ESP8266 based LED strip display of Yes/No API data.
Example API queries: Will it rain today? Have I reached my Kickstarter goals? Snow day? Good windspeed to fly drone?
Change settings easily & remotely - by using web app.
Manage multiple devices
Optimized circuit efficiency by using 60 pure red, green, or blue WS2812B LEDs.
Cheap - core parts cost < $10 US Dollars
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Wemos D1 Mini - https://www.banggood.com/custlink/GvvK5E8B0P
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WS2812B Addressable LED Strip (You must cut down to 60 LEDs with scissors) - https://www.banggood.com/custlink/3GmmFR9ee8
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Soldering Iron & 60/40 Rosin Core Lead Solder: https://www.banggood.com/custlink/DmKDPhZ6e6
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5V 2A+ Power Supply - Must be at least 2 amps. - I used a cut USB cable and a 2.1A USB Charger. https://www.banggood.com/custlink/mD3K5Y9egq
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Hot Glue Gun with Sticks: https://www.banggood.com/custlink/KKvKHhSNEe
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Whiteboard or Acrylic Sheet and Dry Erase Marker: https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-24-35-47-Aluminum-Frame-Magnetic-Whiteboard-Dry-Erase-w-Board-Marker-Pen/311936582732?hash=item48a0de844c:m:m-E-ZRTFjVYbyOAs701hznw&frcectupt=true
Sign up for a free PHP web hosting service such as https://www.000webhost.com/
Create a new site there.
and load the led.php file onto there in the file manager area.
Modify the url in the led.php to match the url of your website.
Unzip the files.
Install the CH340 drivers.
Open up UPyCraft and select board-->esp8266, select active USB port, and click burn firmware. Set flash erase-->on, custom firmware-->select your micropython.bin file you downloaded earlier and hit "flash".
In a text editor or in UPyCraft, open up connectWiFi.py and input your WiFi hotspot credentials and in main.py enter your web hosting URL for led.php and hit save. Download these files to the board's filesystem.
Strip wire tips
Then tin with solder then fuse together.
D1 Mini ESP8266 5V---5V 2A Power---LED VCC
D1 Mini ESP8266 GND---Ground 2A Power---LED Ground
D1 Mini ESP8266 GPIO4(D2)---LED Strip Data In
Green wire = data, Red wire = +5V, White wire = Ground
Wrap individual connections in electrical tape to insulate and prevent a short circuit.
Most Addressable LED strips have two additional power wires for convenience
Edit the settings at your web hosting URL where led.php is located to program the device. JSON is a nested data structure. To access the information you want, you need to enter the correct indices. As a way to understand better, here is a representation of the weather api data "consolidated_weather"-->1-->"weather_state_abbr". The TV API: 0-->"show"-->"status". Notice how curly brackets start and terminate each section.
Here is a list of public APIs that you may be able to pull data from using this system:
https://github.com/toddmotto/public-apis
