Will Browar's dashboard

Thanks, Tod! – Will Browar, on November 14, 2009 17:11

Tod, thanks for the information! It seems like the I2C bus length is a challenge for a lot of people. I'll give the 1.2k resistors a go and see how things work out from there.

Dave's project is very similar to my project, but his is at a much bigger scale. It's good to know it's possible to drive that many BlinkMs at once!

As far as power goes, if the network uses 50 BlinkMs would that mean I would need to supply 3 amps through the external power input (60mA per BlinkM)? If so, can the Arduino accept 3 amps over 5V or is there another way to send power to the BlinkMs?

Thanks again for your advice. I'm new to the Arduino board and electronics in general so I want to be careful before frying anything.

Hey Rob and Tod,

Rob - how did you make out with your 35 BlinkM network? Did you find a power source that can handle that many BlinkMs?

I have a project that I have planned for a 51 BlinkM network over 25 - 30 ft. long and I'd appreciate any product suggestions or tips on how to power that large of a network (in addition to the suggestions above). The project can be scaled down if needed, but the more BlinkMs we can use the better!

As far as communication goes, I have tested 3 BlinkMs over a 30 foot 4C ribbon cable, using 4.7k pull ups and they seem to run solid. Would using more BlinkMs over the same length reduce the length the I2C can carry data? I know we're stretching it already as it is.

Any thought you guys could offer would be great!

- Will