Musical RGB Lamp

by Carl Gordon Media

18K3247

Intro: Musical RGB Lamp

Here is a quick guide showing how I turned my traditional desk lamp into a colorful sound equalizer using Arduino and Processing.

STEP 1: Lamp Setup

For this specific project you will obviously need a lamp.

I recycled this lamp after it's original bulb broke, inspiring me to replace it with an RGB led.

The RGB led is taped to the inside of the lamp head and I have extended the 4 connecting pins with jumper cables running down the back of the lamp.

These pins are then connected to my Arduino UNO.

I have used an old ski goggle bag to house the Arduino for convenience
but feel free to house it however you like.

The important part here is making sure the Arduino can sit close enough to the lamp head to reach the RGB led.

STEP 2: Processing Setup

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STEP 3: Arduino to Processing Setup

This Arduino code reads the data from processing (over the 19200baud) and tells the lamp to shine a bright purple/blue when there is little to no sounds and past a certain volume the lamp will shine RGB colours randomly.

Upload this code to your Arduino and run your Processing sketch to power on the lamp.

The lamp will flash and then start in OFF mode but as soon as you clap your hands or play music your new musical RGB lamp will come to life.

E N J O Y the lamp and stay tuned for upgrades and developments ;)

5 Comments

Raphango 8 years ago

Great! Congrats! I'd really apreciate a standalone version too. :D

SuperSanta 8 years ago

Could you implement a more "standalone" version of the project. Using a microphone or aux input instead of using the pc? And have so that the different colors are on in different frequencies, like green for bass red for hight and blue for low? Great project though!

Carl Gordon Media 8 years ago

Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of making it so it reacts to different frequencies, one colour for every string on a guitar maybe? Will definitely improve on the responsiveness anyway

gada888 8 years ago

will the lamp flicker standalone without the laptop?