4x1 RGB-LED-Ring/Rotary Encoder PCB Bulk Order

#38

Ok so here’s a summary:

  • Production run arrived and is working perfectly fine. Looks amazing too.
  • Breakable LED PCB with 4x32 ws2812 2020 LEDs, 3 pin connectors
  • Encoder PCBs with 2x 74HC595 and 4 encoder slots
  • Additional test points on the encoder board for 4-8 remaining 74HC595 channels, for use with additional buttons etc. 4 or 8 depends on whether you use encoder with ir without switches.
  • Net price per set (1 LED PCB, one ENC PCB, you need to buy & solder encoders and connectors everything else is assembled) 22 EUR
  • Add shipping cost to that. I am shipping from Europe. Within EU, around 4 EUR uninsured, 7 EUR insured. US shipping tbd. I could ship them from the US end of october.
  • If you need a business invoice, add 19% VAT.
  • I will reach out to everybody who showed interest. I have a small amount of extras so hit me up on this forum via DM or via mail rgbledring at gmail

I’ll post some more pics and details on my experiences and mounting options asap. As I described in earlier posts, these are supposed to work with all major embedded platforms, specifically Arduino, axoloti and midibox. But you are only buying the hardware from me, no guarantees, no software support etc etc etc. The Encoder boards were originally designed for the midibox platform so they come with a 10pin IDC connector slot. I will provide pinout and schematics to buyers of course.

#39

Hey there,
as you can see on the forum the production run is finally finished and successfully tested. Final price is 22 EUR per set, plus shipping from europe, and if you need an invoice, you have to add your local sales tax.

Please let me know if you are still interested, in how many, what your preferred form of payment is and where to ship to. Also of course feel free to ask any questions.
Please respond via email to philip.meckseper@gmail.com

Best,
Philip

#40

Nice work on these, Phil. My only gripe is that I think the connection stems between the sections are a lot thicker than they need to be, and I'd have ditched the centre stem completely due to proximity to the LEDs.

As you know, I'm not in a position to even use these yet, but I have question for when I am. My question is about LED brightness; is it feasible to drop a resistor (or better sill, variable resistor) pre LED so that it can be used to control LED brightness?

I can't image why not, but checking just in case.

#41

thanks man, yeah i am actually not too happy about the inner break rings for the encoder shafts. it was meant so that both bourns PEC11 and PEC16 fit, but different from the prototype the manufacturer wasn't able to stick to the thinness of the original design. so PEC16 migght actually sit a little loose right now if you break the ring.the break pads between the board segments shouldnt be an issue, if you use a small saw.

on brightness, you'll have a hard time squeezing resistors between those 2020 SMD pads. but these are WS2812 LEDs which are easily adressable per SPI, meaningg you can set a different colour for each on the software side. The overall brightness on my demos is at 20 out of 255, these are super bright. and then you can dim individual LEDs through the color code, eg. where red is 255,0,0 you can get dim red with 127,0,0 etc.
so, no need for resistors

#42

Lol, I didn't mean slotting one between each LED on the board, I thought perhaps there might have been a tap-in point on the board to dim either the entire board or a single ring at once using one resistor :grin:

Actually though, the solution you have is much better as it can be dimmed through colour intensity - very nice!

#43


@severino32 your phrasing makes it sound like you meant to post in this thread? i should be able to supply another 9 but with that amount of LEDs you need to be aware of some issues, ie. you won't be able to control them with axoloti directly but you'd rather need a teensy to take care of the adressing. bear in mind 33 encoder times 32 LEDs are over a thousand LEDs which also surpassed the WS2812 internal limit for one data chain, so you need to use 2-3 serial lines from your arduino.

that being said, i personally will use 40-45 encoders in one synth so i am confident it will work. just making sure you are aware of what you are getting yourself into.

and a friendly reminder you guys are only buying the hardware from me. i didn't get around to writing axoloti objects for the boards yet. but again, i am confident it will work as first tests worked just fine, everything has been done already just has to be implemented in a more convenient way.

#44

That sounds exciting!

Yeah, I know, I plan to use 3 or 4 arduino boards for this project.

Awesome!

I sent you a private message, I can't wait to get my hands on these boards :slight_smile:

#45

Wow I'm bummed I missed out on this, but I guess .. there's a chance of another batch? Seems ideal for my Axoloti project. ..

#46

This is quite amazing! I have heard that WS2812 LEDs can create audible 400 HZ switching noise in analog audio circuits but newer Dotstar LEDs have much higher switching frequency (i think 18KHz) Have you experienced any issues regarding noise and audio with WS2812's?

Regardless of that i am quite excited to see these beautiful LED rings! Thank you for making them. I'd really love to purchase a few (3 boards, about 12 individual rings or more) of them. Not for the axoloti but for controlling a few analog guitar pedals that i have using digital potentiometers and i'm going to use an arduino for MIDI I/O and LED driving.

I have sent you and email and I’m hoping that you are still going to manufacture some.

Thanks! :ok_hand::+1:

#47

Hello!
I found this forum while desperately searching for a small Midi Controller. Seems here I found something that could be for me. Just tell me if this board will allow to do that:
-A midi controller with 4 rotary encoder with led for knowing were my settings are. Midi In/Out. That's all!
It's for controlling a Zoia.
I can manage myself with electronic but I'm a newbie with DIY Midi controller.
So if someone could point me in the right direction and what I need to buy.
-Seems I need your 4 knob/led module and...
Thanks!

#48

oops sorry guys yes i still have some spAres left, send me a dm for details! or if you did alread, i'll look at it now haha.

@Sharco i have all kinds of noise issues in m quite complex synth build (9 MCUs, tons of OLEDs, UI and analog stuff) atm so it's kind of hard to pinpoint LED noise. that being said i run the LED boards on a completely seperate power circuit and PSU and remember getting ridd of a bunch of noise when i started doing that.

@dantahoua imho what ou are trying to do could easily be realized with just a teensy and 4 of my knobs. teensy implementation is a breeze andd then sending midi to the zoia too. fwiw i am also planning a little controller for my zoia, but didn't even plan to use the led rings, just classic pots w/ value pickup. 30$ build, and i didn't wanna make the zoia unit overl complex. but i'd still be very interested in what ou ddo and happy to support whereever i can.

#49

@weasel79 , thanks. So if I understand well I have to buy a Teensy (4.0 with pin) and 4 of your knobs?
Where can I buy the know from you? Do you have rotary encoder also?
Thanks

#50

Yeah i could send some out this week.
Regarding encoders: two brands that fit are bourns and alps. The latter is more expensive but feels much nicer, like a pot. I don’t have any alps stock currently cause i used them all in my synth but if you want the bourns anyways i could supply you some. Where are you based tho? Might be easier to order the exact type you want yourself. Iirc mouser and rs both carry the alps, bourns is even easier to get. Pec-11 resp. stec-11 series.

#51

Hi! do you still have some of these?
If so I would like to order 4 units (like the pic below) :slight_smile:

#52

Is those one would be good? https://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/bourns-inc/PEC11R-4015F-S0018/PEC11R-4015F-S0018-ND/4699185
There is a lot. This one has 18 incremental, I see other with 20, 15, 11... Which one is good or they all work? I'll make another thread when I will start the project.
Isi it 22Euro for 4 boards or just for one?
Just for general information (don't want to destroy your thread) I also found some other Rotary with Led small board online, don't know if they are compatible with Teensy, but it looks interesting. I'll not post the link here to respect your product (which is great!), but you just have to search for "mikroe Rotary B click". :slight_smile:

#53

i recommend the PEC11L over the PEC11R series, lower profile and better specified longevity. regarding amount of detents etc, all up to our personal preference and use case. they basically all work. there's "no-detent" versions if you want more of a classic pot feel. and the PCBs support encoders with or without switches.

22 EUR plus shipping for 2 PCBs (one encoder, one LED) that hold 4 rings/encoder respectively. you get exactly what ou see on the last picture i posted.

i'm aware of these but it's a totally different product. i made the boards because i wanted RGB leds and a high resolution (32 LEDs minimum) and you won't find any like these commercially available. if you look at the mikroe board, it's a giant PCB for one single encoder, totally impractical for real world front plate usage. there are only 15 LEDs and the are blue. yeah, not just one colour, they are blue. price is twice as much as mine. so yeah. i hope this doesn't come across as me being defensive cause i really don't care at all but tbh i don't see the point in those mikroes.

#54

Great! Thanks for the explanations! I would like to order from you. I'll send you an email (already did but I didn't have any answer). :slight_smile:

#55

@weasel79 Hi, really good work!!

I'm interested to buy a piece of this PCB and Encoders.
Where can i find additional info? Do you have a website or email?

#56

Me too! Is rgbledring at gmail still the current email adress? If so, I send you a mail a few days ago. Love your work!

#57

sorry guys i replied to hopefully all mails today.
i do still have a couple PCBs left as of right now.