
Lighting a room using 900+ RGB LEDs - dmitrygr
http://dmitry.gr/index.php?r=05.Projects&proj=19.%20Room%20Lights
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ChuckMcM
I always cringe a bit when folks approach hardware like they do software but
I'm encouraged that more and more people are building things. Unlike with
software, bugs in hardware can have much more interesting (and for some
definitions, exciting) failure modes.

That said, using the outer edge of the room to source the lighting is good for
accent lighting but not really a good overall lighting scenario.

Of course a simple way to get started is with something like the Hue or LiFX
bulbs (I've got some Hue bulbs) and I find that things like persistent
notifications (I can have my lights go a different color for time when I'm
voluntarily not drinking any caffeine, or to indicate 'stand' and 'sitting'
times. ) But for overall room lighting I find there is really a relatively
small gamut of colors that make "sense". From deep red, through orange and
then right into yellow then white (perhaps with a bluish tint). Brown, Purple,
Orange, Green, and Magenta lights? I can't really stand them for very long.

~~~
ConceptJunkie
Yeah, except it occurred to me that for the price of Hue bulb, I could buy a
RasPi and a Unicorn Hat that could be controlled via Wifi.

OK, I don't know the brightness difference, so maybe I'm talking out of my
hat, but those high-tech controllable RGB LED light bulbs are still way out of
reach for anyone without a lot of disposable income.

~~~
olympus
For a lot cheaper you can use an esp8266 and a ws2812 LED strip. The esp8266
is <$5 and includes wifi and a microcontroller that can be programmed in
JavaScript, Lua, or C. Various ws2812 forms (strips, rings, matrices) are
available for cheap on eBay. You can reproduce the functionality of an
Phillips Hue for less than half the price. This is assuming that you can write
your own smartphone app to communicate with the esp8266 and have decent
soldering skills.

What I've noticed about the maker community isn't really related to disposable
income. Most people with skills like programming and soldering have disposable
income. The people that could benefit from saving money by making their own
stuff don't usually have the skills to do so because they didn't have good
schooling.

~~~
ConceptJunkie
Actually I think price does have a significant role in the Maker mindset. I'm
sure when they see one of these cool, but really expensive products, like the
Hue, a lot of folks will say, "Oh, I could make my own for much, much less."
and some will inevitably add "With blackjack and hookers!"

Anyone could benefit from saving money by making their own stuff, if they are
interested (i.e., their time is worth it) and they have the knowledge and
skills... and the project I suggested wouldn't take more than hardware skills
than plugging things in and no more software skills than a few lines of
Python.

I can't imagine the maker movement is made up of the idle rich, but of
everyday people, some with mortgages and kids (like me), or some who are
themselves kids. Given how much one of the main selling points we hear about
neat new devices like the Pi is the price, I think your characterization isn't
correct.

I'm sure in 10 years, something like the Hue will cost as much as a regular
light bulb does today, but for those of us who don't have hundreds to drop on
a cool colored lighting system for their homes, there are other options, just
like you described, that are much cheaper and often not complicated at all.

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miander
A better power-supply system would be to use a step-down DC-DC converter on
each strip or each group of strips to step down from a higher voltage (say,
24V). These converters can be had for ~$1 apiece on eBay. This would reduce
the current requirements down to ~20A, which is within the realm of what you
can buy inexpensively (also on eBay).

~~~
PhantomGremlin
_These converters can be had for ~$1 apiece on eBay._

Yeah, that's _exactly_ the type of hardware I want hanging on my wall. Because
eBay is the world's preeminent source of UL certified electrical devices.
/sarcasm

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ableal
> The room is 4 x 4 meters.

> The strips require a 5V supply, and will consume 57.6 Amperes at full
> brightness.

[later, really -5% or so, fine]

> The light created looks very cool, even if a bit eerie. Nothing in the room
> casts a shadow.

I can believe that, tossing over 250 W of LED light (some 2kW in old
incandescents) into a 160 sq. foot room ...

P.S. In other news, this week I saw a youngster playing with a Bluetooth 4.0
controlled 9W LED lamp (replacing a 60W incandescent). Bought from Bee Wi, via
a local FNAC sale, 23 euros. Not homemade, so less virtuous, but perhaps more
practical ;-)

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rebootthesystem
Years ago we built what we jokingly called a "light canon". It had 504 very
tightly packed 1 Watt RGB LEDs for a total of 1512 W. This thing was so bright
it was actually dangerous to look at directly. Truly scary amounts of light.

That project then evolved into something else. Still, I have the prototype off
in a corner of our R&D shop. Every time I look at it I think about adding a
Fresnel lens in front of it. One day...

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dvt
Built something very similar earlier this year (on an Arduino[1]). Lights are
fun :) Excellent job, OP.

[1]
[https://www.adafruit.com/categories/168](https://www.adafruit.com/categories/168)

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threefour
The chip tune soundtrack is perfect.

~~~
olympus
The song is by Ronald Jenkees:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2aH4XLbto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2aH4XLbto)

If you like that song, you should definitely check out his other songs. He's
pretty good.

