Step-by-step, easy to follow instructions on the building of a LED Rainbow RGB LED PWM Controller. Only a minimal amount of parts are needed, along with a PIC processor, and you can construct one of the most amazing LED controllers available.

The system is capable of driving either RGB LEDs, or individual Red, Green and Blue LEDs to produce stunning effects.

The bare PCB, kits of components, code necessary to program into the PIC controller are all available from the http://www.pcboard.ca/kits/led_rainbow/ support site at www.pcboard.ca .

Full details on the LED Rainbow, along with user guides, display sequence summaries, programming information for the PIC processor along with full customization details are all freely available on the support web site.

If you have a well stocked bench with components, you can easily build up this project in an afternoon.

The LED Rainbow is a dedicated Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controller which generates color changing effects with RGB LED lighting products. The circuit controls three outputs, each which has the ability to run an LED segment, and with three segments, is a natural for the control of RGB LED arrays.

Sequences are fully customizable and are contained in the microcontroller, which has the ability to strobe, cycle and fade the lighting, creating a massive palette of over 16 million colors using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technology. Each output has a resolution of 8-bits, which gives each color a range of 256 intensities and when the three colors are mixed together, a full rainbow of color combinations is possible.

With a minimal parts count, the LED Rainbow is very economical for the hobbyist to build, using industry standard components and running off of a standard 12v-15v power supply. The 2" (51mm) square board is a double sided construction with a detailed silk-screen which aids in the placement of the components.