Description
One Controller, No Network, No Laptop
The SPI LED Controller runs a pixel installation on its own. Not every project needs a network, a console and a laptop in the corner. Some just need the light to work every day. Therefore this controller keeps the whole job on one small board.
What Does the SPI LED Controller Do?
The board drives one SPI output with up to 1024 addressable pixels. It also plays effects back on its own, or follows a DMX512 desk. So you can start simple and add live control later.
Stand-Alone Playback From an SD Card
Load your effects onto a micro SD card and drop it in. The controller then plays them back in stand-alone mode, with no software and no PC. Because the buttons sit on the board, you switch effects by hand. That is often all a showcase, a bar or a small architectural feature needs.
DMX Pixel Mode For Live Control
When a lighting desk joins the rig, the same board becomes a DMX512 fixture. In pixel mode your console sends pixel data straight through. One pixel can hold a single LED or a whole group of LEDs. Therefore you can trade resolution for channel count.
DMX Trigger Mode For Stored Effects
Trigger mode works the other way round. Instead of pixel data, one DMX channel calls up effects from the SD card. As a result, the DMX line stays light and the show repeats reliably.
How Do You Wire the SPI LED Controller?
DMX arrives and leaves over RJ-45 connectors. So the controller daisy-chains with standard network cable. If you need 3-pin XLR, the user manual holds the complete adapter scheme. Pluggable 5 mm terminal blocks take the power and the SPI output.
Power, Pixels and Supported LED Chips
One SPI output drives up to 1024 pixels. It also works with the common addressable LED families, so WS, TM and APA chips all fit.
Power the board with anything from 5 to 24 V to match your strip. The board itself draws only 0.3 A. Because up to 10 A passes on to the LEDs, strip and controller share one supply.
Where the SPI LED Controller Earns Its Place
Shop windows, bars, stage props and small architectural features all suit this board. It also clips onto DIN rail, so it sits neatly in a cabinet. When a show starts, however, the lighting desk takes over. Showtacle designs and builds every unit in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Do you need more than one? Then the three-unit bundle saves you 50 EUR.
