Hello i was wondering if it were possible to take THIS set up and use it to control ten to fifteen rgb leds
To control more than one LED you have to use a more powerful current sink than just an output pin.
- logical level MOSFETs e.g. IRLU 024N, ..
- Darlington array , e.g. ULN2803
15 RGB LEDs will need around 200mA, times 3!
Well, maybe the MOSFETs are a little bit of overkill...
Edit:
I had some 2N7000 laying around for months now... this thread brought them back to my mind.They differ from well known logic level MOSFETs in that they are truely "low power": 500mA max! And they cost practically nothing (<20 cents). They also come in a quad package: VT1000. A true alternative to small signal bipolar transistors.
Providing they are the same type and operate at a similar current you could wire the relevant coloured LEDs in series. This of course means you will need to drive them with a higher voltage supply, say 24 to 36 volts with a constant current controller in the supply leg. The advantage is that your supply current is relatively low and you don't have the problem of trying to control the current through each individual LED. There is no need to balance voltage across each LED as it's the current that does the "work"
jack
What jackrae describes is realized in the popular LED strips.
They consist of groups of 3 (12V) or 6 (24V) plus a small current delimiting resistor. As bright LEDs have a so called forward voltage close to 3, this is the limit.
When you want to look advantagious you can connect the end of such row of 3 LEDs plus a resistor of - say - 220 Ohms to an Arduino pin (the other end at + 12 volts!).
However take a little care when fiddling around with 12 or 24 volts near Arduino pins. The issue is not the intended circuit but some bad slip...
I have to confess, that..... but no, that is not your business
Talking of slips....
The original set-up does not contain any resistor. This is fine, as the currrent is pulsed by a PWM with duty cycle < 1/4.
iT is fine only as long as the intended program is running. As soon as programming errors, hang-ups or different code enter the scene this is not without risk
so if i used that set up, i would need more power?
lets say i use 10 of these
would i be able to use a power supply of 12v? and if i did, would it still be possible to use the three pots? or would this idea be completely out of the relm of possibility?
sorry if these sound noobish but they are, i have just started with the arduino.
Looks fun.
I may have to dig around and find my rgb LEDs too.
All RGB LEDs are quite similar. Look for this:
Current: should not exceed 20mA
Forward voltage: should not exceed 3.5V
Leads: Should be 4, one is the COMMON ANODE, to connect to positive voltage. Dont buy things with 2 leads, they'll do something else than what you expect...
All this has nothing to do with Arduino, but with most elementary electronics. So please do also read one of the 1.234 tutorials in the web, covering "How to connect LEDs to a microcontroller"
Dont buy things with 2 leads, they'll do something else than what you expect...
I'd expect them to flash different colours... what do they really do I am intrigued.
For a demonstration I once soldered a female 2 pin connector to the tiniest 3.7 volts LiPo could find, took it out ouf my right pocket, then one of those flashing RGB LEDs out of my left pocket and stcked them together. It worked fine for many hours and was very impressive ;D
okay sorry, im a little new to all of this, im only just 16 as of the 22nd. im going to explain this all again and hopefully explain exactly what im trying to do.
Okay so i want my arduino to control 10 rgb leds using three 10k pots, like this example: Arduino Playground - RGBLEDPWM my only problem is that i would need more power than just the 5v coming from the arduino, correct me if im wrong. so in order to do this, i could use a transistor or a logic-level MOSFET correct?
if i used a transistor, connected to the three pwm pins, and connect those to the leds in parallel, i believe this should work? please correct me if i am wrong about any of these assumptions.
Many happy returns then!
Try this first: compute how much current and how much voltage is involved at what place in your design.
It makes no sense to follow receipes or unclear commands any longer now after your 16th birthday.
Try this first: compute how much current and how much voltage is involved at what place in your design.
how might i go around doing such?
Some hints:
- Always apply Ohm's law : V = R * I
- LEDs dont have a specific resistance, but a constant voltage drop (called "forward voltage") when they shine: This is around 2 volts, higher for blue ones (3 volts), lower for red ones (1.5 volts).
- The current through a transistor's collector-emitter path is mainly determined by the collector resistor.
Of course! That is an excellent device which is meant to directly plug a long RGB LED strip to it. In contrast to using a current delimiting resistor (which is kind of poor man's current source), it contains one (i.e. 3) true constant current sources which can be modulated (i.e-just on/of) by pulses.
What we can do is discuss how exactly this is done... No?
In fact it needs not more than 5 parts per channel , so what's inside is around 4$, there is a nice case and screw connectors, lets say also 4$ so 25 $ is not really so overprized. A rule is - when you sell things - that you try to get 3 times the prize of the ingredients.
In your case this is a little overkill (4 amperes per channel), but it will work fine!
The good thing is, thatyou are very flexible with the voltage supply, you take anything DC that is just higher than the sum of the forward voltages of the chain of the connected LEDs.
In your case this is a little overkill (4 amperes per channel)
i understand that its a bit of an over kill, but that leaves room for expantion thanks for the help!