Wireless LED

Projects General Guidance
1

I have a project were I have to wirelessly control 10 modules with one channel (LED) on each controller. I need them to be controlled by one arduino and be able to dim each module separately (so the input to the arduino is a POT or something (thats the least of my worries))

The LEDs Probably just be bright 5mm led so low current.

I had my eye on the 433mhz transmitters and receivers but I don't think you could have 10 channels going at once, also they probably not reliable.

But i need it as small and CHEAP as possible.

Thanks Ian

2

The 433 MHz modules, if equipped with reasonable antennas (17 cm straight wire) and error detecting encoding/decoding software like VirtualWire, are quite reliable and very cheap. It would be no problem to send 10 brightness values once a second or so to a remote LED controller.

3

so how would I code 10 channels

4

ianscott-arduino:
so how would I code 10 channels

You would learn how to send a message using that hardware, and then write code to send a message containing ten values, and code to receive the ten values and output the corresponding brightness on each channel.

5

Try EasyTransfer Arduino Library « The Mind of Bill Porter. The download contains an example for using it with the VirtualWire library. Regarding reliability the EasyTransfer library also automagically performs checksumming of transferred data.

6

i kinda know how to use virtual wire sending one channel but ten i have no idea

7

ianscott-arduino:
i kinda know how to use virtual wire sending one channel but ten i have no idea

You do not need 10 channels you only need to send a message that contains enough information so that only the module that is addressed responds to the message.

8

If the receiving Arduino controls all 10 LEDs, then the transmitting Arduino uses VirtualWire to send a single message (perhaps once every second) containing 10 bytes of information. Each byte contains one brightness value in the range 0-255, corresponding to LEDs 1-10.

9

I think what they are saying is

the transmitter sends a message with all 10 codes
all the receivers receive the whole message
receiver 1 acts on the 1st code
receiver 2 acts on the 2nd code
etc.

So each receiver's sketch is hard-coded to respond to only it's part of the whole message.

John

10

I've had better luck sending multiple messages with a different header (which is particular to the intended recvr) in each message. the 433MHz modules i've used ar AM and therefore subject to a lot of noise and backend arduinos don't always get the entire message packet. I've had a lot better luck using Nordic modules.