Summary of Blinky Lights using Arduino and LumiGeek
This project uses an Arduino UNO combined with three LumiGeek shields to control various types of RGB lighting. It includes 1 Watt RGB LEDs powered by the 3XCC constant current shield, an addressable RGB LED strip controlled by the 1xAddressable shield, and four non-addressable RGB LED strips managed via the 4xRGB shield. The system is programmed to produce effects like color fading and emulating car headlight hues with random variations, demonstrating customized multi-source LED lighting control.
Parts used in the Arduino UNO with LumiGeek Shields Lighting Project:
- Arduino UNO
- LumiGeek 3XCC Shield (for 1 Watt RGB LEDs)
- Two 1 Watt RGB LEDs
- 12 Volt Power Supply
- LumiGeek 1xAddressable Shield (for addressable RGB LED strip)
- Addressable RGB LED Strip
- LumiGeek 4xRGB Shield (for non-addressable RGB LED strips)
- Four Non-Addressable RGB LED Strips
I used the Arduino UNO combined with three LumiGeek shields to run lighting. LumiGeek has dedicated shields to support 1 Watt RGB LEDs that require constant current, Addressable RGB LED Strip, and Non-Addressable RGB LED Strip.
Step 1: 1 Watt RGB LEDs (2x)
I wired these in series and powered them with the 12 Volt source on the Power Supply. The LumiGeek shield that powers these is the 3XCC – it provides constant current so the LEDs don’t fry (the LEDs decrease in resistance as the heat up so the board manages this in order to provide a constant current).
Step 2: 1x Addressable RGB LED Strip
I used LumiGeek’s 1xAddressable shield to drive the Addressable RGB LED Strip; this shield can control a single addressable strip.
Step 3: 4x Non-Addressable RGB LED Strip
I used LumiGeek’s 4xRGB shield to drive the Non-Addressable RGB LED Strip; this shield can control up to four (4) different strips.
Step 4: Programming the lighting
The shields provide some basic functionality that made is super easy for me to get the 1 Watt RGB LEDs to shine GGB International Orange, and fade between random colors on the non-addressable RGB LED strip. Making the addressable RGB LED strip bend to my will of emulating cars of various headlight hues and speeds was a bit more challenging and my friend John “Parts” Taylor of LumiGeek coached me through the process of shifting pixels and assigning constrained random colors (various shades of white/yellow) and making the fastest “car” morph into a red/blue “police car” ~1 every 7 times (constrained random). I have attached the INO file that is running the Arduino UNO and three (3) LumiGeek shields.
For more detail: Blinky Lights using Arduino and LumiGeek
