12v RGB LED Strand Button configuratoin

I wrote a longer response...but for whatever reason my session needed to restart and it lost my message. :frowning: ok, well anyway...essentially it's a motor driving by a potentiometer (throttle). mine is 72v and controlled by a very basic (but very expensive) control board.
You don't have to go far. but they are fun! :slight_smile:

anyway, this is the push button that I am using.
http://arduino.cc/en/tutorial/button

I believe pin 1 (top left straddling the center of the board) which has the positive, is connected to the pin 3 constantly. upon pressing the button it connects the whole circuit to pin 2 which gives it the signal...I believe. :slight_smile:

indeed the problem is very small and I feel like an idiot because the first thing we did in the practice booklet was get a reaction from a push button (the one above). and now, for whatever reason, with how I have it wired, I am not getting a reaction. :frowning:

I believe pin 1 (top left straddling the center of the board) which has the positive, is connected to the pin 3 constantly. upon pressing the button it connects the whole circuit to pin 2 which gives it the signal...I believe. smiley

Sounds like you have not tested the button with an ohm meter. Those buttons with more than 2 pins can be tricky, and if not wired correctly, will cause problems. Test it to make sure.

ok....so, i'm grateful I ordered two arduino's (the nano v3.0 and the uno with the starter kit) I plugged the pins that were in the uno into the nano (2 to 2 5v to 5v and gnd to gnd on the nano)...pushed the button press with serial count output and it worked instantly. maybe there is something wrong with my arduino uno? or maybe my atmega chip on the uno? ugh...i'll have to do consistency checks on it...but at least I have THAT part figured out.

so, in your opinion (which is actually very helpful and highly valuable and if anything comes of it I'll be sure to remember in an appropriate gracious form). Would you suggest a "physical" switch between the red and the green? By use of mosfets (like the AND and the NOT gates similar to that of a solar yard light) or should I use the arduino for this? I want to learn more on the arduino anyway for build of a smaller controller.) I can use a car usb adapter to control the voltage output and keep it at the 5v 1-2 amp (really 1amp max would be all i would need i would assume to act as a signal).

thank you again for this. I felt like a moron not even being able to do button test. >_<

ok, so pin 2 connects to pin 4 on the atmega. top and bottom of the atmega (solder points) connect just fine. so maybe the atmega internal is bad? however, when connected via usb the 5v output pin only pushes out 4.5v. it sits at 4.8v from the power pints and 2.44v from the data pins of the usb (after connection is made to the arduino uno). however, that is what the mosfet and other components are for on the board...boost it and keep it at 5v. however, i don't think that is directly the problem. any suggestions on how to debug if the atmega is actually bad or not?

I'll play with the little guy for now instead since the big one isn't responding well. :frowning:

oh man! that was SO much faster after realizing my uno board was bad. >_< so freaking excited! I got the red and green to power switch in a few small lines of code, got everything else good and running smoothly, minus one small detail. the red, green, and blue lights are on simply when I supply voltage to the board. they aren't being keyed on. so i'm assuming something somewhere is giving them voltage from the main power supply. I'll have to trace that around. what do you think would cause these lights to still draw power without the signal call from the mosfets?
I'm using this diagram for powering the leds

pulling out the mosfet I see that the power still goes through...maybe I have a dirty ground somewhere? i dunno, i'll trace it out tomorrow. i'm just excited that i have the red and green doing what I want. ^^ ready to prep for christmas colors too! :slight_smile: lol ><

I have been out of pocket for a couple days, and have not been available to reply.
You think the uno is bad. Did you try some basic examples like blink?

Your led strip stays on without the control pins?
Mystery to me, maybe that strip is designed to do that. Not all strips are created equal. Or, maybe you have wired it wrong?

no, strip doesn't do that when it is connected to micro led controller (IR). only on my board. maybe I need a diode? or to move a resistor somewhere or something? without the mosfets it still lights up with only power. (it is very dim...but very noticeable still...plus,a draw is a draw that I don't need when supposed to be "off"

I did some very basic tests that required input for output. it's the input that is having a problem. so the button push test for instance. it should yield a serial print to the system...it does not.

but on the nano it does just fine. :frowning: maybe I need to change out the atmega chip?

Well, I still suggest that you try the blink example. That is about as simple as it gets.

For the led strip lighting dimly. It may have its own amplifiers, and with an open input it could do that. May try putting a pull down (or pull up) resistor on the line. About 10k should be a good range. Put one side of resistor to the ground, and the other side to the input for that color.

it will control my rgb strip just fine so long as it has the commands to do what it is supposed to do without influence. but receiving a signal (on pin 2 at least) doesn't work. I should try other pins just to see if it's only that pin. but I think maybe the atmega is damaged in some internal points?

so, I do have 10k ohm resistors on each signal feed and that does nothing. the Collector pin (per the drawing included in the prior links). :confused: I'll have to look around and see if others are having this problem. also, my red isn't near as bright as the strip is on the other IR mini driver. :confused:

however, this is extremely exciting that it is working at least. :slight_smile:

Glad you are getting some results. Keep looking.

Thanks. :slight_smile: i'll also go see if I can find some type of voltage regulator (something that takes a range of voltage and drops it to 5v). I believe I've seen some mosfet looking types before that do this. this is fun. always good to see when something goes through successfully. :slight_smile:

Maybe something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAR-LED-Waterproof-DC-DC-Buck-Converter-12V-to-5v-3A-/261158898952

why something so bulky? when I can use a voltage regulator about the size of a mosfet that drops it down and then stabilize the current with caps? much smaller, more efficient, and can fit into a smaller box. :slight_smile: i found some regulators already too. :slight_smile:

There are lots of ways to get voltage regulation. If you have a preference then go with it.
I just like these kind because it seems they are more efficient, and have better regulation, can be hooked up with out a circuit board and solder.

this is very true. i'm a minimalist and I like small. ^^ i'll have to send you pics when i'm done. and when I do get something comfortable working i'll be sure to share with you. ^^ (if you are interested). :slight_smile: right now I have a small regulator that works nicely for testing. :slight_smile:

Sure I am interested. Even tho I try to help people on the forum, I also learn a lot in the process. I am all ears. LOL

^^ awesome! ^^ so, random question pertaining to my uno. my 5v is outputing less than 5v.. it's about 4.6v is this normal?

so, it didn't really hit me until after i took everything off the breadboard but the led pins, the resistors are the reason there is a glow >< most guides suggest using resistors to the ground from the base pin. i'm using 5050 smd led. higher wattage requirements than most other leds. So i took off the resistor and just let everything travel through the fet. and it works! woot woot! No more drain on the battery either! so that resolves that problem. and It all works beautifully well with my 5v regulator! wooooooootttttt!!! ^^ now, last thing to do is ensure I have a proper 12v regulated source going in (wouldn't want any spikes or brownouts to the arduino! :slight_smile: )

the lm7805c works flawlessly!! for between the 12v and my button. :slight_smile: now I just need a 12v 6a regulator for driving the leds and i'm done! :slight_smile: (well, if I can get these fets to be much smaller I would be so much happier! i'll have to do some ripping apart of some other things to get the parts I need. but woot! looking through my mouser magazine right now! :slight_smile: