Secondly, we added a blue row to our LEDs and now show the open/closed/groomed status for 16 trails. I tried to make it a little easier to see the different rows by putting the cardboard on top. Here's a quick guide, Red = Closed, Green = Open, Blue = Groomed. Only one light will illuminate for each trail. Next step would be to do this with a single RGB LED. Also to note what it is doing, I create a quick startup sequence that runs when I reset the Arduino. Then I click 2 buttons I created in the flash program to turn on trails 1-8 & 9-16.

Today, I was able to hook-up an 8x8 R/G led matrix and display X,O and G in red. Still need to get Green going and then re-write the code in Flash so I can connect it to the internet.

Web Connected

So using AS3 Glue, I've been able to talk to the Arduino using flash. This allows me to load my XML file for trail status, parse it and send the data to the LEDs. I currently am showing the open closed status of 16 trails. Figuring using the arduino mega, and 74HC595 shift registers, I should be able to show the Open/Closed/Groomed status of 96 trails. This might get a little smaller to make room for wireless. Expanding to matrixes instead of individual LEDs or LEDs in parallel will add some other difficulties I'm sure. I could also replace the 74HC595's with a STP16C596 shift register and take 8 to 16, or run the matrixes with MAX7219CNG. More testing once some more parts get it. I'll get a video posted later today.

RGB LED Matrix