Touch Sensitive RGB LED Mood Light

I always really wanted a cool LED Mood Light, but all of them I have seen on Instructables use IC's, and I find IC's take out some of the fun of building circuits. That is the reason I designed this lamp. I also wanted to make sure all the parts were available from Radioshack, because I know there are other people, like me, that don't or can't order off the internet, which is another reason IC's are no good for some people. Radioshack doesn't carry a great selection.

*As well, as a bonus, since this is power by 5-6v dc it can be USB powered, but I power mine from either a 6v dc 300 ma wall adapter or 4 AA batteries.*

Step 1 Parts, Tools and Materials

This isn't an overly difficult circuit, but may be a little difficult for a beginner, but with slow and careful work, anyone can build this.  If you are a bit of a beginner, the Optional Markers under tools should come in very handy, as well as the color coated wire under materials.  For markers, I find the Colors, Black, Red, Green, Blue and Orange were of greatest help.  They are good for marking were leads of parts go onto the Perfboard and allows you to figure out what configuration will work best for you.  Just make sure you remember your color code!  As well, a solderless board is also a good idea.

For tools:

- Wire strippers
- Solder and Soldering Iron
- Glue gun (For gluing long leads down so the wire doesn't bend back and fourth and 
  break)
- Dremel or Tin Snips (Anything for cutting Perf Board)
- Side cutters
- Markers (Optional)

For Parts:

- 3x 2N3906 Transistors (Or similar)
- 3x 2N3904 Transistors (Or similar)
- 3x 1000 uF 6.3+volts capacitors
- 3x 6 ohm 1/4 watt resistors (Color code, Blue, Black, Gold, Gold)
- 3x 10k ohm 1/4 watt resistors (Color code, Brown, Black, Yellow, Gold)
- 1x 330 ohm 1/2 watt resistor (Color code, Brown, Black, Brown, Gold)
- 3x 1N914 Diodes
- 3x Germanium Diodes
- 3x Red LED
- 3x Green LED
- 3x Blue LED
- Momentary Push Button Switch
- DC Barrel Jack or Battery pack
- On/Off switch (Optional)
- Ribbon Cable with Plug (Optional)
- 5-6v dc power supply.  I used 4 AA batteries.

For Materials:

- A lamp or other enclosure (Not covered yet, as I want to enter this in a Contest, will be 
  updated later)
- A shade or something to blend colors (In the video I used a Paper Funnel)
- Assortment of wire, preferably color coated

Comments

[gkoutsioukis]

I am curious about how the all touching thing works.Are there switches of sorts? Or you just tap the wires with your hands to make the color switch?

[Wesley666]

The way it works is there are 3 NPN transistors, one for each color. NPN transistors work that when the voltage at the base becomes positive they turn on, and power can flow across the collector and emitter. The base voltage can be very small and it can control a large amount of power across the collector and emitter. Since you don't need a large voltage we use skin resistance to control when they are on and off. So there are 3 leads, one from the base of each transistor, and each have a small gap between it and the fourth lead, and the fourth lead goes to the positive terminal on the battery. That way when a finger is placed across the gap of one or more of the gaps it turns one or more of the transistors on. The longer a finger is held across the gap, the brighter the lights get.

[gkoutsioukis]

I see now, thanks a lot!

Plus, I could not find germanium diodes so I consulted my electronics teacher at the university and he told me to switch them with pyritium diodes. Do you think it would make any difference?

[Wesley666]

Pyritium? O_o Wow, uhhh, I use whatever I can pull for stuff at the dump and in a over-priced store with very, VERY poor selection, so I have never heard of Pyritium Diodes. I would say they should work. I used Germanium diodes because they have lower voltage drop then standard rectifying diodes (1N4001 or similar) so if Pyritium possesses the same low voltage drop quality as Germanium I would say it should work. In all honesty, even standard rectifiers like the 1N4001 should work. It might affect it, but it probably wouldn't even be noticeable *IF* it did affect it even. If your Uni Teacher suggested pyritium, then he is probably right, I am self-taught and have about 3 years experience, he probably has alot more then that. If you showed him my schematic, he could probably make alot of improvements/changes...That's kinda of a cool thought actually, getting someone with alot more experience to look at it. I would find that very educational. Sorry, I am getting off topic.

To answer your question, yes, they should work with little to no noticeable affect.

[gkoutsioukis]

I will show him :) He is so crazy that he may add a fridge or a laser gun on it as a bonus. :) Will post here his comments.

[Wesley666]

Thanks! I think this could be a good learning experience!

Also, he sounds like an...interesting...fellow. Maybe not someone you would want around said laser gun, but inertesting none the less! :P I have heard that Uni Teachers have a tendency for being kinda out there though! Haha!

Can wait for a reply! Thank you!

[munymuny200]

nice work, very great project

[Wesley666]

Looking at possible selling these as a kit, if anyone would be interested message me. Price would be set about $30 - $35, maybe $25 if I can find cheaper, but still very bright LEDs. Mind you, I don't have any yet, I just want to see if this would be worth while.

Thanks

[hunter566]

Im totaly confused on what are the touch pads supposed to be ?

[Wesley666]

You and someone else are confused on the touch pads, so I will update in a few days of what the touch pads are/work like.

[Wesley666]

They are anything conductive. There are 4 pads. One, the largest and the one that you always have to touch while touching one of the other 3 is simply connected to positive. The other three each correspond to there own color and connect to the base of the 2N3904 NPN Transistor that adjust that color. When you touch the positive pad and one (or more) of the color pads simultaneously, the corresponding color(s) will begin to gain power and then by the length of time you keep your fingers connected the brighter they get so you can adjust brightness and mix colors.

If this doesn't answer your question, reply, and be more specific, like what about the touch pads? Material, how they are connected...?

[Eman012]

does it really sense the mood of a person?

[Wesley666]

Not really, its more like a touch sensitive dimmer switch for each color and you adjust it to the color you want. Now that I think about it, this is probably more accurate then any temperature sensitive mood light, just because subconsciously a person will probably adjust the light to a color that they at that moment will enjoy and this is probably affected by emotion, so it can be argued to be a mood lamp. But it doesn't matter too much, I called it a mood lamp cause you can make any variety of colors (Except black, grey or brown) which is all a mood lamp does...

[Eman012]

How can I make the LED react to music? Can you help me?

[Wesley666]

So, you want to be able to adjust the colors and get them to react to music, correct? Or do you want the music to adjust the colors? Or do you want it to do something else I am over looking? Reply, and give me a day to think about it...I kinda have an idea already for adjusting the colors with the touch pads and having them flicker to music, but I would like to test it on a bread board, because if I find something that works well, I might want to do it too! Plus then you would know what your building will work. :D I have to say, good idea! I never even thought of adding audio to this!

[Eman012]

And what is the size of the bread board? Sorry for asking too many questions. :)

[Wesley666]

You only really need a bread board if you want to build it, test it first, without having to solder everything right away. They are handy, so I would suggest buying one. They are about 3 inches wide by 8 inches long would be the size you would want.

[Eman012]

I want the music to change when the color changes too. Can you help me?

[Wesley666]

Wait, srry, I am probably over thinking this, but do you want the color to change when the song changes, the music to change when soothing adjusts the color, or you want the lights to flicker with the music, but adjust their color to the music? Srry, I am over thinking this...re word what you want it to do and I will make sure I under stand it on the next comment! :P

[Eman012]

I want the color to change when the music changes...

[Wesley666]

Ok. Gonna need to thin about this for a second. Like when the song changes it changes color or it changes color with the music? Changing color with the music would be easier I think. I have a bit of an idea for that if that's what you want. Changing color when the song changes would be harder. Lets see. I will need to get a filter circuit to filter Bass, Mid and Treble Frequencies, and each one can control a color rather then the touch pads, but, the capacitors would need a smaller farad rating and the 10k ohm resistor would need to be smaller, so that any pause in the music (Or that frequency) that the cap will start to discharge a bit, otherwise the lamp will just get to white light eventually. I will do up another circuit diagram and post it of my idea, and I will start testing some of it on my breadboard.

[Eman012]

And what material did you used as the touch pad? How are they connected?

[Wesley666]

The touch pads are made of anything conductive, I am using copper clad for them. No, they don't touch, you want them to be close so you can touch 2 of them at least (the return one and one color) at the same time for this to work. There are never too many questions if you don't understand something.

[Eman012]

Hey! Sorry if I replied late.. I'm still having problems. I don't know how to make the music react on the LED. Can I make the color change when I change the music? For example, when I play the song "Grenade", the color of the lamp is red, and when I change the music to "Tik Tok" , the color will change into blue. I really need your help. I need it for our Science Fair. :| Please reply ASAP. Thank You. :)

[Wesley666]

One of your messages said you were confused (as was one other person) about the touch pads. I will update the Ible in a day or 2 and will also post a reply to your message so that I know you get it. :)

[Eman012]

And what's dc barrel jack look like?

[Wesley666]

The included picture is of a DC Barrel Jack. It has 2 or 3 pins, one for positive and one for negative and if it has 3 its just an extra positive or negative, I can't remember which. This is so you can plug in a wall adapter to it.

[Wesley666]

I'm on iPad right now, so if something makes no sense due to a random word, it's probably the fail auto-correct.

I will get a pic of a dc barrel jack and post it when I get to my desktop.

As for making it change color to the different songs, that would be easier to do with Arduino or microchips and what not, and I deal in analog circuits. But you can make the color change as the song is playing. Like I said, it would be about adjusting a few resistor values and the capacitor value, and then making a simple audio...I think its called a crossover, but it's pretty much just a filter. There is an excellent 'Ible for a filter, it would need slight tweaking I think, but it would go to the inputs where you touch your fingers to. I will reply later tonight or tomorrow (ASAP) on what would need to be done, and I will try and get a new schematic drawn up too, and will include the link to the other 'Ible for the audio filter.

[Eman012]

How can I connect the battery pack? Can I use this instead of a DC Barrel Jack? And can it be power supplied even it has a battery? And what can I use as an alternative touch sensor? And what is the main base of the lamp? Sorry for asking too many question. :|

[Wesley666]

Yes, you can use a Battery Pack instead of a DC Barrel Jack. I would suggest 4 D batteries or 4 C batteries, just because they will last longer. You could use 4 AA's or 4 AAA's but it wouldn't last as long. If whatever you are putting this in has enough room, go for bigger batteries, just make sure the voltage is about 5-6volts. An alternative touch sensor? Well, if you need this for a science fair or something, I would stick with anything conductive for them. Unless you want to do the music frequency color adjustment. I could help with that, but you would need some time for that. I would stick with my design for the Science Fair and you can tweak it afterward. The main base of the lamp? Like an enclosure? I still haven't put mine in anything. You can put the circuit just inside a Glad container and run the LEDs up on top and do as I did and put a paper cone over them. But its really up to you, what you want to put it in.

There are never too many questions as long as you are asking because you don't know, and not because you want to be a pain.

[Eman012]

And what LED did you used?

[Wesley666]

I used 3 LEDs of each color, so 9 in total. They are ones from Radio Shack, they are the square shaped ones, and are similar to Superflux LEDs. I have a picture of them on step 1 and on step 4 there is a picture of them on the board.

[Eman012]

I just want to say that its a bit hard to do. Specially if you don't know anything about electronics like me. haha. :D

[Wesley666]

Everyone has to learn somewhere.

[Eman012]

Thank you very much for your help!!!! :) I'm still working on it. Trial and Error. :| And instead of color blue, I used color yellow. is that ok? And I didn't put the touch pad yet, and the color is not changing.


THANKS A LOT . :)))

[Wesley666]

Yellow? Odd, but you should still be able to make some colors, not as many as blue tho probably...but then again, they make TVs now with yellow, but it still has blue. In actuality, the four colors that should be used are like cyan, magenta, yellow and something else, and that makes every color, including brown and black, but they dont make LEDs in those specific colors, but that's how printers work, and I assume it would work for this as well, but its just a theory...

Ok, I'll get on the touch pads right away, and your welcome! :D

[Eman012]

Oh. Ok. :)))) Our science fair is tomorrow, and I'm done with the lamp. It's not brighter than yours, but I can make the colors blend with the touch pad. :)))) THANK YOU VERY MUCH. :D :)

[Wesley666]

No problem and it's good to hear you got it working! :) Upload some photos sometime if you can, I would love to see it! Good luck at the science fair! :D

[Eman012]

Hey! The science fair is over, and it was fun. :))) My teachers said that the lamp is so cool and beautiful. Only one teacher said negative things and criticize it, but nevermind. :D Thanks for everything again! Especially for helping me and for this lamp!! :)))

And BTW, I don't have any pictures because I was too busy working on my paper works and this lamp. :D

[Wesley666]

If you have time now that your not busy with the lamp and papers, pics would be excellent, I have been waiting for someone to post pics of theirs, I really want to see other ppls work, but its fine if you can't. What did the negative teacher say? There is always one negative person isn't there?

And your very welcome! I enjoyed helping out! :D