Hello, I'm hoping to put together a simple desktop cube with ten RGB LEDs that are controllable by a user interface, most likely switches and potentiometers. The goal is to be able to control the direction, intensity, and color of the lights.
What I'm not sure about is whether to use DMX to control the LEDs, or simply write code to do so.
Any direction or thoughts on the subject in terms of design and hardware would be appreciated.
I would guess; button for direction, three potentiometers for color, and a potentiometer for speed. You could automate it with a real-time-clock. Part of the fun is imagining.
Or make that bidirectional - all the way right is full speed ahead, all the way left is full speed the other way, centered is not changing.
Hhmm..excellent!
A sim for the speed/direction pot...
DMX usually complicates things unless you are already using DMX or unless you might want to later integrate with a DMX setup.
A little more detail on the setup:
What I hope to achieve is a cube of track that supplies power and data to the LEDs, which would be moveable anywhere on the track. The controls wouldn't send move instructions, just intensity and color. There would be up to ten lights that could be plugged in on the track and controlled through the user interface.
RGB LED intensity IS color.
Draw a picture of the cube. No need for accuracy. Just the idea you "see."
Here's what ChatGPT came up with. Missing a few switches and a leg of the cube, but basically accurate.
Definitely cool... and codable. Just keep in mind the number of DIO pins, AIN pins, and external power management.
Using map you can get -255 at one extreme and 255 at the other, then use sign as direction and absolute value as magnitude.
A motor subjected to a change in direction with no change in speed when you move the pot a bit isn't going to be too happy.
a7
Yup. Hence, having to rotate the pot through zero is a good idea.
Again, the lights aren't motorized. Just controlling RGB values
I interpret "control direction" as motorized. You could use a PCA9685 MUX to control servos to point the lights along 180 degrees direction, and still have room for 14 and four AIN. Or try ESP32 line of products.
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