Here’s a cool hack to get you in the December holiday mood! Arduino controlled Christmas lights!
It all started because [Anx2k] had some leftover LED’s from one of his other projects, so he decided to make use of them as permanently mounted Christmas lights. He’s installed them underneath his tiled roof, and run all the wires into his attic where he has an electrical box serving as the main control hub. He uses an Arduino Uno to control them, and a 460W computer power supply to provide the juice. The LED modules themselves are Adafruit RGB pixel strings. There’s actually three of the LED modules per tile — two shining up to illuminate the tile, and one shining out.
He’s set up a ton of different patterns to run, and they are pretty awesome! Check out the video after the break.
While it doesn’t look that weather proof, it’s a nice unobtrusive way of putting up lights!
[Thanks for the tip David!]
Nice, I’d keep this there as a permanent feature ready for the following year.
Here in Arizona, it’ll get over 150 F in the attic. I’m not sure how well they’d last if left there over the summer. If you live in a more moderate climate, you might have better results. I wish they’d work here though.
150F is only 66C, I don’t know many electronics that aren’t rated to operate from at least 0-70C (this is the standard “Commercial” temperature range). And for that matter if it’s left unpowered the storage temperature applies, which is typically much, much wider – often -40 to 125C or more.
As a basepoint, the ATmega328P has an operating temperature range of -55 to 125C (suggested -40 to 85), and a storage temperature range of -65 to 150C. (Page 313 of the datasheet)
I live in Gilbert and I agree with you, mikemac. I crawl through attics quite often for a living and once I exploded a 160F thermometer just trying to measure the temp in one. I wouldn’t trust it to that kind of heat. If you are the creator of this, nice job! I bought two Lynx Express pcb’s a couple years ago but haven’t got around to stuffing them, but I will eventually, and get a nice light show going while pissing off the HOA. I like how you put them under the tiles! I’ve always attached my “strings” to the tiles with binder clips.
Whoa… looking at that with my hazy morning eyes somehow my brain interpreted the whole scene as starships stored in dark shady hangers chizzled into a granite cliff-face on the surface of some distant desert planet.
Hey add some kind of remote and 1D pong can be played on the side of the house.
Sound activation.
2 mics, some software, and a shotgun loaded with rock salt for the kids yelling “Hadouken!” at your house at 3am.
Does anybody else see this as an optical illusion? If you look away from the picture parts of it appear to get closer or further. Or maybe I’m insane. Probably the latter.
Wow, Fancy camera moves for a homemade light setup. Maybe his day job is cinematography..
Incidentally the lights are pretty cool too :)
For some reason that reminded me of the mothership from ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’…
Wonderful thing. This is something I am looking for a long time. Unfortunately, I can hardly programming.
Would it be possible to get the Arduino code?
Thanks
Gerd
Is the sketch for your patterns posted anywhere? They really look great!