Hi All,
Please help.
I have been handed a project, that uses a light strip, but it is nothing like any of the tutorials. This project did previously work, but stoped working when our online server changed (we are using eithnet shield to get data about a page, and then we are making light strip act accordingly. The light strip looks like this link :
How it Works
Basicly : On Arduino, there are only two wires (GND & Pin 8 ) both of these wires go into a "rayexelec" chip. I am not sure of the purpose of this "rayexelec" chip. A cable then comes out of this "rayexelec" chip into the light strip.
The hardware also has a LED power supply (output 12V). One end of the power supply connects directly into the mains (plug in wall) and the other end connects into the "rayexelec" chip.
My Understanding in that the LED power supply , suppies the main power into the "rayexelec" chip for the light strip. The wires going from the arduino into the "rayexelec" chip are basicly the switch (Software written as digitalWrite(8,HIGH);. It actually seems like a simple enough circuit, but I can't get it to turn on.
I have enclosed some Pictures and Diagram :
>> http://www.rothco.ie/daragh/diaram.png
>> http://www.rothco.ie/daragh/physcialView.png
Also note, the light strips have a "cap" rather than lose wires when they are been connected.
Any help at all would be fantastic !
Notes :
The lights work perfect when connect directly to mains.
I am using a UNO board with an eithernet shield on top.
The Eithernet shelid connects correctly to twitter.
I am not sure if it is a hard ware issue or software issue 
,
The code I am using is a slightly modified version of the twitter client in the libary, which basicly turns on pin 8 :
/*
Twitter Client with Strings
This sketch connects to Twitter using an Ethernet shield. It parses the XML
returned, and looks for <text>this is a tweet</text>
You can use the Arduino Ethernet shield, or the Adafruit Ethernet shield,
either one will work, as long as it's got a Wiznet Ethernet module on board.
This example uses the DHCP routines in the Ethernet library which is part of the
Arduino core from version 1.0 beta 1
This example uses the String library, which is part of the Arduino core from
version 0019.
Circuit:
* Ethernet shield attached to pins 10, 11, 12, 13
created 21 May 2011
by Tom Igoe
This code is in the public domain.
*/
#include <SPI.h>
#include <Ethernet.h>
// Enter a MAC address and IP address for your controller below.
// The IP address will be dependent on your local network:
byte mac[] = {0x90, 0xA2, 0xDA, 0x00, 0xBA, 0x44};
IPAddress ip(10,11,0,62); //<<< ENTER YOUR IP ADDRESS HERE!!!
// initialize the library instance:
EthernetClient client;
const int requestInterval = 60000; // delay between requests
char serverName[] = "api.twitter.com"; // twitter URL
boolean requested; // whether you've made a request since connecting
long lastAttemptTime = 0; // last time you connected to the server, in milliseconds
String currentLine = ""; // string to hold the text from server
String tweet = ""; // string to hold the tweet
boolean readingTweet = false; // if you're currently reading the tweet
int led=8;
void setup() {
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(led, OUTPUT);
// reserve space for the strings:
currentLine.reserve(256);
tweet.reserve(150);
// initialize serial:
Serial.begin(9600);
// attempt a DHCP connection:
if (!Ethernet.begin(mac)) {
// if DHCP fails, start with a hard-coded address:
Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);
}
// connect to Twitter:
connectToServer();
}
void loop()
{
if (client.connected()) {
if (client.available()) {
// read incoming bytes:
char inChar = client.read();
// add incoming byte to end of line:
currentLine += inChar;
// if you get a newline, clear the line:
if (inChar == '\n') {
currentLine = "";
}
// if the current line ends with <text>, it will
// be followed by the tweet:
if ( currentLine.endsWith("<text>")) {
// tweet is beginning. Clear the tweet string:
readingTweet = true;
tweet = "";
}
// if you're currently reading the bytes of a tweet,
// add them to the tweet String:
if (readingTweet) {
if (inChar != '<') {
tweet += inChar;
}
else {
// if you got a "<" character,
// you've reached the end of the tweet:
readingTweet = false;
Serial.println(tweet);
if(tweet == ">Hello Cruel World"){
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
//digitalWrite(led, HIGH);
digitalWrite(led,HIGH);
Serial.println("LED ON!");
}
if(tweet != ">Hello Cruel World"){
digitalWrite(2, LOW);
Serial.println("LED OFF!");
}
// close the connection to the server:
client.stop();
}
}
}
}
else if (millis() - lastAttemptTime > requestInterval) {
// if you're not connected, and two minutes have passed since
// your last connection, then attempt to connect again:
connectToServer();
}
}
void connectToServer() {
// attempt to connect, and wait a millisecond:
Serial.println("connecting to server...");
if (client.connect(serverName, 80)) {
Serial.println("making HTTP request...");
// make HTTP GET request to twitter:
client.println("GET /1/statuses/user_timeline.xml?screen_name=RandyMcTester&count=1 HTTP/1.1");
client.println("HOST: api.twitter.com");
client.println();
}
// note the time of this connect attempt:
lastAttemptTime = millis();
}
The arduino board itself is powed by a mains plug and I am currently using a USB for testing. I have a network cable going into the eithernet board.
Moderator edit:
</mark> <mark>[code]</mark> <mark>
</mark> <mark>[/code]</mark> <mark>
tags added.