What is #lighthack?

#lighthack is an educational project designed by ETC users and employees to engage with the DIY community. It is a community-supported initiative, meaning your fellow #lighthackers are your first resource for help. In other words, please post on this forum if you need support!

The #lighthack project is centered around Arduino UNO hardware devices that users assemble from scratch. The Arduino UNO connects via a USB COM port and then communicates via OSC with ETC's Eos software.

Eos supports this functionality on Win7e-based consoles and ETCnomad for Windows in software version 2.6.1 and newer, and on ETCnomad for Mac in software version 2.7.0 and newer. Support for XPe-based consoles or ETCnomad on Windows XP is not planned for this project. Many XPe-based consoles can be upgraded to Win7e to make them compatible with #lighthack.

test tools/usb_test

This is the first Arduino sketch to load - it helps to ensure that the Arduino UNO is communicating successfully with Eos. This is also a good point to return to if you want to re-confirm the Arduino-Eos connection later on. Software is loaded using the Arduino web or desktop software.

#lighthack box 1

This is a kit project with two encoders, three buttons and a 2x20 display. This kit is available for purchase directly from ETC's US and EU online shops, but you can also find all of the parts directly from suppliers online. This project has its own subfolder on GitHub. This folder contains an assembly instructions document which also contains the parts list. It also contains the Arduino sketch and other supporting documentation. Approximate assembly time: 5 hours.

Help and support

#lighthack projects are designed to interact with ETC products, but they are not official ETC hardware or software. For challenges using, integrating, compiling, or modifying items in this project, we encourage posting on the GitHub issues page or on this forum. Again, #lighthack is a community-supported initiative, and the #lighthacking community is the best place to ask for help!

Note that only Arduino UNO is directly supported. Some of your fellow #lighthackers have had success #lighthacking other variants. Ask around!

Note that #lighhack requires the Arduino OSC parsing library maintained by the great folks over at CNMAT. The assembly instructions documents contain details on how to add this to your Arduino project.