Controlling LED Strip Lights with Arduino Uno

[oliviasromano]

Hi, I am completely new to Arduino and need quite a bit of help!

I am currently doing a major project for year 12 and I am wanting to make a light box sign that is activated (lights up) when a button is pressed, within the sign I am hoping to put LED strip lights to illuminate the sign.

What I am hoping to achieve is; a person presses a button the LED strip lights in the sign flash a few times (this is so the sign catches people's attention) and then turns off.

How do I go about this? I have bought a Duinotech Learning Kit and I have 12V RGB LED Light strips from Bunnings. I am a visual learner so it is hard to understand reading instructions!

Some other questions I have are;
Do I need to buy Mosfets?
Will I need to do some soldering?
What button do I get?
What codes will I need to write?

I have attached some images of the equiptment I already have:

[gilshultz]

Welcome, I hope you have a few weeks to get through this. What you want to accomplish is not very difficult in software. Your biggest problem will be in assembling the hardware properly. You have some nice pictures but if that is all you have you have some problems. First draw a schematic of your hardware as you think it should go together. Post as you go along, we will help you, we realize you are not a professional. Pleases do not post useless frizzy pictures they are missing most of the needed information. You can hand draw the schematic and take a picture of it or you can use something like KiCad (free). You are on the right track by posting what you have but without links to the hardware items it is very difficult if not impossible to properly answer your question. We are interested in the small details like ohms, volts, and current. This can be done without soldering maybe. Your LED strips appear they will need soldering.

[oliviasromano]

Thank you so much for your time to help me!

I have until July 2023 to complete my project so I have a lot of time. Thank you for guiding me it is really clear on what I have to do now.

I have decided the best option for me is to download KiCad and have a go at drawing the schematic, if that doesn't work then I will resort to drawing by hand and adding all the small detatils.

Once I am done I will post it to see if there is any alterations needed, if not I will purchase any other equiptment needed and have a go at putting it together and then work through the next steps after that.

Also yes my LED strips will need soldering, which of course I have no background in haha!

Thank you again, I really appreciate it and I will keep you updated!

Olivia

[oliviasromano]

Hi, I have used Circuito.io to create a schematic diagram as I had trouble understanding KiCad.

Let me know what you think!

[Grumpy_Mike]

@oliviasromano

I have 12V RGB LED Light strips from Bunnings. I

Can you supply a link to the actual one you bought.

You see there are two types of 12V led strips, addressable ones and none addresses ones. The circuit with the FETs are for the none addressable strips.

Note that with these all the LEDs will be the same colour.
The FETs need to be logic level FETs, that is one's that will turn on with a 5V signal. Give us the FET part number and we can say if it is a logic level one or not.

[gilshultz]

I am glad we helped. You will find KiCad will take some time to learn but there is tons of stuff on line and it generates real schematics, not frizzy wiring diagrams. It took me just a few hours to get my first simple schematic but after that each one got easier. Once you learn parts of it it will for the most part transfer to other CAD programs so it is not like you are locked into one piece of software.

[DVDdoug]

For drawing schematics I found Digikey's online Scheme-It easy to use. You have to create an account but they don't spam you.

Or, a hand-drawn schematic is fine here.

...For PCB design I use the schematic tool that came with the software package but it wasn't as easy to learn or as easy to use.

[oliviasromano]

I have attached the link to the LWD light strips below and the MOSFETS I am hoping to use. I don't think the LED light strips are addressable as I am only wanting the light to flash one colour.

Click 5m Silicone Coated RGB Led Strip Light

[oliviasromano]

Thank you very much, would it be possible to show me a schematic you have drawn with an Arduino?

[Grumpy_Mike]

Well here is a schematic I drew a few years ago.

It is not only for the game but also includes the circuit of an Arduino in it.
Note how the flow of the signals is from left to right. Also positive is towards the top and ground is towards the bottom.
See how the physical pin order on a chip is totally ignored to make the wiring neater and more understandable. See how repeated elements like the hall sensor are drawn once but are shown as separate boxes.

This was drawn in a generic 2D vector drawing package called MacDraft. A free alternative is to use Inkscape.

This is a video clip of the game in action.
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/21342024

P.S. That is a logic level FET so it will be OK.

[oliviasromano]

Hi everyone, I need a lot of help! I am new to Arduino and have decided to have a go at it as I am wanting to create a lighting system for inside a light box sign.

What I am hoping to achieve is that when you press a button (the green concave button seen in the photos), the LED strip lights will turn on and flash/blink for a few seconds than turn off. So the only way to activate the sign is by turning it on with the button.

Is what I am wanting to achieve possible, I created this diagram/schematic that I have followed, however I do not know what my next step is. I know I have to solder some wires but not to sure how and if I have put the whole thing together correctly.

I have attached some images of what I am up to and just wanting to know if I’m soldering the correct wires.

You may also notice that I’m powering the Arduino externally for now, however I want it to be battery operated.

Thank you for anyones help!

Hi everyone, I need a lot of help! I am new to Arduino and have decided to have a go at it as I am wanting to create a lighting system for inside a light box sign.

What I am hoping to achieve is that when you press a button (the green concave button seen in the photos), the LED strip lights will turn on and flash/blink for a few seconds than turn off. So the only way to activate the sign is by turning it on with the button.

Is what I am wanting to achieve possible, I created this diagram/schematic that I have followed, however I do not know what my next step is. I know I have to solder some wires but not to sure how and if I have put the whole thing together correctly.

I have attached some images of what I am up to and just wanting to know if I’m soldering the correct wires.

You may also notice that I’m powering the Arduino externally for now, however I want it to be battery operated.

Thank you for anyones help!

[oliviasromano]

Do I solder this?

[oliviasromano]

Do I solder this?

[oliviasromano]

Do I solder this?

[Grumpy_Mike]

@oliviasromano

Do I solder this?

Yes, yes and yes.

You can't make stuff without soldering. A solderless bread board is only for temporary prototyping. And even then some stuff needs to be soldered because it won't fit in the 0.1" hole spacing.

Still not got the idea about a schematic. All you posted was a physical layout picture, which is useless for checking a circuit is correct.