Hello everyone. This is my first question to post on here so forgive me for any indiscretions. I have been hunting the web for hours trying to figure this out and have finally broken down and asked for help. It seems simple enough. I have an LED string of lights I bought off Amazon. It is one of those basic Christmas tree light systems that are available everywhere, but this one is solar powered. You turn it on and then press the "mode" button to change flashing patterns. I can tell from a multimeter that the voltage is change polarity, but I don't understand how it works. The LED lights appear to be wired in series when I look at then under magnification. If I apply a simple power supply to the string directly the lights do nothing, so there is something more at play then I understand. I want to control this string with an Arduino so I can have music change the pattern, or maybe motion change the pattern. I basically want to have the ability on the "mode" button to be managed by the Arduino versus the physical button. How can I do that? Let me know what information you need that I might have left out. Thanks in advance.
Please provide a link to the product on Amazon.
Sorry. I put the link below.
I don't think I've seen anything like these. I've seen plenty of "candle flicker LEDs" but I've never seen a LED that both flickers and allows you to change the mode.
My best guess is that the controller turns the power on/off for the whole string rapidly and at different rates to create the different modes.
I put them in the mode that slowly brightens and every other light and then dims them as the alternate very other light brightens. I read the voltage with a meter and it would go from 0.00, everything off, to 2.00v all even lights bright and the down to -2.00 volts where all odd lights were bright. Of course, applying a simple battery current to the string did nothing and I couldn't get an amperage reading with my meter. I probably need a scope to really see what is going on, but I don't have one. I wish I could get the program off that chip! Lol