Shooting Stars - Revision history

ErnieHorning: Improved link formatting and readability, clarified the unique use of WS2811 pixel electronics to control groups of monochrome LEDs, preserved the original engineering notes and troubleshooting history, and added a long-term update noting that the original PLA star shells were later rebuilt in PETG after years of outdoor UV exposure caused noticeable yellowing.

2026-07-21T21:01:06Z

Improved link formatting and readability, clarified the unique use of WS2811 pixel electronics to control groups of monochrome LEDs, preserved the original engineering notes and troubleshooting history, and added a long-term update noting that the original PLA star shells were later rebuilt in PETG after years of outdoor UV exposure caused noticeable yellowing.

ErnieHorning: Improved a few external and internal link formats, clarified the unique use of WS2811 pixel electronics to control groups of monochrome LEDs, refined several wording transitions for readability, expanded the controller explanation to better describe the sequencing model, and preserved the original engineering notes, troubleshooting experiences, and detailed photographic documentation throughout the project.

2026-07-21T20:48:45Z

Improved a few external and internal link formats, clarified the unique use of WS2811 pixel electronics to control groups of monochrome LEDs, refined several wording transitions for readability, expanded the controller explanation to better describe the sequencing model, and preserved the original engineering notes, troubleshooting experiences, and detailed photographic documentation throughout the project.

Dirknerkle at 20:59, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T20:59:29Z

Dirknerkle at 20:23, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T20:23:49Z

Dirknerkle at 20:22, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T20:22:28Z

Dirknerkle at 20:13, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T20:13:15Z

Dirknerkle at 14:00, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T14:00:18Z

Dirknerkle at 13:57, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T13:57:58Z

Dirknerkle at 13:52, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T13:52:10Z

Dirknerkle at 13:51, 11 May 2020

2020-05-11T13:51:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:01, 21 July 2026
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	[[File:Compare.JPG \| 500px \| center]]		[[File:Compare.JPG \| 500px \| center]]
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		+	:::'''2026 Update:''' The original stars were printed in PLA after early printing issues with ABS. Although the PLA stars remained in service for several years, prolonged outdoor exposure eventually caused noticeable yellowing from UV exposure. During the 2026 off-season, the stars were rebuilt using PETG, which provides significantly better long-term weather and UV resistance for outdoor displays.

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 This is an all-DIY project that provides an opportunity to use a 3D printer to create a nifty lighting effect. It's not a hard project, but it's a bit of a time-consuming one depending on how many "stars" are incorporated into the display. For this project, the author designed a 24-star line with stars approximately 1 foot apart. The goal was to create a display piece that could be wired from the ground up to a larger main star mounted in a tree or on a garage roof so that it would appear like an eye-catching "swoosh" of light rising up to the main star. Therefore, each star in the line also needed to have individual control.
-It was thought that while a string of pixels could certainly be used to accomplish the animation function, the individual pixel bulbs weren't large enough to be truly eye-catching. But pixel technology could certainly be used -- just not with individual bulbs. And since color wasn't important, a project similar to the monopixel candy canes '''(MonoPixel how-to is [https://www.diychristmas.org/wiki/index.php?title=Making/Wiring_Mono-Pixels HERE])''' seemed appropriate.
+This project demonstrates an alternative use for WS2811 pixel electronics by controlling groups of monochrome LEDs rather than individual RGB pixels, greatly reducing the number of controller channels required.
-:* First, a star had to be made. This proved to be quite easy on Tinker Cad (http://tinkercad.com) which provides a basic star shape in their built-in tools. It was enlarged to approximately 4" across and the center raised. Then it was duplicated on the screen; the duplicate was reduced in size by about 1.6 mm in all directions, set to be a "hole" and simply merged into the first star. This resulted in a thin star "half-shell" that when two stars were glued together, would provide plenty of room for electronics inside yet allowing plenty of light to shine through. For the 24-star display, 48 half-shells were required. (Note: printing time was a bit over an hour each which is why this project takes some time... The STL file for this star is inside a ZIP file and can be downloaded here: [https://www.diychristmas.org/wiki/index.php?title=File:Star_stl_file.zip '''DOWNLOAD STL FILE''']
+It was thought that while a string of pixels could certainly be used to accomplish the animation function, the individual pixel bulbs weren't large enough to be truly eye-catching. But pixel technology could certainly be used -- just not with individual bulbs. And since color wasn't important, a project similar to the monopixel candy canes '''(See the [[Making/Wiring_Mono-Pixels|MonoPixel construction guide]] for additional background)''' seemed appropriate.
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 :* A prototype star was assembled and tested for feasibility before investing more time in the project: [https://vimeo.com/400951462 '''VIDEO'''] The prototype electronics were also tested without the star shell and it was decided that the LEDs' lenses were too directional and more light would be captured with the star shell than without it.
-:* Being adequately bright, two more stars were printed and one complete segment of 3-stars wired to an inexpensive WS2811 board designed for square-base pixels using the board's RGB and +V connections. The square pixel board has all the necessary components for LED current control while also supplying 18.5ma of current to each of its three outputs.
+:* Being adequately bright, two more stars were printed and one complete segment of 3-stars wired to an inexpensive WS2811 board designed for square-base pixels using the board's RGB and +V connections. The square pixel board has all the necessary components for LED current control while also supplying 18.5ma of current to each of its three outputs. ''In this design, each WS2811 output controls a group of five LEDs instead of a single RGB LED, allowing one pixel IC to control three independent star positions.''
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-* We determined that a wiring harness might be helpful to make this project a reality. And since it had been decided the stars would be 1 foot apart forming a 24-foot line of stars, this required eight 3-foot long segments comprising one square pixel board and three, 5-point LED boards. The segments would then be attached together to form the 24-foot line. While the star shells were being printed, a wiring harness was constructed. We chose 4-conductor telephone wire for the main cable primarily for its strength but also because it had a smaller diameter than CAT5 and might be less visible. But CAT5 wiring was used for the LED connections to the square pixel board -- we chose the orange, green and blue wire pairs to represent the red, green and blue colors. As the square pixel boards use common-anode RGB Leds, the solid-colored wires would be soldered to the cathode side and the striped wire to the anode side of the 5-point LEDs (the WS2811 chip is a current sinking device). Important: For the sequencing to work consistently, the order of the wires in the harness should match the WS2811 chip, which is RGB and each 3-foot segment must be wired the same way. The harness made, we focused on printing the 48 half-shell stars we needed...
+* We determined that a wiring harness might be helpful to make this project a reality. And since it had been decided the stars would be 1 foot apart forming a 24-foot line of stars, this required eight 3-foot long segments comprising one square pixel board and three, 5-point LED boards. The segments would then be attached together to form the 24-foot line. While the star shells were being printed, a wiring harness was constructed. We chose 4-conductor telephone wire for the main cable primarily for its strength but also because it had a smaller diameter than CAT5 and might be less visible. But CAT5 wiring was used for the LED connections to the square pixel board -- we chose the orange, green and blue wire pairs to represent the red, green and blue colors. As the square pixel boards use common-anode RGB Leds, the solid-colored wires would be soldered to the cathode side and the striped wire to the anode side of the 5-point LEDs (the WS2811 chip is a current sinking device). Important: For the sequencing to work consistently, the order of the wires in the harness should match the WS2811 chip, which is RGB and each 3-foot segment must be wired the same way. With the harness complete, we focused on printing the 48 half-shell stars we needed...
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-:* The Controller for this project is simple -- most any pixel controller can be used with the understanding that normal pixel colors don't apply to the actual colors but they do apply to the position of the stars. Since the line of stars was wired in RGB order, the stars will also fire in RGB order. Lighting all "red" stars will light stars #1-4-7-10-13-16-19-22 of this 24-star "string." Therefore, the whole 24-star string comprises only 8 "pixels" in the configuration of the sequencing software. Our controller is a DIGWDF MiWiFi controller and a 5-amp, 5vdc power supply inside a compact, CG-500 case. (Note the added "heater bulb" next to the power supply; we include those in our controllers because of the severe sub-zero winter temperatures in our area that most power supplies don't like.)
+:* The Controller for this project is simple -- Most pixel controllers can drive this project because the WS2811 boards behave like standard pixels. The sequencing software simply treats the display as an eight-pixel string, with each "pixel" controlling three groups of monochrome stars. Since the line of stars was wired in RGB order, the stars will also fire in RGB order. Lighting all "red" stars will light stars #1-4-7-10-13-16-19-22 of this 24-star "string." Therefore, the whole 24-star string comprises only 8 "pixels" in the configuration of the sequencing software. Our controller is a DIGWDF MiWiFi controller and a 5-amp, 5vdc power supply inside a compact, CG-500 case. (Note the added "heater bulb" next to the power supply; we include those in our controllers because of the severe sub-zero winter temperatures in our area that most power supplies don't like.)

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:59, 11 May 2020
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−	:* Two of the stars had yet to be printed when this video was made, but we were pleased with the effect: [https://vimeo.com/417296432 '''WATCH VIDEO''']	+	:* Two of the stars had yet to be printed when this video was made, but we were pleased with the effect: [https://vimeo.com/417296432 '''WATCH VIDEO'''] After assembly is fully complete, each star will be checked again to verify that each is sealed shut to prevent water intrusion.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:23, 11 May 2020
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−	~~At the time of this writing two~~ of the stars had yet to be printed, but we were pleased with the effect: [https://vimeo.com/417296432 WATCH VIDEO]	+	:* Two of the stars had yet to be printed when this video was made, but we were pleased with the effect: [https://vimeo.com/417296432 '''WATCH VIDEO''']

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 ::[[File:Harness.JPG | 400 px]]  [[File:Harness-1.JPG | 180 px]]  [[File:Harness-2.JPG | 200 px]]
-:* After the project was fully assembled, we were a bit taken back by the overall weight. This gave us concern that the six solder points on each of the 3-LED sections could suffer from undue stress, especially in windy conditions. We hunted around the DIGWDF lab and decided that short sections of Boscoyo's pixel mounting strips (http://boscoyostudio.com), trimmed-down a bit and affixed to both sides of the junction would be helpful to stabilize the joints. Pictured below, they were positioned along the flat side of the square pixel PCB and wrapped tightly. This resulted in a noticeable bulge at each of the 8 junctions but overall, a much stronger cable.
+:* After the project was fully assembled, we were a bit taken back by the overall weight. This gave us concern that the six solder points on each of the 3-LED sections could suffer from undue stress, especially in windy conditions. We decided that short sections of Boscoyo's pixel mounting strips (http://boscoyostudio.com), trimmed-down a bit and affixed to both sides of the junction would be helpful to stabilize the joints and minimize stress. Pictured below during application, they were positioned along the flat side of the square pixel PCB and later tightly wrapped with the harness tape. This resulted in a noticeable bulge at each of the 8 junctions but overall, a much stronger cable.
 [[File:Boscoyo_splints.JPG | 400px | center]]
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---more to come after the project is complete and used in our show--
+At the time of this writing two of the stars had yet to be printed, but we were pleased with the effect: [https://vimeo.com/417296432 WATCH VIDEO]

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:13, 11 May 2020
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	::[[File:Harness.JPG \| 400 px]] [[File:Harness-1.JPG \| 180 px]] [[File:Harness-2.JPG \| 200 px]]		::[[File:Harness.JPG \| 400 px]] [[File:Harness-1.JPG \| 180 px]] [[File:Harness-2.JPG \| 200 px]]
		+
		+	:* After the project was fully assembled, we were a bit taken back by the overall weight. This gave us concern that the six solder points on each of the 3-LED sections could suffer from undue stress, especially in windy conditions. We hunted around the DIGWDF lab and decided that short sections of Boscoyo's pixel mounting strips (http://boscoyostudio.com), trimmed-down a bit and affixed to both sides of the junction would be helpful to stabilize the joints. Pictured below, they were positioned along the flat side of the square pixel PCB and wrapped tightly. This resulted in a noticeable bulge at each of the 8 junctions but overall, a much stronger cable.
		+
		+	[[File:Boscoyo_splints.JPG \| 400px \| center]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:00, 11 May 2020
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−		+	--more to come after the project is complete and used in our show--
−
−	--more to come after the project is complete--

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:57, 11 May 2020
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−	:* Gluing the star shells around the 5-point LED board proved to be somewhat putsy. For one, we discovered that when we put them back-to-back, the star shells didn't line up in perfect registration like we originally ~~thought --~~ they were generally slightly off but by trial-and-error, we always found a best fit that was quite excellent. We believe this to be an anomaly with the 3D printing process -- perhaps our X-Y axis settings are a little off. We used E-6000 glue with rubber bands to hold the star together while the glue set. (Note that the edges of the star are easily sharp enough to cut rubber bands -- ~~keep plenty on hand!~~) E-6000 glue is really terrific stuff; it's similar to silicone glue or GOOP, but once set, is still slightly flexible and incredibly strong.	+	:* Gluing the star shells around the 5-point LED board proved to be somewhat putsy. For one, we discovered that when we put them back-to-back, the star shells didn't line up in perfect registration like we originally assumed: they were generally slightly off but by trial-and-error, we always found a best fit that was quite excellent. (We believe this to be an anomaly with the 3D printing process -- perhaps our printer's X-Y axis settings are a little off.) We used E-6000 glue with rubber bands to hold the star together while the glue set. (Note that the edges of the star are easily sharp enough to cut rubber bands -- we went through several.) E-6000 glue is really terrific stuff; it's similar to silicone glue or GOOP, but once set, is still slightly flexible and incredibly strong.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:52, 11 May 2020
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−	:* The electronics inside the stars were simple: five clear white LEDs soldered onto a two-sided piece of spare PCB stock; anodes soldered to one side; cathodes to the other and a lead wire soldered to each side -- all 5 LEDs would be electrically parallel. The wire used was a pair of wires stripped from a length of CAT5, chosen for low-cost and ability to easily handle the tiny current needed to illuminate the leds. The individual stars would be soldered to the R, G and B outputs of the small PCB board that square pixels use.	+	:* The electronics inside the stars were simple: five clear white LEDs soldered onto a two-sided piece of spare PCB stock; anodes soldered to one side; cathodes to the other and a lead wire soldered to each side -- all 5 LEDs would be electrically parallel. The wire used was a pair of wires stripped from a length of CAT5, chosen for low-cost and ability to easily handle the tiny current needed to illuminate the leds. The individual stars would be soldered to the R, G and B outputs of the small WS2811 PCB board that square pixels use.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:51, 11 May 2020
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−	:* The electronics inside the stars were simple: five white LEDs soldered onto a two-sided piece of spare PCB stock~~. Anodes~~ soldered to one side; cathodes to the other and a lead wire soldered to each side -- all 5 ~~leds~~ would be electrically parallel. The wire used was a pair of wires stripped from a length of CAT5, chosen for low-cost and ability to easily handle the tiny current needed to illuminate the leds ~~but~~ the ~~small gauge~~ of the ~~wires made it quite invisible, too~~.	+	:* The electronics inside the stars were simple: five clear white LEDs soldered onto a two-sided piece of spare PCB stock; anodes soldered to one side; cathodes to the other and a lead wire soldered to each side -- all 5 LEDs would be electrically parallel. The wire used was a pair of wires stripped from a length of CAT5, chosen for low-cost and ability to easily handle the tiny current needed to illuminate the leds. The individual stars would be soldered to the R, G and B outputs of the small PCB board that square pixels use.