Big, Auto Dim, Room Clock (using Arduino and WS2811)

Projects General Guidance
1

Big, Auto Dim, Room Clock (using Arduino and WS2811)

There are several things I do not understand in this instuctabels, as I am a newbee.
And I do like to build this clock (as a magic mirror), fix/glue the LED's to a black
painted plywood sheet and a 1way mirror in the front.

1st. where can I get this one, and how to hook it up: 3 leds / controler
#define NUM_LEDS 58// Number of LED controles (remember I have 3 leds / controler)

2nd.
Step 6: Wire Arduino on Breadboard
Light Sensor: will that be a LDR?

Buck COnverter: I do not know what that is, is that a IC f some kind
and how to conect it.

3rd.
LED strip
On mine I have: +12, R, G, B
How to connect this to the UNO board (or better a Mega board)

4th.
Button 1: (DST): Daylight Saving Time?
I live in the Pilippines so we do not have daylight saving time here.
How can I remove that from the sketch?

Button 2: (H): Hour setting?
Button 3: (M): Minuttes setting?

Later I like to change it to a GPS clock.
And add a BMP180/280, temp an barometric pressure,
That will be something :slight_smile:

The sketches:
Clock.ino
Compile fine on Arduino1.8.8

Light LEDS.ino
Do not compile.
Here is the problem, in
void setup()
LEDS.addLeds(leds,NUM_LEDS);
How can I fix this

arduino sketch from:
TomaszK52
Evan31
Cameltoe
jeffreye
Cameltoe (This is the modification I've done so far with no luck.)
They all compile without problem. So which sketch will I start with?

I do hope any of you Arduino gurus out there can help me to shine
some light on this problems.

But I do have a Mega bord laying around, maybe that is a good
idea to use that one? Yes? :slight_smile:

2

jogeir1959:
I do like to build this clock (as a magic mirror), fix/glue the LED's to a black
painted plywood sheet and a 1way mirror in the front.

It sounds like a very cool project!

jogeir1959:
1st. where can I get this one

The author of the Instructable says they bought theirs from Aliexpress. You can buy these LED strips from many different places. They are even sold right here in the Arduino Store:
https://store.arduino.cc/usa/rgb-addressable-led-strip-sk6812-30-pixels-per-meter
You can also get them on eBay, Amazon, Adafruit, Sparkfun, etc. Note that the WS2812 or the SK6812 clone of the WS2812 are now much more common than the WS2811 used in the Instructable. They are interchangeable. The only difference is that the WS2812/SK6812 IC is built right in to the LED package whereas it is a separate chip on the WS2811.

jogeir1959:
how to hook it up

There is a huge amount of information on this topic already available online. Do a little research. After that, if you still can't figure it out, come back here with a specific question and a complete description of what you tried.

jogeir1959:
Light Sensor: will that be a LDR?

From the Instructable's bill of materials:

Digital Light Intensity Sensor Module Photo Resistor for Arduino - 0.99$ on ebay

Just do a search on eBay for "Digital Light Intensity Sensor Module Photo Resistor for Arduino"

jogeir1959:
Buck COnverter: I do not know what that is, is that a IC f some kind

From the Instructable's bill of materials:

DC-DC Buck Converter Step Down Module LM2596 Power Output 1.23V-30V - 0.90$ on ebay

Just do a search on eBay for "DC-DC Buck Converter Step Down Module LM2596 Power Output 1.23V-30V"

jogeir1959:
and how to conect it.

Connect your 12 V power supply to IN+ and IN-. Connect the circuit that needs the stepped down voltage to OUT+ and OUT-.

jogeir1959:
3rd.
LED strip
On mine I have: +12, R, G, B
How to connect this to the UNO board (or better a Mega board)

That is the wrong type of LED strip. You can't use it with this Instructable. You need to get an addressable LED strip that uses the WS2812 or SK6812 chipset.

jogeir1959:
4th.
Button 1: (DST): Daylight Saving Time?
I live in the Pilippines so we do not have daylight saving time here.
How can I remove that from the sketch?

Leave that code in the sketch and just don't connect the DST button.

jogeir1959:
Light LEDS.ino
Do not compile.
Here is the problem, in
void setup()
LEDS.addLeds(leds,NUM_LEDS);
How can I fix this

When you encounter an error you'll see a button on the right side of the orange bar "Copy error messages". Click that button. Paste the error in a message here USING CODE TAGS (</> button on the forum toolbar).

jogeir1959:
They all compile without problem. So which sketch will I start with?

I'd start with the one provided by the author of the Instructable.

jogeir1959:
But I do have a Mega bord laying around, maybe that is a good
idea to use that one? Yes? :slight_smile:

As long as you have the space in the project to fit the larger Mega board and you don't mind that the Mega is more expensive than a Nano, go for it.

3

OK
Thank you very much.
So first I have to order the LED strip that uses the WS2812,
and the DC-DC Buck Converter Step Down Module LM2596.
And I will come back and post how things are working out.

Thank's a lot again, much appreciated!
Happy new year.

4

You're welcome. I'm glad if I was able to be of assistance. Happy new year!
Per

5

The WS2812
So meny on eBay .....

Will this one do?

Or

Per er du Norsk?
Jeg er normann bosatt her på Pilippinene i snart 10 år :slight_smile:

6

jogeir1959:
The WS2812
So meny on eBay .....

I know the feeling. It's frustrating trying to find the best deal because almost all the listings are multiple item listings with some stupid little $0.99 connector thrown in. So you can't just do a "Price + Shipping: Lowest first"-sorted search and buy the top result. Then if you're trying to also comparison shop on Aliexpress it doubles the amount of work!

jogeir1959:
Will this one do?
https://www.ebay.ph/itm/10-50-100PCS-Mini-WS2812B-WS2811-IC-10mm-3mm-DC5V-SMD-5050-RGB-Led-light-Sample/263099642071?hash=item3d41f5f0d7:m:m1oPwvjg1dMNTBynJ2voCMA:rk:10:pf:0

You can use those, but you'll need to do more soldering to connect all the individual breakout boards together. They might be a good solution if you wanted to position the LEDs in ways that were not convenient using the LED strip like the Instructables.

jogeir1959:
Or
WS2812B 5050 RGB LED Strip 5M 150 300 Leds Individual Addressable 5V IP60 IP67 | eBay

That will work.

jogeir1959:
WS2812B 5050 RGB LED Strip 5M 150 300 Leds 144 30LED/M Individual Addressable 5V | eBay

That will work too.

jogeir1959:
Per er du Norsk?

Per is a traditional Scandinavian name and I have some of that ancestry on both sides of the family, but I'm from the USA. It's not at all a common name here.

7

pert:
I know the feeling. It's frustrating trying to find the best deal because almost all the listings are multiple item listings with some stupid little $0.99 connector thrown in. So you can't just do a "Price + Shipping: Lowest first"-sorted search and buy the top result.

Dead right. You first have to ignore all the listings with a "to" price range, then even when you get past those, you find a multiple listing pull-down with some completely unrelated trivial item.

Of course eBay doesn't care, there is no mechanism provided to report obviously blatant misrepresentations.

And the absurdities continue - why would anyone ever want to list "Price + Shipping: Highest first"?

8

It's so annoying. It turns what should be a 4 minute job into a 1.5 hour job. The strange thing is that eBay tends to favor the customer over the seller with their policies but in this case the are saying "screw you" to the customer big time.

The other huge gripe I have is that Aliexpress and Etsy don't even have a sort by Price + Shipping option. It seems like that would be the most obvious feature that any marketplace would have. On Aliexpress, I usually just check "Free shipping" but that can often cause you to miss the best priced listing.

Paul__B:
why would anyone ever want to list "Price + Shipping: Highest first"?

It can actually be good for laughs.

9

pert:
On Aliexpress, I usually just check "Free shipping" but that can often cause you to miss the best priced listing.

Occasionally.

10

So I order those item's:

WS2812B 5050 RGB LED Strip 5M 150 300 Leds 144 30LED/M Individual Addressable 5V

Digital Light Intensity Sensor Module Photo Resistor for Arduino

Estimated delivery Jan 18 - Feb 22

So I will work on my other Arduino project;
Aruino UNO (clone), LCD KeyPad Shield (SKU: DFR0009), BMP180 and DHT22
And try to figure out how to log to a SD card

I did not know, but I have a few of those from before:
DC-DC LM2596 3.2V - 40V 3A Power Supply Buck Converter Step-down Module

That is for power the LED's I understand

I also have RTC modle aswell, so that's it.

JogeirL