Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for show controller functionality are the combined required parts for multi-board projects and wireless and for exporting animations.

Bottango Control Boards

You need one control board to act as the bridge. This is recommended to be Bottango Nova, but you can use any control board.

You need at least one peer control board to connect to the bridge. The maximum number will depend on environmental factors, communication type (wired vs. wireless), use case, and other factors. The best-case limit is around 10-12 peers per bridge.

MicroSD Card

You will serve out animation data from the bridge / show controller to other connected boards, and need a microSD card to store that animation data. Bottango Nova and Solar have a microSD card reader. See SD Card for card size, format, and quality recommendations.

Power Supply

If not connected to a computer, your control boards will need power.

You can power Bottango Solar and Impulse using only the DC power input. Be sure to choose a power supply that meets the requirements.

If you are using Bottango Nova as a show controller, you’ll need to power it as well when it is not connected to a computer. Providing it with power through the USB-C port using a standard USB-C phone charger, etc. will allow you to power Bottango Nova without a connected computer.

RS485 Cable (optional)

If you are using wired RS485 for board-to-board communication instead of wireless communication, you’ll need the appropriate cables. See the linked page for more details.