Full Build Kulp Controller – 16 Output Pixel (FREE SHIPPING)
This Build Kulp Controller comes with Kulp K16A-B Controller 16 port and (2) Meanwell 350-watt 12V power supplies in a YPS Metal Enclosure. These are ready to run, no need for additional work besides setting up in xLights and/or FPP.
- What is it?The K16A-B is a cape for the BeagleBone Black designed to drive ws2811 LED pixels. It has 16 local ports (fused with LED indicators) that can each drive 800 pixels (with power injection) at 40FPS (1500 at 20fps). It also has 4 RJ45 differential ports that can output an additional 16 strings. In addition, it has an expansion connector that can provide an additional 16 strings. Finally, it has 2 RS485 outputs for DMX, PixelNet, Renard, LOR.For end-user usability, it provides a Real Time Clock, temperature sensors, voltage sensors, an OLED display, and four push buttons for navigating menus on the display.The K16A-B also has an on-board, high quality DAC chip for providing sound.It also has two extra headers for additional functionality. One header provides access to the I2C bus and 8 GPIO pins for additional push buttons or other triggers a user may need. The other header provides a mounting point for an optional Si4713 based FM transmitter.A User Manual is available based on the older K32A-B.
Why did you make it?
Animated Christmas Light displays typically use ws2811 Pixels for things like house outlines, candy canes, tree’s, etc… By providing onboard sound and optional FM transmission, its also very useful for fully “stand alone” shows.
NOTE: The optional FM transmitter will NOT come with any sort of antenna attached. The user will need to create a suitable antenna (a simple 75cm wire will work for most cases) and solder it to the transmitter.
The FM transmitter requires the Si4713/VAST-FM FPP Plugin to be installed in order to configure and enable the the FM transmission.
What makes it special?
The 16 local ports provides plenty of outputs for dense props.
The 4 RJ45 ports provide additional output capabilities to allow for future expansions. All 4 of the ports can be configured to drive a ws2811 pixel differential receiver board (available from pixelcontroller.com ). Both the “Smart Receivers” and the normal receivers are supported.
Technical details: The ws2811 protocol is extremely timing dependent and are generally not drivable via a general purpose Linux CPU. The FPP software uses the two semi real-time PRU’s available on the Beaglebone to handle the protocol specific timings.
