Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

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Lahmib
 
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Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by Lahmib »

First of all, i made a cosplay sword on my first try from parts ordered from here.THANK-YOU. i took a white LED strip, soldered it to one of your 12V switches then soldered it to one of your 8 AA battery holders. I cast the strip in resin leaving the wires exposed, then hid the battery pack in the handle. It came.out beautifully.

Now I want to make a purple one with an illuminated power switch.

Do I connect the red and blue wires from the analog LED strip to my + wire to make it show up as purple when lit? I'm hoping its.no more complicated than that.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I cast the strip in resin leaving the wires exposed, then hid the battery pack in the handle. It came.out beautifully.
If you have photos, please post them. We feature may great cosplay projects in our blog.
Do I connect the red and blue wires from the analog LED strip to my + wire to make it show up as purple when lit? I'm hoping its.no more complicated than that.
That should work, it you are not too picky about the shade of purple. Connected directly like that it will tend more toward the magenta/pink side. There are a few approaches to fine-tuning the color, depending on how sophisticated you want to get.

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Lahmib
 
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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by Lahmib »

Oh, the + wire from the LED strip will run to the normal open and common posts on the switch while the - wire from the LED will run to the - post on the switch.

I think i read the wiring instructions right. Please help if i'm wrong.

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Lahmib
 
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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by Lahmib »

Thanks for your response AS Bill. If you can send me to the tutorials about color control I'll read them. This isnt my forte so it might take awhile to educate myself in the intricacies of board building, programming and what not.

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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Oh, the + wire from the LED strip will run to the normal open and common posts on the switch while the - wire from the LED will run to the - post on the switch.
Actually, these are common anode, so the switch will go between the +12v common connection and the + side of the battery pack. The R, G and B anodes would go to the - side of the battery pack.
If you can send me to the tutorials about color control I'll read them. This isnt my forte so it might take awhile to educate myself in the intricacies of board building, programming and what not.
There are 2 options:
One involves using a small microcontroller, which will give you very fine control of the color. (It will also let you implement dynamically changing color schemes if you are feeling brave enough!) The tutorial for that is here: https://learn.adafruit.com/rgb-led-strips/usage
But you could substitute a much more compact processor than the one shown: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2000

The second option is one of trial & error. You get a bunch of power resistors and start inserting them in-line with the red and/or blue power connections until you find the color you like. The resistor requirements will depend on how long a strip you plan to drive and how bright you want to run it.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Oh, the + wire from the LED strip will run to the normal open and common posts on the switch while the - wire from the LED will run to the - post on the switch.
Actually, these are common anode, so the switch will go between the +12v common connection and the + side of the battery pack. The R, G and B anodes would go to the - side of the battery pack.
If you can send me to the tutorials about color control I'll read them. This isnt my forte so it might take awhile to educate myself in the intricacies of board building, programming and what not.
There are 2 options:
One involves using a small microcontroller, which will give you very fine control of the color. (It will also let you implement dynamically changing color schemes if you are feeling brave enough!) The tutorial for that is here: https://learn.adafruit.com/rgb-led-strips/usage
But you could substitute a much more compact processor than the one shown: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2000

The second option is one of trial & error. You get a bunch of power resistors and start inserting them in-line with the red and/or blue power connections until you find the color you like. The resistor requirements will depend on how long a strip you plan to drive and how bright you want to run it.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by Franklin97355 »

One thing I've done in the past was to connect 1K pots inline with power and adjust them until I got the color I wanted then removed them and measured the resistance. I then substitute the closest resistor value I can get.

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Lahmib
 
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Re: Help me wire this LED strip, thanks!

Post by Lahmib »

here are some pics. remember, this was my first try at this, i made the saya out of a cardboard shipping tube and glued some vinyl on it, that took maybe 30 minutes.

for the next one i've bought a plastic scabbard and BANNED strap. i plan to put the LED strip inside a cellophane rolled diffuser for an even glow.

thanks for all the help, i'll post my progress as soon as all the electronics arrive.
20140901_202641_Android.jpg
20140901_202641_Android.jpg (584.35 KiB) Viewed 189 times
20140901_202724_Android.jpg
20140901_202724_Android.jpg (485.37 KiB) Viewed 189 times

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