How to Make RGB Party LED for Audio | Music Visualizer

In the previous article "How to Make Pocket RGB Light | Arduino & WS2812B". I made a Pocket RGB Light using a WS2812B LED and an ESP-01 as a controller. This article received a pretty good response compared to my previous articles. So, I will use WS2812B again for my project in this article.

in this article I will create an RGB Party LED using the WS2812B. I will make LEDs that can follow the beat of the music like those at a party or music concert.

In this project, I use STM32 as the LED controller. I replaced the ESP-01 with STM32 because I needed a controller that had a faster clock speed.

I will use this to decorate the computer setup in my studio.

Component for the Controller module :

• 1* SMD Green LED
• 1* 1x5 Male Header
• 1* 2K Trimpot
• 1* IC LM1117
• 1* IC LM358
• 1* STM32F030F4PW
• 1* Tact Switch
• 1* 2P T-Block
• 1* 3P T-Block
• 2* 3.5mm Audio jack
• 2* SMD Resistor 0R
• 2* SMD Resistor 330R
• 5* SMD Resistor 1k
• 7* SMD Resistor 10k
• 8* SMD Capacitor 100n
• 5* SMD Capacitor 10u

Material :

• 1* Modul WS2812B STM32
• 1* Subwoofer Speaker
• 1* Power supply 5V
• 2* 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable
• LED WS2812B

Below I have provided a Schematic and PCB Layout file if you want to make this module. You can also see the schematic and layout in the image above.

To make a nice and neat module. I decided to use PCBway's services to print the PCB. why did I choose PCBway, because By making PCB on PCBway you can get High Quality 10 PCs PCBs for only $ 5 & new member First order Free: www.pcbway.com .

Besides PCB, I also ordered Stencil for this design. Stencils are very useful for the process of inserting SMD components

For PCB fabrication required gerber file of PCB design. The gerber file can also be downloaded below

Gerber file

Inserting is my favorite step every time I made a electronic module.

There are two techniques I use for inserting SMD components. First, soldering directly like THT components with ordinary solder. Second use solder paste and steam solder. In making this module I wanted to try using solder paste and steam soldering. Let's go to the insertion stage:

Tools and Materials :

• Solder Paste
• Stencil
• Skrap
• Paper tape
• Pinset
• Steam solder

Steps :

• Make a jig ==> place a PCB that has the same height on the three sides of our PCB, after that put tape on the jig so it doesn't move (picture 1)
• Setup stencil ==> Set the stencil so that the stencil hole fits on the PCB pad, tape the top of the stencil so we can open it (picture 2)
• Add solder paste ==> put solder paste on one side of the stencil, flatten the solder paste using scrap until all the stencil holes are filled with solder paste (picture 3)
• Put component ==> put component accroding to BOM and Schematic (picture 4)

• Steam soldering ==> Use Steam solder to finish inserting (picture 5)

For components other than SMD can be installed in the usual way using solder

After the inserting process, check each component and make sure the components are perfectly soldered on the PCB. After that clean the PCB from residual flux using a PCB cleaner.

Now the module is ready to go to the next step which is programming

For this stage I have provided a ".hex" file. This file contains a standard program whose results you can see in the last step. For those who want to try the program, I have also provided the source code.

Tools needed:

• ST-Link

Required application:

• STM32 ST-Link Utility => to flash the .hex file to the board
• uVision / keil 5 => to see the source code

steps to flash the module:

• Connect the module with ST-Link
• Connect ST-link to PC
• Open the STM32 ST-Link Utility app
• Click connect to the target, if the board is detected a memory address will appear
• Open the ".hex" file I've provided
• Click target -> program & Verify
• Click start and wait until the process is complete

After the flashing process is complete, the module can be assembled and testing.

Source Code

For this step, I have made a block diagram for the installation of the module. And here is a guide for its installation:

• Connect LED WS2812B to Module
• Remove the double-sided tape at the bottom of the LED
• Install the LED around the edge of the speaker
• Plug the cable from the audio source (PC, HP, etc) to the input connector
• Plug the audio cable from the output connector to the amplifier
• Connect the module with power supply

Now the module is ready for testing.

The results of testing and making this media can be seen in the video above.

Enjoy and see you in the next article.