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[on:]

Hey all,

Really new to this, whats the easiest way to control multiple RGB LED's separately? I can code up one RGB, but a bit unsure of the best way to code up and power  5 or 6 at once.  I have a uno board and need to control about 6 rgb LEDS.

Cheerio,
Rup

[Reply #1 on:]

Hey fellow Aussie Rupert,

have a look at this;

http://www.elcojacobs.com/using-shiftpwm-to-control-rgb-leds-with-arduino/

Pedro.

[Reply #2 on:]

Really new to this, whats the easiest way to control multiple RGB LED's separately? I can code up one RGB, but a bit unsure of the best way to code up and power  5 or 6 at once.  I have a uno board and need to control about 6 rgb LEDS.

What do you mean by 'control'? Do you want color fading? How accurate? Do they all have to be independent or do they all show the same color?

A TLC5940 chip is commonly used but you can only do 5 RGB LEDs per chip. You'd need two of them for six LEDs.

[Reply #3 on:]

I would definitely use the TLC5940.  I'm currently using 8 of them to control 42 RGB LEDs in a project I'm working on.

[Reply #4 on:]

WS2803 has 18 ports so ideal for controlling 6x RGB LED's

[Reply #5 on:]

WS2803 has 18 ports so ideal for controlling 6x RGB LED's

Cool. I didn't know about that one...

It looks easier to control than the TLC5940 as well. You only need two wires and no messing about with timers to drive the PWM clock.