Marquee Party Bag
Feldi Hardware Overview
The two main components that the Marquee Party Bag use are the following:
- LilyPad Arduino USB - ATmega32U4 Board
- NeoPixel NeoMatrix 8x8 - 64 RGB LED
LilyPad Arduino USB
The brains behind the Marquee Party Bag is an LilyPad Arduino USB - ATmega32U4 Board, a sewable Arduino-compatible microcontroller. It features the ATmega32U4. The LilyPad Arduino can be powered either from the USB connection or a 3.7V LiPo battery. The board runs at 3.3V; applying more voltage (e.g. 5V) to its pins may damage it.
The LilyPad Arduino uses only a single microcontroller (the Atmel ATmega32U4) to both run your sketches and communicate over USB with the computer. This means that you only need a USB cable to program the LilyPad Arduino USB (as opposed to an FTDI USB-serial adaptor as with other LilyPads). It is programmable via the Arduino IDE.
LilyPad Arduino USB - ATmega32U4 Board Technical Specifications:
| Microcontroller | ATmega32u4 |
| Operating Voltage | 3.3V |
| Input Voltage | 3.8V - 5V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 9 |
| PWM Channels | 4 |
| Analog Input Channels | 4 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 40 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega32u4) of which 4 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 2.5 KB (ATmega32u4) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega32u4) |
| Clock Speed | 8 MHz |
NeoPixel NeoMatrix 8x8
The NeoPixel NeoMatrix from Adafruit is a large board with 64 WS2812 RGB LEDs arranged in an 8x8 matrix. Each individual LED is addressable through your microcontroller.
There are two 3-pin connection ports to wire the NeoMatrix up. Solder wires to the input port, and provide 5VDC to the +5V and ground pins. Then connect the DIN pin to your microcontroller, and make a common ground from the 5V power supply to the microcontroller/Arduino.
Additionally, you can chain as many NeoMatrix panels together as you’d like. For the second panel, connect the DIN connection to the first panel’s DOUT. Connect the ground pins together and power with 5V.
Please refer to the NeoPixel Überguide for a more in depth view of Neopixels.