When learning Arduino or any other maker type platform it can really help to work to an example that produces striking results. Personally I find LED matrix projects incredibly rewarding to build as the visual output can be very satisfying! It is possible to produce some really cool projects with relatively simplistic code and hardware…
Tag: LED
LED Strip Lights Under The Sofa (Great Smart Home Ideas!)
I have been wanting to add a LED strip under my sofa for quite some time now. The plan is to link it in Home Assistant so that it mirrors the settings for the LEDs behind my TV cabinet. I have had mixed results with LED strip, sometimes it can be tricky to get it…
How Many LEDs Can An Arduino Control?
An Arduino can theoretically control as many LEDs as you require for your design, only limited by the power supply current available. However if you want to control more LEDs than there are digital pins on your Arduino board, you will need to use some additional hardware. In this tutorial we will investigate the advantages…
How Does LED Dimming Work? Complete Guide To PWM
If you want to understand the fundamentals of how to dim a LED so you can build your own dimmer, or you simply want to understand how this process works then you have come to the right place! In this article we will cover the basics of pulse width modulation, or PWM. This is the…
Can You Make Dumb Lamps Smart? (This Method Will SURPRISE You!)
Most websites will just tell you to put a smart bulb in an existing fixture… but what if there is another way? What if your favorite lamp doesn’t take a traditional bulb? In the first part of this article we looked at the inner workings of a lamp that utilises LED strip and covered some…
What Happens If You Don’t Use A Resistor With a LED? Essential LED guide
It is acceptable to use a LED without a resistor, but some method of limiting the current must be used in order to prevent the device from being destroyed. Failure to limit the current could lead to the device burning out, failing prematurely or even exploding. I have certainly blown up a few LEDs in…
Making Dumb Lights Smart (and NOT By The Way You Think…)
Most websites will just tell you to put a smart bulb in an existing fixture… but what if there is another way? What if your favorite lamp doesn’t take a traditional bulb? In this post I show the process of converting a lamp to a smart lamp without using a smart bulb. This method is…
