This add-on to a Soleil Sun alarm lets the clock control the brightness of a bank of LEDs. A microcontroller adjusts the power of the LEDs so they appear to dim at the same rate as any incandescent lights you may have attached to the alarm.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Background
We run a tight ship here at Squid Labs. Partners are expected at their desks, pencils ready, at 7:00 AM sharp. Given the 4-hour each way commutes typical of the Bay Area and 12-hour works-days, there's not alot of time left for sleeping! So, anything to simulate a natural existence, like a sunrise, is greatly appreciated.
I use a Soleil Sun alarm with its incandescent light controller to simulate sunrises in the morning. It works fairly well and often I wake while the lights are about half brightness, before the radio comes on. Recently, a few close friends, some with seasonal affective disorder, have started using a blue light box -- the Golite -- and swear by it's effectiveness.
Despite having timers on the Golite, it doesn't have an alarm setting and won't turn the LEDs on automatically. Worse, in darkness, the lowest light setting of 10% isn't that different than 100%, and compared to a "sunrise" driven by incandescents, the difference between 0% and 10% is quite jarring. I wanted to try blue light and so decided to build my own LED light source integrated with my alarm clock.
I use a Soleil Sun alarm with its incandescent light controller to simulate sunrises in the morning. It works fairly well and often I wake while the lights are about half brightness, before the radio comes on. Recently, a few close friends, some with seasonal affective disorder, have started using a blue light box -- the Golite -- and swear by it's effectiveness.
Despite having timers on the Golite, it doesn't have an alarm setting and won't turn the LEDs on automatically. Worse, in darkness, the lowest light setting of 10% isn't that different than 100%, and compared to a "sunrise" driven by incandescents, the difference between 0% and 10% is quite jarring. I wanted to try blue light and so decided to build my own LED light source integrated with my alarm clock.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
Can anyone help me with the circuit for the wake up light, please.
"Blue and RoyalBlue power light sources represented here are IEC825 class 2 for eye safety."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_safety#Class_2
This means that LED can cause damage is the user stares at them. HB LEDs should always have a diffusor in front of them.
I've never noticed a flicker at 190Hz myself, but I used to have an old monitor that would drive me crazy at "90hz" that wasn't quite 90hz and had about a 1hz beat; 75 was fine.
I've got it working without the nonlinear code; but I'm getting compile errors when running the makefile. :(
I suspect they've changed the codebase of the reference files.
downloading the latest avr-gcc, and comiling using the make files:
make -f makefile.txt
gives me the following error:
Google search returns a couple of germans who've had similar problems but it looks like they didn't have resolution.
C:\Users\Brian\Documents\atmel>make -f makefile.txt
avr-gcc -g -Wall -O2 -mmcu=atmega8 -c -o pwm_int.o pwm_int.c
In file included from pwm_int.c:21:
c:/progra~1/winavr-20070525/bin/../avr/include/avr/signal.h:36:2: warning: #warning "This header file is obsolete. Use <avr/interrupt.h>."
pwm_int.c: In function 'ioinit':
pwm_int.c:88: warning: implicit declaration of function 'timer_enable_int'
avr-gcc -g -Wall -O2 -mmcu=atmega8 -Wl,-Map,pwm_int.map -o pwm_int.elf pwm_int.o -lmpwm_int.o: In function `ioinit':
C:\Users\Brian\Documents\atmel/pwm_int.c:88: undefined reference to `timer_enable_int'
make: *** [pwm_int.elf] Error 1
Just went to the electronics store and bought nigh on $150 of tools to build this.. :)
I'm fairly experienced building circuits, but horrible at modifying circuits; and i've never created a digital circuit. I'm hoping this might break me into the techniques.
I'm finding it hard to read the circuit diagram however. The text is nigh on unreadable; even after clicking the "i".
Also.. having tried to decifer the component list:
Are they 1W or 3W stars?
What wattage are the resistors?
Will 1 watt voltage regulator do?
I could only get a 24V 1000ma power supply. Do I need to modify the circuit at all?
Also I couldn't get a hold of an optoisolator.. "discontinued" aparently; i'll get one online. Whats the purpose of this component? Simply to isolate it from the other circuit?
I've never used a buckpuck. There are options i've got no idea about; No dimming, Dimming with internal pot, Dimming with external pot; Also flying lead option. re: http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut131 Too many options! heh.
Thanks; i'm really lost.
Brian
As mentioned here, I used Luxeon III's, which are 3 watts. The wattage of the resistors doesn't matter because they are not being used as power (dissipating) resistors. The voltage regulator only powers the Atmel, which draws far less than 1 watt. A 24 V power supply will limit the total number of LEDs you can drive, because they are driven in series and the total voltage of the system has to be greater than the combined drop across all the LEDs. The optoisolator prevents this circuit from affecting the circuit in the Soleil alarm clock.
If I were to do this project again, I would probably use an Arduino to avoid dealing with the Atmel programmer directly.