[Noisebridge-discuss] NB Maker Faire table electronics question.

[jarrod hicks]

Hello Noisebridge discussers

My name is Jarrod and I mostly do woodworking projects at NB. So I am very
excited to finally be asking an electronics questions to the discussion
list. This is in regards to the Maker Faire booth table we're building. I
am new to LED/Arduino projects, but want to make sure I get a decent setup
put together so others can take things further that I can.

First, I have drawn a PDF diagram of how I think the electrical system
inside the table will go together. Here the location of it on the wiki:

noisebridge.net/images/1/1e/Noisebridge_Table_ElectricalDiagram_v1.pdf

1. Does this power scheme make sense, is there a significantly better way?
I plan on installing over 4 meters of 60/Meter WS2812B strips. My count is
about 301 light sources (>5m). The documentation I have been reading makes
it clear that 4m is the max that I can power as a single strip. Based on
this I think I can separate the installation into 2 halves. To power theses
strips I am thinking I can connect them both to a single 5v 20a power
supply based on 301 lights x .06A = 18.06A at full white.

2. Should I not use an Arduino Mega 2560 R3 to run this?  I am concerned
that this has the headers installed, would this make the wiring difficult
or unreliable?
I read that the WS2812Bs will take up a fair about of the Arduino's memory
and that the UNO or Pro Mini with 2k SRAM may not be enough to allow
additional "libraries". This doesn't mean much to me yet, but the price
difference isn't too bad and I would like for others to be able to make
this LED installation do other things in the future, so unless there is a
"deal breaker" I am not aware of I will stick with it.

3. This table will be connected to a 120VAC outlet for power. With the 5V
20A LED power supply and the 12v Arduino power supply running, is there
still a decent amount of electricity left over from a typical 120VAC power
outlet to make it worth installing AC power outlets in the table?

I plan to buy parts very soon so any help is appreciated. Please let me
know if clarification is needed.

Cheers.
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