Connecting in Series

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Interfacing
1

Sorry to keep spamming the forum with my newb questions. They really shouldn't allow people like me on the internet.

I have 3 ShiftBrites hooked up in series, or at least I think I do (here's a picture: All sizes | First Arduino Test with ShiftBrites | Flickr - Photo Sharing! - yes I am getting some different colors of hookup wire soon).

When I run my home-cooked program which just fades in & out of red, blue and green they all do that together. I guess this is normal? But when I run the sample programs from the ShiftBrite library, they just sorta flicker and generally don't do anything resembling what I want them to do.

I feel pretty confident that the problem is not in the library that everyone seems to be using without problem, but rather with my wiring which nobody is using but me - the guy having the problem.

2

Are you still using a 5 volt supply? It may work fine for single colors, but when you start mixing colors and having multiple LEDs on in the same ShiftBrite, the power supply is a big factor. If you have a four-battery holder or a 9V clip, maybe test it and see if it behaves the way you expect. In any case, your 5.5 volt supplies will arrive soon.

A few days ago I tested some higher-power LED setups and needed to add a capacitor across the power terminals to keep it from flickering.

3

Yeah, I'm still using this 5V supply. I was wondering if power might be a problem. I'll give it a try when the power supplies arrive.

I don't mean to be a pest, but I do appreciate all your help, mace.

-that guy