Using WS2812B strips as a matrix

[GrayOrion]

Hi!
I have a bunch of 4' long WS2812B strips mounted on strips of wood that are mounted with 3d printed clips, allowing me to use them in different configurations. I would love to use them as a matrix as well (to create wider effects or to display text). For the life of me I cannot figure out if there is an actual simple way to define a matrix zigzagged led strips in the projects (I have an din and dout on the ends, so I would just ideally chain them and inject some power ever so often).
Help please!
Oh, I am running them on Seeed Studio esp32-s3 which was not too hard to do with this project, but have not added too many effects so far...

[robertlipe]

Hi, and welcome. The literal answer to the question you asked is "no". But that's probably not the answer you're looking for. The pixel-blasting code likes to think that there's one giant pixel array that gets sent to a device. You've surely seen references to gfx->leds[] everywhere in the various effects. The "trick" is to slice that strip up, exactly like you've done physically, only logically. There's a MATRIX_HEIGHT and MATRIX_WIDTH defined in the header, but for things that aren't HUB75, they're not used super consistently. (The 3-panel audio spectrum analyzer is probably the most notable exception.) There is a combination of a macro (gfxbase.h:XY), a function (gxfbase.cc:XY) and a virtual method (gfxbase:xy) that may be in play. I THINK if you set MATRIX_HEIGHT and MATRIX_WIDTH to appropriate values for your frame, you should (might?) fall into the definition of xy() that handles the common xy-looping model you're describing. There's even ASCII art to describe it. So set those two #defines, confirm with your debugger that _height and _width are set correctly when GFXBase is constructed in gfxbase.cc:254 or so, sanity check that GetLEDCount() matches what you think it should be, and then see if our various matrix-aware code will play nice. We have a bunch of convenience operators like drawPixel() that takes x, y that should make manging them as a grid much more palatable. I've thought about adding virtual scrolling marquee text for hardware like the aforementioned wide panels of the 16x16 panels. I think we already have fonts in the project for Mesmerizer. Good luck!

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On Sat, Jan 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM Gray Oron ***@***.***> wrote: Hi! I have a bunch of 4' long WS2812B strips mounted on strips of wood that are mounted with 3d printed clips, allowing me to use them in different configurations. I would love to use them as a matrix as well (to create wider effects or to display text). For the life of me I cannot figure out if there is an actual simple way to define a matrix zigzagged led strips in the projects (I have an din and dout on the ends, so I would just ideally chain them and inject some power ever so often). Help please! Oh, I am running them on Seeed Studio esp32-s3 which was not too hard to do with this project, but have not added too many effects so far... — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#676>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ACCSD37V5D4W7Q34NTSHQWD2KHQIFAVCNFSM6AAAAABVATD666VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43ERDJONRXK43TNFXW4OZXHAYDSNZVHA> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[GrayOrion]

Thank you @robertlipe!
That gives me plenty to work from, good to know there is no (clear) implementation of that yet.
I might just have to document my steps well and post something here for future reference, or better yet, suggest some code/config changes :-)

[robertlipe]

I think you'll find all the needed pieces there. The gate was on "simple". Certainly the spectrum project uses all the parts as the 8x8 panels that it uses are wired in the same layout as you're describing. It sets up width and height at https://github.com/PlummersSoftwareLLC/NightDriverStrip/blob/08d1895783da955584534930ee3e329b6b87ec2e/include/globals.h#L597 It is then able to address them at the software level like an x/y frame buffer. Good luck!

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On Mon, Jan 13, 2025, 3:20 PM Gray Oron ***@***.***> wrote: Thank you @robertlipe <https://github.com/robertlipe>! That gives me plenty to work from, good to know there is no (clear) implementation of that yet. I might just have to document my steps well and post something here for future reference, or better yet, suggest some code/config changes :-) — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#676 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ACCSD3YP3IP2R2ESL2Y6R4T2KQUYHAVCNFSM6AAAAABVATD666VHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTCOBSGQ4DINI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: <PlummersSoftwareLLC/NightDriverStrip/repo-discussions/676/comments/11824845 @github.com>