RGB Led Control [PC,Arduino]

sharing is caring .. that's the motto of this instructable.. :D

to all the led freaks like, here's a treat ..

i wanted to accomplish full control my computer's chassis custom led strips, 3 strips to be exact, full control as in hue automatic modes single for all the 3 channels or a strip at a time.

to make this project we need :

* Arduino Mega 2560, with a long USB cable, i used a 1.5 meter

* x3 analog rgb led strips [not the expensive addressable ones]

* x2 Darlington array, IC #uln2003a

* wires, a wire cutter, solder, and a wire tube to cover things up.

* small breadboard for testing.

* power supply that provides 12v to power the leds.

* PC code using C# on visual studio to send the command to the arduino.

* last ,the arduino code to recive the command and apply them to the led output..

notes:

u can buy pre soldered led strips, which would make it easier, also using wire jumber cables for the arduino is easier.

let's hit the dirty work :D

solder your leds with 4 wires each, the 12v+ should be connected to your 12v+ power supply or adapter, in my case im using the pc power supply, just tab into one.

connect the 3 strips as in the diagram, and don't mind the strip1 since we r only using 3..

u can use the gnd from the power supply or the provided by the Arduino Mega, it would matter if u r not using more than 3 meters in total of the strips length.

first of all, the Arduino sketch, you'll need the Arduino IDE, download it and get it ready

download the sketch and upload it .. :D

for the pc software u have to download the full visual studio project files, test the compiled file, if it didn't work, try compiling the project your self ..

it has been tested for 5 days for now

also note that this is a tool that runs in the notification area of your taskbar, and it can hide it self there .. you may also want to add it to start up with windows, for windows 10 u can type "shell:startup" in RUN.

as you can this tool has many options , first you have to select the com port your arduino is connected to, 99% it will find it automatically.

mode A will change the hue color of the led for a delay amount of time, you can change from the delay counter.

mode B will cycle through the hue colors also with the delay but with different hue for each channel.

mode C and E are fixed colors for the top and bot channels, the front led strip will cycle hue colors.

mode STRB will strob the leds like a cop car, the same effect happens when the software starts for 10 seconds.

clear_all button turns off all the leds, same effect happens when you close the software.

you can also send custom colors to each channel using the RGB sliders and the led strip check list.

this is my first real working project using C#, after making a calculator :D,so i'm waiting for feedback, if u have any suggestions or more functions and ideas for me to add, im almost always available ..

don't forget to check out the preview videos..

that's about all, have fun .. :)