BLINKM MAXM, THE ULTRABRIGHT SMART LED

Available from FunGizmos (US), Sparkfun Electronics (US), NKC Electronics (US), MakerShed (US), CoolComponents (UK), SK Pang Electronics (UK)

BlinkM MaxM, is BlinkMs bigger, crazy sibling. It's an intensely-bright smart LED that comes as a package of two components, a control module (MaxM Master) and a daughter board with three ultrabright LEDs (MaxM Blaster).

MaxM Master runs our unique firmware that creates virtually any RGB color, fades smoothly between two colors, and blinks in virtually any pattern (it can flash like a police light, for example, or flicker like a candle). Like its smaller sibling, it lets you do all of that without having to know any electronics engineering or programming. BlinkM Sequencer--our free Open Source sequencing software runs on most operating systems--makes it easy to select any RGB color or pattern and instantly upload it to BlinkM MaxM (we also provide Java, C, and Processing libraries and programming examples for using it).

BlinkM MaxM's powerful 3 amp MOSFET transistors can drive power-hungry ultrabright LEDs, or large numbers of LEDs simultaneously (such as found in LED strips). Its 5-24 volt power supply allows it to be run from a wide variety of common power sources, making it perfect for prototyping automotive applications and low-voltage track lighting systems.

MaxM Blaster's trio of LEDs is 50 times as bright as a standard BlinkM and more than 1000 times as bright as a standard LED. They're so intensely bright they kind of freak us out (and should absolutely not be looked at directly, under any circumstances!).

Finally, it includes four 8-bit analog input lines, which means that its behavior can be changed without requiring an external controller. All existing BlinkM software should run on the MaxM without requiring any changes.

All for about $25.

Quick Start requirements

• No electronics experience!
• No programming experience!
• LinkM USB Programmer or Arduino I/O board
• ThingM Sequencer software for Arduino or Multitrack Sequencer for LinkM

Software requirements

• OSX 10.3.9, Windows XP/7, Linux
• Java 1.5 or later (included with Windows installation)

Features

• Full-color RGB LED w/ 24-bit color control
• Can plug directly into Arduino or LinkM, no wiring or other components needed!
• Specify colors using 24-bit RGB or HSB
• Fade between colors with variable timing and fade speeds
• Randomized color selection, with ranges and based on previous color
• 18 built-in light scripts (sequences)
• Create and save light scripts of up to 49 commands long
• Stand-alone operation: No microcontroller needed for light script playback
• Up to 127 BlinkM channels on a single two-wire network
• Low power consumption

Advanced features

• Controllable with any microcontroller (BASIC Stamp, MAKE Controller, etc.)
• Reconfigurable network address
• Four 8-bit analog inputs
• Conditional behavior based on analog input

Specifications

• 445,000 mcd (millicandelas) of light intensity
• 30-degree viewing angle
• 5v-24v operating voltage, 3A max
• 17g weight (Master and Blaster together), 8g (Master only)
• Two-wire (aka "I2C") control
• 5-volt standard TTL inputs
• 4-pin 0.1" spacing BlinkM I2C connector

Questions? Please contact us.

 

Available from FunGizmos (US), Sparkfun Electronics (US), NKC Electronics (US), MakerShed (US), CoolComponents (UK), SK Pang Electronics (UK)

Downloads

DATASHEET (2MB PDF)

COMMUNICATOR (3kB ZIP)

SEQUENCER for Mac OS X  (416kB ZIP)

SEQUENCER for Windows (15MB ZIP) 

SEQUENCER SOURCE (86kB ZIP)

EXAMPLE CODE AND TOOLS (15kB ZIP)

(for Arduino, Processing, Basic Stamp, Max/MSP)

 

SEQUENCER LICENSE (4KB TEXT)

FIRMWARE LICENSE (4KB TEXT)

SUPPORT

High resolution images from Flickr