Hi everyone, I am wanting to build a set of neon underglow (1 colour, blue) I want to run it from my car battery and want the project to have a toggle in so I can power off (as illegal for road use in uk) a switch for constant on and one for my arduino to run the sound reactive lights via a transducer. The solid on and the off function are easily done lol just wondering about power spikes and if the jack will be the best way to power
will be running around 5mtr of led strip light
What jack? What Arduino?
its the dc plug and its the arduino uno
Can you please post some details, links or specs on the LED strips, a diagram of how you plan to hook everything up?
If the strips are 12V you can't power them from the Arduino.
For the function you describe, usually you would have a MOSFET module to drive the strips, controlled from a PWM output from the Arduino.
You could power the Arduino from the barrel jack with the auto 12V as long as you don't allow it to drive current consuming loads.
Probably, it would be a good idea to use a DC-DC converter to isolate the car's unstable (-5 to +30V) "12V" from the circuit, instead provide regulated 12.0V.
But for a first try, you might not need that.
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THIS IS THE LINK TO THE LEDS I WAS THINKING OF
To start, the LED strip uses 60 watts. So you will need a MOSFET module to control it. What is your level of hardware and software knowledge?
I am very much novice but build the sounds and lights for a proton pack with just help with some of the coding but all the soldering and circuit building was my own work. I understand the coding to an extent but unsure on what would be required to build a circuit of this type
Did you check out MOSFET modules?
This seems like a waste of an Uno. You could use a Digispark. These can be programmed with the Arduino IDE but are tiny and have only 5 pins. You could use the Uno while you develop the prototype circuit and code, then use Digispark for the actual build.
A agree with the advice to use a MOSFET and to use a 12V to 5V adapter designed for use in autos to power the Uno/Digispark.
The led strip is rated for 12V use, but the voltage is more like 14V while the engine is running. Do you know if that would damage the strip?
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