I thought I would share an open-source project I created last year and posted a week ago. (photos attached)

I do an event each year that really needed some tally lights. But as we all know commerical systems are ridiculously expensive and don't typically, or easily, connect to streaming software like vMix. So I decided to build my own. Initially I was going to build a wired system based on an open-source design by Skaarhoj, the problem was I didn't want to have to carry and run more cables. So instead I designed and built WIFI tally lights and since I already use a WIFI network for events I didn't need to bring anything additional to use them.

This system allows for up to 255 tally lights. Each light has a dimmable Tally and Operator LED(s). The operator gets both live and preview. Each tally light is configurable via a webpage, allowing you to change WIFI settings and the LED intensity. There is a separate piece of software that acts as a bridge between vMix and the lights. To associate a light(s) with a shot you just need to add special text to the shot name [T:1]. By doing it this way all the affected cameras in a PIP shot can be lit and reordering shots won't change the tally outputs. Also because this uses WIFI you can use them internationally without any special licensing.

So check it out, if you decide to build a set I'd love to hear about them. Feel free to DM me or post here about it. Enjoy!

Find the project here

It works on its own nothing additional is required. It is a microcontroller with WIFI built-in.


This project uses your existing WIFI network, no additional hardware is needed but you will need to use the bridge software to communicate with the lights.


I don't have any photos at the moment. In the box is a prototyping PCB that the Huzzah is soldered to and I just did point to point wiring to complete the schematic.


That is why I created it. ;)

This is great.

Can you tell me, why do you need bridging software, can't your device talk directly to vMix.

I also wondered why the skaarhoj surfaces need bridging software too? Can't skaarhoj put the bridging software inside the unit?

Hey DynamoBen,

Thanks for the pic of the internals, has helped me along a little. I've programmed a couple of the boards with the supplied code however I went through the BOM list supplied as parts before the image of the internals was posted I've now noticed it was missing several resistors and capacitors that are in the schematic. Do you have any more info on wattage/voltage etc for these parts? Just trying to figure out how much I'm missing....

Many thanks

You are sort of correct. It's looking at program, preview, and overlay. But the more important part is it's then looking at the name of the shot in question, extracting the tally info in the name, then sending that info to the lights. See the readme for the special characters used in the name.



You can do this but know that I already have tried this and choose to not do it that way. Using tallyupdate means that as you reorder the shots it reassigns which tally responds to that shot even when the camera/input is unchanged. So swapping the order of shots 1 and 2 swaps the tally for each also. The method I'm using allows for multiview and while not as "automatic" it works pretty well. The beauty of it is you can reorder shots as much as you like and nothing changes on the tally lights.

Here again this is a design choice, if you prefer it another way then go for it...which is why I open-sourced it. Had it not been open-source you'd be stuck. ;)

Ah I'm with you! Sorry I don't really read schematics very often if ever....so everything in the huzzah square box is irrelevant is what your saying? In that case I think its just the 1k resistor I'm missing from that I can tell. Would half a watt do the trick:

https://www.digikey.com/...500/PPC1.0KBTR-ND/614119

or does it need a higher wattage?

Ive Just Knocked up my first prototype build of one of theses but i built it around a NodeMcu Development Board ESP8266 12E.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/it...sid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Not only is it cheaper than the other board it also has an onboard Voltage reg that will take 4-20VDC so i more options for power it also has onboard USB for programming.

Please see the attached pics, When I make some more I will go with Led's that have proper Bezels rather than using hot glue

I have one question! With the help of this module it is possible to realize only indication of communication or voice communication with operators too ???? For example, I use smart phones to display tally and also for voice communication with operators (all on WI-FI), but sometimes I encounter that, then the operator does not have a smartphone or he is too outdated for this system.
Is it possible to implement fully and communication and tally with the module that you use ????

very, very sad .... how many problems it helped me to solve it in the future ... I will look further for an alternative to smartphones.

This project just got a little easier, last night I created a stand-alone executable. This means you no longer need to install Python to run the bridge software, just download the EXE and run it.

I've updated the Readme to reflect this change. Enjoy!