======BlinkenLights======

There have been several projects around the world that have turned a building into a matrix display. Theses include:

	- [[http://blinkenlights.net/blinkenlights | Blinkenlights]] Haus des Lehrers, Berlin (2001)
	- [[http://blinkenlights.net/arcade | Blinkenlights Arcade]] Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France ( 2002)
	- [[http://blinkenlights.net/stereoscope/ | Blinkenlights Stereoscope]] City Hall, Toronto, Canada (2008)
	- [[http://playhouse.daft.ie/ | PlayHouse]] Liberty Hall, Dublin (2009)
	- [[http://acab.muc.ccc.de/ | AllColoursAreBeautiful]] Puerto Giesing, Munich (2010)
	
Lets try to do something similar, but unique in Edinburgh!

=====Summerhall=====
Former home of Veterinary School of the University of Edinburgh.
Potential new home of Hacklab, fingers crossed!

**Status: **The window of opportunity in Jan-Feb 2012 didn't come to anything. No longer and option as it's [[http://techu.be/|techcu.be]] now.

6 story tower block. Excluding the ground floor that has a porchway etc, there are 5 floors each with 10 equal sized windows. 

{{http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6662256789_36660ac0b5.jpg}}

Don't know the exact window measurements.

Tracing Paper to put in inside of windows. Will need lots, ~75m something like 4 rolls of this [[http://www.easee.co.uk/StoreFront/evolution_product.html?IdProduct=29393 | 90gsm]] stuff, exact width and quantity to be determined by window measurements. Could we use whitewash instead? Messy/time-consuming to apply and remove? Prototyping required I imagine.

2 windows have fans/extractor arrangements, how would these be dealt with? Probably leave them as they are?

Internet Connection: Probably need some form of Internet connection to building for submission of animations, doesn't need to be high bandwidth. Something like a 3G dongle in a laptop?

====Options====
===1) On/Off White lights behind each window.===

  * Could maybe reuse florescent lights from building, Might be hard to co-ordinate stripping from building. Would be running at 230V (Health & Safety?), can't be rapidly switched on & off. Mains switching relays required.
  * 120W halogen security lights, not hugely expensive £4.69 with bulb inc VAT @ Screwfix. Again lots of 230V about the place. Potentially dim-able with a bit of pulsing?. Mains switching relays required.  

===2) High Power RGB LEDs behind each window.===

  * Setup used by ACAB, they have published their hardware board and schematics and software. Have a contact that we would hopefully get some help from. Each pixel controlled by a control board with a ATmega644P and RS485 interface chip (MAX487CSA) was comms  
  * ACAB used 3x1W LEDs from Deal Extreme, probably these [[http://www.dealextreme.com/p/3w-led-emitter-on-star-multicolored-rgb-4530 | 3W LED Emitter on Star (Multicolored RGB)]] about £1.90 each when buying more than 10.
  * Pretty modular design than can be used elsewhere for example a light cube wall in the hacklab. 
  * Electronics & PCB for each "pixel" are likely to be around £25. Excluding power supplies, CAT5 between lamps etc.
  * Each of the 5 rows powered by one chunky 24V DC Power supply, [[http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/24v-power-supply-25a-60w-single-output-hf60wsl24-p-147.html | something like this]].
	
{{blinklights-parts.xls}}