Introduction

Welcome to the first MakerLab! In this lab, we’ll be

  • working with Arduino microcontrollers
  • wiring simple circuits
  • using PWM to control colour
  • using Serial to send messages via UART

By the end, you’ll learn everything it takes to build an actual RGB strip in real-life MakerLab1 Poster Test Image

Prologue

Have you ever wondered how an RGB strip works? Those Phillips ones can cost €50< for just 2m, when I bought a 5m one that’s also waterproof, for half the price (probably there are even cheaper ones if not purchasing from Amazon) Expensive vs Cheap LED strips

And what are in them? How can I just cut them to whatever length I want? Or even extend them?

And if each LED has 3 colours, does that a 5m strip with 60 LEDs/m has 5*60*3=900 wires connecting to the controller? 😱

How do addressable LEDs work Well my friends, the solution is all thanks to the addressable LEDs (in my case, the WS2812 LED chip).

And this lab will teach you all about how it works.

And for those who manage to get a full pseudo-RGB strip working, I’ll have a prize :)

Table of contents