RGB LED Strip control

[cron.7]

Hi,

 

What I'm planning to do:

Buy this one: RGB LED Strip 5M

length:5 Meter

 

But an IR control with only 16/20 colors? Nope!

 

What I'm searching for:

A cheap solution to control those LED's by USB.

DIY? Not really a problem.

Programm it? Not a problem, but a software with graphic interface would be nice.

It would be best, if I don't have to upload program to a chip each time i want to change my light.

 

Ideal Solution:

A Controller (DIY or not) connected to my PC and a Software to control it.

 

I searched about this already, and i didn't come up with a solution by now.

[Mello]

NZXT Hue+ obviously

you can get more strips if you want, I think it only comes with 2.

I know it's not cheap, but it's worth it.

[cron.7]

6 minutes ago, Mello said:

NZXT Hue+ obviously

you can get more strips if you want, I think it only comes with 2.

Yeah this one would be an obvious choice, but it won't work for me, and it's not that cheap either (even if led strips included, it's better for case led's)

• Dual-channel illumination with support for up to 40 LEDs per channel

is the problem. I want to do have a long strip behind my desk. I will by a 5M Strip.

 

 

sorry, ill' edit the Post above

[dany_boy]

Not to be self promotional but...

 

Its pretty much all you have asked for, expect I use WS2812 addresable LEDs. If you give me a couple of days, I will finish the code that allows you to use simple RGB strips. Cheers!

[cron.7]

1 hour ago, dany_boy said:

Not to be self promotional but...

 

Its pretty much all you have asked for, expect I use WS2812 addresable LEDs. If you give me a couple of days, I will finish the code that allows you to use simple RGB strips. Cheers!

Well, that is a nice project. It's kind of what I'm aiming for.

Am I right with this?

WS2812 can be adressed seperately so you can give every led the color you want.

While the others are more like this: you can make the r channel brighter, but only across the whole strip, so its just static colors.

If so i will go with WS2812 LEDs, because I like some breathing and rainbow, when playing around.

Your program looks pretty nice (I'm missing html code for color choosing -> using the same colors easier).

So I'll probably going with your tutorial.

Thanks

[cron.7]

2 hours ago, dany_boy said:

Not to be self promotional but...

 

Its pretty much all you have asked for, expect I use WS2812 addresable LEDs. If you give me a couple of days, I will finish the code that allows you to use simple RGB strips. Cheers!

So what I need to accomplish something similar to your project, but outside of a case I'll need (without Tools):

 

-WS2812 RGB LED (5M, Waterproof 60 LED's/M) (difference between waterprof and none? this plastic thing around the stripe, right?) (You are using 2 Arduinos pic 2, why?)

-Arduino Nano

 

What Power Supply do I need to power the LEDs? 5V, but how much A? I have to buy one, because it's outside a case, and therefore i have no molex.

 

Don't need any resistor?

 

I won't connect the Arduino to the PC on the Motherboard USB, but on the back-I/O through a simple USB-Cable, so i won't need the USB MB Adapter.

 

The LED Strip has 5 Cables, 3 of them are packed, and the other 2 are seperate. the sperate cables are for power, the other 3 most likely to control the rgb channels?

 

The Arduino shown in Pic 4 does not equal the Nano 3.0. What do i need? Because I need a USB connection i would have to get the Nano, but are the pins, you connected in Pic 4, also on this one? I think so, but I better ask.

 

Cheers!

 

 

I think you another Tutorial for "outside the case" would be great. You could do this if you like, i think I'm not the only one trying to do this.

[dany_boy]

14 minutes ago, 5chmidti said:

So what I need to accomplish something similar to your project, but outside of a case I'll need (without Tools):

 

-WS2812 RGB LED (5M, Waterproof 60 LED's/M) (difference between waterprof and none? this plastic thing around the stripe, right?) (You are using 2 Arduinos pic 2, why?)

-Arduino Nano

 

What Power Supply do I need to power the LEDs? 5V, but how much A? I have to buy one, because it's outside a case, and therefore i have no molex.

 

Don't need any resistor?

 

I won't connect the Arduino to the PC on the Motherboard USB, but on the back-I/O through a simple USB-Cable, so i won't need the USB MB Adapter.

 

The LED Strip has 5 Cables, 3 of them are packed, and the other 2 are seperate. the sperate cables are for power, the other 3 most likely to control the rgb channels?

 

The Arduino shown in Pic 4 does not equal the Nano 3.0. What do i need? Because I need a USB connection i would have to get the Nano, but are the pins, you connected in Pic 4, also on this one? I think so, but I better ask.

 

Cheers!

 

 

I think you another Tutorial for "outside the case" would be great. You could do this if you like, i think I'm not the only one trying to do this.

Thanks for showing interest in my project!

Addressing your questions in order:

1. Indeed, waterproof has a silicone jacket, the non-waterproof is just the strip.
2. For the 5v strip, every LED can consume up to 60mA at full white brightness, so 0.06A*5v = 0.3W per LED, so 300LEDs * 0.3W = 90W, so a 100W PSU should be more than fine. (ebay example 5v 20A)
3. No resistors needed, as all the necessary passive components are already integrated into the arduino or the strip
4. you are correct, the 2 power cables should be red and black, the other 3  should contain power, ground and signal in
5. The arduino I used is called the Pro Mini, and that is because I don't have a nano at the moment. The difference is that the nano has all you need in a single board, a the  mini needs the actual arduino + FTDI (it allows communication and programming from your PC). If you buy an arduino nano that's all you need.

I will consider doing the tutorial for outside the case, I would love to have my desk RGB-fied, I just need to wait until my ebay packages arrive. Also as for the HTML color codes, I really don't have any plans to add that functionality, but I might in the future.

Cheers!

[cron.7]

On 18.12.2016 at 0:27 AM, dany_boy said:

Thanks for showing interest in my project!

Addressing your questions in order:

1. Indeed, waterproof has a silicone jacket, the non-waterproof is just the strip.
2. For the 5v strip, every LED can consume up to 60mA at full white brightness, so 0.06A*5v = 0.3W per LED, so 300LEDs * 0.3W = 90W, so a 100W PSU should be more than fine. (ebay example 5v 20A)
3. No resistors needed, as all the necessary passive components are already integrated into the arduino or the strip
4. you are correct, the 2 power cables should be red and black, the other 3  should contain power, ground and signal in
5. The arduino I used is called the Pro Mini, and that is because I don't have a nano at the moment. The difference is that the nano has all you need in a single board, a the  mini needs the actual arduino + FTDI (it allows communication and programming from your PC). If you buy an arduino nano that's all you need.

I will consider doing the tutorial for outside the case, I would love to have my desk RGB-fied, I just need to wait until my ebay packages arrive. Also as for the HTML color codes, I really don't have any plans to add that functionality, but I might in the future.

Cheers!

Hey man,

It's been a while. I'm now at the point on buying the LEDs (this or next week), and while i wait I am planning this one out. Because the reason for this project is to make one behind my desk, i only use 330cm (back of my desk 250 + left side 80). My question is:

Can I control 2 separate Strips with 1 arduino nano?

First of, please answer without taking your program in consideration. If its possible, there sure will be a workaround with little programming.

I ask, because I plan to do the table as I said, and put the rest somewhere on/in my Case, because 170cm is lots of LEDs.

My thoughts: sure why not. There just has to be a radio box or something in the program to change the controls over the LEDs.

 

Some more little questions:

Is your software open sourced? In what Language did you programmed it? 

 

And I will do a kind of document it with pics or so, so you can use some pictures if you want to.

 

Cheers

[dany_boy]

7 minutes ago, 5chmidti said:

Hey man,

It's been a while. I'm now at the point on buying the LEDs (this or next week), and while i wait I am planning this one out. Because the reason for this project is to make one behind my desk, i only use 330cm (back of my desk 250 + left side 80). My question is:

Can I control 2 separate Strips with 1 arduino nano?

First of, please answer without taking your program in consideration. If its possible, there sure will be a workaround with little programming.

I ask, because I plan to do the table as I said, and put the rest somewhere on/in my Case, because 170cm is lots of LEDs.

 

Some more little questions:

Is your software open sourced? In what Language did you programmed it? 

 

And I will do a kind of document it with pics or so, so you can use some pictures if you want to.

 

Cheers

Addressing your questions in order:

1.- The code can currently handle only a single instance of LEDs. That means that if you want to connect 2 strips, it can be done but they will have the same lighting effect on them. It can be done though some more coding and I might implement the feature going forward. Maybe in a couple of weeks

 

2.-Yes, the code is fully open source, you can check it out here: https://github.com/Dany-Boy55/DIY-Smart-LEDs. It was coded in C# for and arduino's own version of C respectively.

 

I know its been a really long time since the last update, but I've been busy with uni assignments and exams. I will try my best to release rev1.4 this week. It bring some nice additional features and lighting effects. I'm still working on it trying to patch a bug that arose in the arduino side of things.

Thanks for the interest in the project!

Cheers

[cron.7]

16 minutes ago, dany_boy said:

Addressing your questions in order:

1.- The code can currently handle only a single instance of LEDs. That means that if you want to connect 2 strips, it can be done but they will have the same lighting effect on them. It can be done though some more coding and I might implement the feature going forward. Maybe in a couple of weeks

 

2.-Yes, the code is fully open source, you can check it out here: https://github.com/Dany-Boy55/DIY-Smart-LEDs. It was coded in C# for and arduino's own version of C respectively.

 

I know its been a really long time since the last update, but I've been busy with uni assignments and exams. I will try my best to release rev1.4 this week. It bring some nice additional features and lighting effects. I'm still working on it trying to patch a bug that arose in the arduino side of things.

Thanks for the interest in the project!

Cheers

That's nice. As it goes for shipping I won't start building it till April, so there is plenty of time.

 

Your answer on the 2 Strips is what I thought you'd say. It's nice you keep updating your program.

 

I asked for the open source, because I have Informatics in school ((called a or major something?) in my Country you get to choose 2 classes to get a 1-2 hours more a week, and informatics is one of mine). So I know some basics ( 1,5 years by now). I only know lazarus by now, but "gramatics" are the same, so just other writing. I may look into it after I built it, but just good to know.

 

I will keep you up to date

 

Cheers and good luck for your exams!

[dany_boy]

18 minutes ago, 5chmidti said:

That's nice. As it goes for shipping I won't start building it till April, so there is plenty of time.

 

Your answer on the 2 Strips is what I thought you'd say. It's nice you keep updating your program.

 

I asked for the open source, because I have Informatics in school ((called a or major something?) in my Country you get to choose 2 classes to get a 1-2 hours more a week, and informatics is one of mine). So I know some basics ( 1,5 years by now). I only know lazarus by now, but "gramatics" are the same, so just other writing. I may look into it after I built it, but just good to know.

 

I will keep you up to date

 

Cheers and good luck for your exams!

I'll try my best to get the 2 channels + a fan hub (maybe?) going before the end of February. I'll keep the github updated so anyone can check the code and modify it to make it their own if they want.

Cheers!

[cron.7]

On 30.1.2017 at 9:35 PM, dany_boy said:

I'll try my best to get the 2 channels + a fan hub (maybe?) going before the end of February. I'll keep the github updated so anyone can check the code and modify it to make it their own if they want.

Cheers!

 

Hey man, back at it again

 

so newest developments:

• usb mobo cable on the way
• got some connectors (to have the ability to unplug strips), but some downsides with it

 

The connectors i bought can't handle the amount of amps I need to flow through them, so they only be working as my signal transmitter the the LED's.

 

Now I have to think about Power. I have to find a cable, that fits my Ampere throughput and connectors with it. For my longest Strip to work i need around 12 A, so i need a wire, that supports that much amp (around 9-11 AWG when I'm right).

So I'll provide Power for my Strips through my PSU (not enough Amps on the 5V rail, but I have an PSU upgrade till summer), which provides me 15 A on the 5 V rail. Do i need a resistorto run the 12 A Strip (only), and if i have all different Strips (Plan i to have 3-4 "channels"/Strips), but I only turn on 2 Strips, will they get the right amount of Amp, or do i kill them with that?

Spoiler

 

So on the top you see how I want to connect everything and at the bottom how I would prefer the Strips to get their power.

[dany_boy]

26 minutes ago, 5chmidti said:

 

Hey man, back at it again

 

so newest developments:

• usb mobo cable on the way
• got some connectors (to have the ability to unplug strips), but some downsides with it

 

The connectors i bought can't handle the amount of amps I need to flow through them, so they only be working as my signal transmitter the the LED's.

 

Now I have to think about Power. I have to find a cable, that fits my Ampere throughput and connectors with it. For my longest Strip to work i need around 12 A, so i need a wire, that supports that much amp (around 9-11 AWG when I'm right).

So I'll provide Power for my Strips through my PSU (not enough Amps on the 5V rail, but I have an PSU upgrade till summer), which provides me 15 A on the 5 V rail. Do i need a resistorto run the 12 A Strip (only), and if i have all different Strips (Plan i to have 3-4 "channels"/Strips), but I only turn on 2 Strips, will they get the right amount of Amp, or do i kill them with that?

  Hide contents

 

So on the top you see how I want to connect everything and at the bottom how I would prefer the Strips to get their power.

What do you need 12A for? If you want to use meters upon meters of LEDs, I can guarantee you it will not work. The traces on the strips will suffer from too much Vdrop and they will probably burn. I'm going to class right now, but we can discuss later (in about 3 hours)

Cheers!

[cron.7]

3 minutes ago, dany_boy said:

What do you need 12A for? If you want to use meters upon meters of LEDs, I can guarantee you it will not work. The traces on the strips will suffer from too much Vdrop and they will probably burn. I'm going to class right now, but we can discuss later (in about 3 hours)

Cheers!

Plan is to run 3,3m alongside my table (length and depth) (I probalby could go down to 2,5m).

3,3m*60Leds/m*0,3W/SMD= 60W -> 11,88 A

[mariushm]

You won't have so much current per led. 

You'll have around 10-15mA per color , less than 50mA per led for leds that can be controlled individually.

If your leds use more than that, they'll need some active cooling, like taping the led strip to some aluminum strip or some metal, otherwise they'd burn up if they're kept at high brightness 24/7.

 

If you don't need led strips and control each led individually, buy some led strips that are designed to work with 12v.  Those have sets of 3 leds grouped together and each color in that set of 3 leds has a current limiting resistor.  The resistor makes sure each color in the set of three leds doesn't use more than 15-20mA of current.

If you have the patience and tools to desolder the resistors from the strip and replace them with another value, you can alter the strip to run from 18-19v (a 65w laptop adapter for example) which are everywhere, cheap and reliable. 

You can then turn on and off individual colors from the led strip using your arduino and npn transistors or mosfets.. there's plenty of tutorials online about how to do that.

 

[cron.7]

On 18.4.2017 at 1:28 AM, mariushm said:

You won't have so much current per led. 

You'll have around 10-15mA per color , less than 50mA per led for leds that can be controlled individually.

If your leds use more than that, they'll need some active cooling, like taping the led strip to some aluminum strip or some metal, otherwise they'd burn up if they're kept at high brightness 24/7.

 

If you don't need led strips and control each led individually, buy some led strips that are designed to work with 12v.  Those have sets of 3 leds grouped together and each color in that set of 3 leds has a current limiting resistor.  The resistor makes sure each color in the set of three leds doesn't use more than 15-20mA of current.

If you have the patience and tools to desolder the resistors from the strip and replace them with another value, you can alter the strip to run from 18-19v (a 65w laptop adapter for example) which are everywhere, cheap and reliable. 

You can then turn on and off individual colors from the led strip using your arduino and npn transistors or mosfets.. there's plenty of tutorials online about how to do that.

 

So what i already have:

• Arduino Nano
• 5v 5m RGB LED Strip (0,3W/LED)

So 0,3W/LED makes: 0,3W/5V=60mA -> longest Strip I want to power: 3,3m (2,5m if necessary) so that makes: 0,06A*3,3m*60(because I have 60LED's/m)= 11,88A.

 

Best Situation would be that i have on cable to supply power to the whole 3,3m. But if I get Voltage dropouts n' stuff I have to do something else.

If this does not go how I thought it would be, one solution I can imagine would be to cut the Strip in parts and do a bridge for every gap for the Signal (from the arduino) and do like every time i have cut them apart a new power cord.

 

Now how to understand this?

• Can I route my 5V rail without concerns to a single LED? Or will the massive Ampere overload kill it? (Because my plan is to not have every Strip on at the same time. Plan is to get the big one running most of the time and from the rest of my 5m I don't know what to do yet. Maybe just PC Case lighting)
• If 

  On 18.4.2017 at 1:28 AM, mariushm said:

  The resistor makes sure each color in the set of three leds doesn't use more than 15-20mA of current.

  my question above would be irrelevant, because the LED's would only consume the amount of Ampere they needed.

 

Thanks for your kind help guys, sorry I'm replying late.

 

Sincerely schmidti