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[on:]

I've got an Arduino Mega 2560 and a bag of both normal and UV LED's, and I'm relatively new to Arduino. I've been able to control them with serial (Mostly based on DarthTater's Morse Code program http://arduino.cc/forum/index.php/topic,8243.0.html)
after the practice of blinking an led. Now I'd like to do something else.
Does your community have any suggestions for a dude
with a bag of assorted LED's and an Arduino?

[Reply #1 on:]

I've got an Arduino Mega 2560 and a bag of both normal and UV LED's, and I'm relatively new to Arduino. I've been able to control them with serial (Mostly based on DarthTater's Morse Code program http://arduino.cc/forum/index.php/topic,8243.0.html)
after the practice of blinking an led. Now I'd like to do something else.
Does your community have any suggestions for a dude
with a bag of assorted LED's and an Arduino?

Well building and programming a simple LED cube is a pretty neat project and a real step up in complexity. Even a 3x3x3 led cube (requiring 27 leds, and 12 output pins to drive) is a good stretch project that I would recommend.

Lefty

[Reply #2 on:]

Oh, Cool! I don't have 27 LED's, but I'll see what I can do about it! Thanks, Dude!

[Reply #3 on:]

Hi Tvex,

Pick up some resistors too.  Do you know what values you need?

Pat

[Reply #4 on:]

I'd do an LED chaser or Knight rider grill or Cylon scanning eye. It's fun.

[Reply #5 on:]

Yes, never go without resistors. Here is a tutorial on resistor calculation.

http://liudr.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/how-to-calculate-current-limiting-resistor-for-leds/

[Reply #6 on:]

You can make a Arduino Cube like this, but smaller depending on how many leds you have

[Reply #7 on:]

Okay, here's the problem. I got my Arduino for Christmas, and I'm not even Twelve yet, so I don't have access to vast sums for resistors, LEDs and stuff. Can you recommend a 20 Dollar project?

You said you already had a bag of LEDs, which is great. You definitely need resistors to control the current through those LEDs. Perhaps you already have some, if those LEDs came in a kit. Otherwise, you would need to buy some. Fortunately they're relatively cheap. It's usually cheaper to buy a bag full rather than singly, and £5 - £6 would usually get you several hundred resistors.

[Reply #8 on:]

You really should get some resistors, they're really cheap. You can also get some potentiometer and other sensors. There also very cheap. You can put leds in one row and make one chase another.

[Reply #9 on:]

I apologize for my earlier impatience .
Also, didn't define "bag" correctly. I've got 3 mini-packs of LED's from RadioShack. I've got 21 Assorted LEDs, plus 4 UV LEDs. Maybe "Baggie"?
I found a couple nice places to get led's and resistors for a good price:
http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/partsmenu/341.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-8W-Watt-82-ohm-82ohm-82R-R-Metal-Film-Resistor-0-125-W-1-50pcs-/221054490863

[Reply #10 on:]

Those resistors are quite small, just 82 ohms. You should get some common resistors, such as 100 ohms, 200 ohms, 470 ohms, 1k ohms, 10k ohms, 100k ohms, and 1m ohms. They will help you a lot.

[Reply #11 on:]

As you are on a tight budget I would recommend getting one or two of each of these:

LEDs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/100pcs-5mm-R-G-B-W-Y-ultra-bright-LED-kit-/220988641549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3373f3110d
Resistors: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-400Pcs-1-4w-Resistance-1-Metal-Film-Resistor-Kit-Set-20-Kinds-Each-20-/390519047951?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item5aecbfc70f

That would give you a lot of LEDs and resistors to start your learning experience.

/Henning

[Reply #12 on:]

Wow! Of the 10 forums I've ever been associated with, this is the most supportive of the array. Thank you for helping me out.
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