hello world,

just a regular plant in a pot...

what if your plant pot changed color when your plant was trying to get your attention ?

would this mean that anybody can be a gardener with no prior gardening experience ??

would you finally be able to keep a plant alive ???

and what if you also don't need to have prior electrical/programming experience to build one ????

you can now upgrade your smart pot system with the Glow-a-Pot LED ring and make sure no plant goes unnoticed..

this system can be attached to any existing plant pot

let's make it glow..>

Step 1: Parts + Build + Code

this is my first time working with RGB LEDs and also with SMD components - they are lots of fun.!!

1. RGB LEDs (common anode vs common cathode - they will both work)

solder free option available for RGBs

2. arduino

3. breadboard + protoboard (optional depending on choice of LEDs)

4. 1x220ohm resistor

5. female to male jumper cables

soldering iron (optional depending on choice of parts)

hot glue gun (optional depending on choice of parts)

duct seal (optional, double sided tape or other sticky materials to attach the LEDs on to a pot)

solder 3 - 4 RGB leds in parallel (you can add more depending on the size of your pot). parallel means that all the same wires go together, this way they will stay the same voltage but only the mA will add up. (20mA each LED x 3-4 = 60-80mA total).

i cut/strip down jumper cables to connect LEDs. you don't have to do this, can use any regular wire. flexible wire is better however for this application.

you can first solder the LEDs to the protoboard, this will help you with future connections.

you should end up with 4 individual cables for each leg of the LED. connect these as listed below;

Red leg goes to > Digital 9 on arduino

Blue leg goes to > Digital 10 on arduino

Green leg goes to > Digital 11 on arduino

(+) positive leg goes to > 3v3 on arduino with 1x 220ohm resistor in front of it.

once all LEDs are tested and soldered, now you can seal everything with hot glue.

connect arduino to the computer, launch arduino software and upload the code

glow_a_pot.ino
Download

Step 2: Conclusion

the system is 100% portable with the battery mode;

if you want to learn more about RGB leds and arduino here are a few good starters;

https://www.instructables.com/id/RGBs-with-Arduino-...

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Use-an-RGB-...

and if it is your first time as well for smd components, you can read this. it helped me a lot

https://www.instructables.com/id/Stepping-into-the-...

I have been working with smart plant technology for over 5 months now. here you can see many different setups I have created for many different scenarios; https://www.instructables.com/id/indoor-horticultur...

please make sure to read the initial post here; https://www.instructables.com/id/Smart-Pot-System/

I am currently trying to put together solder-free kits for educational purposes and give them out to people of all ages who wants to learn about electronics + gardening. you can follow our non-profit organization here; https://www.facebook.com/theplantdoctor2014

thank you so much for your time and interest. please make sure to vote (top right corner)

love & peace,

akin