Hi there,

I am very interested in LED hula hoops, my fiance loves them, and she has a custom LED hoop that was made by our friend. Simple circuit and design. I'm getting more into playing around with RGB LED flex-strip for making hoops. My fiance showed me several videos of programmable hoops. This seems to be her latest that she's obsessed with.

http://youtu.be/L-gKC-VF_uA

I would like to learn the circuit, schematic, and how to code the IC correctly. The only problem is that the only way I could do such a thing is to spend the $350 on the hoop and take it apart, possibly destroying the circuit in the process depending on how its mounted in the tubing.

I understand that the hoop consists of RGB LED flex-strip, some sort of IC, solid state memory, and a 2100mAh Lithium Ion Battery. I just wonder if anyone out there might be able to break down the circuitry at all. The code in the IC somehow makes it that any .bmp saved on the SSM to be displayed on the LED. And the entire board in the hoop has a mini-USB connection to connect it straight to a computer to upload the .bmp files.

Just wondering if anyone has any insight to this.

Thank you

 

oh, also the 2100mAh Lithium Ion Battery is not removable, and is charged through the mini-USB port.

 

The HOWTO on that was posted on instructables.com a few years ago, lemme find the link

http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Hula-Hoop/

http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Hula-Hoop-42-LEDs-rechargeable-DIY/

You could change out the LEDs for automatic color changing "Rainbow" LEDs found on eBay easily enough.

For flashing, decide what pattern you like, and code it.

Or visit 555 timers, LED Flashes, etc.

 

I understand how to make a basic LED hoop. I have one sitting right by me that is a standard color change design. The LEDs in the hoop cycle through 7 colors then strobe the 7 colors. What I'm wondering how to do is to build a circuit that will power LED flex-strip, not single LEDs, and make them programmable based on the image files saved on the solid state memory of the circuit board.

 

Do you know any programming languages?

If so, trace out the lines that make each color come on, measure how much current each one takes so you know what driver you'll need.

Then use a PIC and program the sequence(s) you'd like in. You can add a capacitive touch or a push button to change modes.

I guess I'm confused as to what your question actually is. What is the current controller? It could possibly be re-programmed as well.

 

well i guess my question is really what type of controller would be used for such, and how to program the hoop that you can drag and drop picture files onto the solid state memory in which the images would be replicated in the LEDs

 

There really isn't anything you can drag and drop.

The simplest for you may be the PICAXE which is programmed in BASIC.