Hey there!

I have a project for my School in which i have to set up 4 dummies with each one Light(LED Square) stuck on them.
I already figured out to use an Arduino (Mega/Nano not so sure) and use Bluetooth to controll each of the 4 Lights individually via Bluetooth.
My Question is now that im not so sure how am i supposed to interact with each of those Lights as they are around 15m away from each other. Do i have to set them up with a Bluetooth receiver and power them individually or can i do it even simpler than that? Does even one Arduino do the trick? Im a bit confused as this is the first time me using anything like an Arduino before so i hope you can give me some tips on how to solve the issue. The dummies i use are placed on an open field so i cant just use a wire as i need to controll the lights wirelessly. I thought about doing it via WiFi but the range isnt enough and now its Bluetooth.

Hope you Guys can help me out on that one!

 

I need more detail. What do the LEDs indicate? Can more than one LED be on at the same time? How many transmitters (15m away) are needed(I think it’s one, after rereading your post)? What are you using the Arduino for? And finally, what other types of communication have you tried? Have you considered a 4 channel RF module?

 

Well its i have 4 dummies set up on an open field with each of them having some sort of Lights in my case LEDs strapped on to them. The LEDs only need to Light up (one of the Dummies LEDs light up the other 3 Dummies remain off). I was thinking about doing it with MQTT but wasnt sure if it will work for that? I tried using Bluetooth once but it doesnt seem to work with more than 1 Dummy. The reason i have the arduino was to have it like a master so i can remotely tell which LEDs to turn on and which not, but maybe thats not possible?

I might give MQTT another shot as i saw it might solve my issue with connecting all 4 LEDs to one Broker but i need to test it a little bit more before i can be sure.

Hope i could give you some insight, if anything is unclear please let me know!

 

Well its i have 4 dummies set up on an open field with each of them having some sort of Lights in my case LEDs strapped on to them. The LEDs only need to Light up (one of the Dummies LEDs light up the other 3 Dummies remain off). I was thinking about doing it with MQTT but wasnt sure if it will work for that? I tried using Bluetooth once but it doesnt seem to work with more than 1 Dummy. The reason i have the arduino was to have it like a master so i can remotely tell which LEDs to turn on and which not, but maybe thats not possible?

I might give MQTT another shot as i saw it might solve my issue with connecting all 4 LEDs to one Broker but i need to test it a little bit more before i can be sure.

Hope i could give you some insight, if anything is unclear please let me know!

Do a search for “4 channel RF remote” and see if that gives you any ideas

 

Thanks! Seems like this could be one solution!
Now i have another question about the LEDs, can i also let them randomly light up one by one for a couple of seconds? This was the more challenging part as i dont know how am i supposed to connect all 4 LEDs to make them randomly flash? Can i use the Arduino for that or am i thinking completely wrong?

 

Thanks! Seems like this could be one solution!
Now i have another question about the LEDs, can i also let them randomly light up one by one for a couple of seconds? This was the more challenging part as i dont know how am i supposed to connect all 4 LEDs to make them randomly flash? Can i use the Arduino for that or am i thinking completely wrong?

Adding that function makes the use of an Arduino more sensible. However, I’d still use the RF module.

I have a project in which I am using the RF module, but I’ve modified the transmitter to interface it with an Arduino.

I’ve dusassembled the remote control. Under each of the keys, on the printed circuit board, is an etched pattern for the buttons. It consists of a copper ring and a central pad. The ring is ground. The pads activated each of the 4 channels.

Solder a wire to one of the rings. Also, solder a wire to each center pad.

Grounding the center pad will send a signal to the corresponding channel. Just as if you had pressed the button. You can ground these wires with a logic level MOSFET (2N7000) from a pin on the Arduino.

You can wire push buttons in parallel, to operate the channels manually.

On the Arduino, you can program your flashing pattern.

Optionally, could also connect your push buttons and in your sketch detect the push button and activate the corresponding RF channel.

Adding an Arduino does add some complexity. How are you going to determine if you should flash or wait for a manual button press? (maybe devote another pin for operating mode, connected with a toggle switch to determine mode.)