RGB LED Light Fader

I wanted something really cool to put on my desk at work.  I have seen various LED projects out on the web, but I wanted something small and compact that I could power with the USB port on my computer.

I also did not want just a bare LED bulb projecting the light, I wanted something that could be visible and had a lot of surface area.

I almost did not document this project as it was so simple, but everyone who saw it at work thought it was so cool, I decided to create this step by step so everyone could create this project.

I was having a hard time finding something that would reflect the LED light.  One day I went to the grocery store and just happend to be walking down one of the isles and the night lights just jumped out at me.  What a cool idea,  I would use parts of the night light to construct the RGB LED Light Fader.

Here is a list of parts that you will need:

Radio shack project case
AC powered night light
USB cable that you do not need anymore (you are going to cut in in half)
ATTiny 2313 microcontroller
20 pin DIP socket (DIP = Dual inline package)
RGB LED, purchase several, as they are very cool to have around)
100 ohm, 1/4 watt resistor
2 69 ohm, 1/4  watt resistor
Some very small gage wire, 22 gage or smaller (larger the number, smaller the wire)
Hot glue,
AVR programmer, ( I have several, but the USBtinyISP Kit v2.0 is one of my favorite)

Small Development board with a ISP header for programming. ($7.00 - $10.00, buy six pin header add-on)
(http://evilmadscience.com/productsmenu/tinykitlist/231)

Access to either WinAVR (if you have Windows, or Eclipse, with the AVR plugin if you have Mac or Linux)

Your bigest expense is going to be the AVR programmer, but you can use this over and over. 
(Around $22.00, check out either LadaAda's web site, if you are on the east coast, or Evil Mad Scientist Labs, if you are on the
west coast)

Lets start building, shall we.

 

Step 1 Cutting up the Night Light

Here is an image of the night light that I purchased.  We are going to perform some surgery on this night light so, after cutting it open, do not plug the night light in the the AC.

*** Safety waring ahead ***

 It only takes about 100 milliamps to ruin your day, so just think what 15 amps can do to you.
Sorry I have got to do these warnings, for your and my safety

*** End of safety warning for now ***

Use a sharp x-acto knife, or an old soldering iron to remove the plastic around the light.  We are interested in the small section of plastic that holds the clear reflector,  I purchased two night lights, just in case I removed too much plastic or destroyed the plastic holder.

Please refer to the second image to see what I am talking about.

In the image you are interested in the black cutout,  After removing this section I sanded the piece and painted it satin black to match the Radio Shack project case.

Save the circuit board from the AC circuit, as there are some good parts that you can use later.  Also study the circuit, as this is an example of how you can take 120v/220v AC voltage and convert it to around 5 volts DC current.

Lets design our circuit.



 

Comments

[plighting]

Very creative but I can't see the video.

[jpitz31]

Hello,

Yes, I have to make the video smaller, I will post a new video when I get a chance.

Thanks

Joe

[WhiteTech]

I love it! but it would be nice to have a picture of it working :)

[jpitz31]

Hello,

There is, go to the last page of the steps, I put a link to my Google + site, which includes a video.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/101649696461503987713/posts

Scroll to the post on the RBG light, There is a video link.

Thanks

Joe

[mr.incredible]

Looks simple enough. Nice work. The video isn't shared.

[jpitz31]

Hello, I placed a video in the last step on the instructable.

Thanks

Joe

[bricabracwizard]

Couldn't find your video through any of your links