Simple rgb led controller. Help needed.

Thread Starter

yeeshima

Joined Dec 21, 2013
7
Hello there, first off i would like to thank you for your time in reading this.
I have to admit i am very new to circuitry and could use any help that is given.
Ok now on to the question. I have an idea of what seems to be a very simple circuit but i have searched and searched with no luck. I am looking to make a circuit that will control around 6-10 in parallel rgb led (4 prongs) cathode or anode.it doesn't matter. I was hoping to run it off of one maybe 2 cr2032 button cell batteries. and it have one momentary push button (such as the type that turns on and off a computer(i don't know the name)). This is the criteria i wish it to meet (well more of how it is used)...

1. press the button once and it turns on to one of 3 colors red,green,blue

2. press button again turns to one of the other colors that number 1. was not

3. press button again and turns the led to last of the 3 that wasnt used in 1 or 2

4. optional press again and fades through the diff colors in random

5. last press turns unit off



Thank you in advance for all your help!!
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
How good are you at programming microprocessors?

Seriously. I'm good with discrete design but this would require a whole page of stuff to do it without a microprocessor.
 

Thread Starter

yeeshima

Joined Dec 21, 2013
7
Hello #12,Thank you for a speedy response...
To answer your question i have never even tried i have heard of it but i don't know the first thing about it...
That being said i am ready to study and find out how to do it.
When i said i was new i meant it :)..
 

Thread Starter

yeeshima

Joined Dec 21, 2013
7
Alec_t that is fine by me.... In the project i am working on a few hours will suffice. and if it doesn't i will find another means of power.
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
Yes, another source of power will be needed since blue LEDs typically require 3.3 volts and a 2032 battery only makes 3 volts.
 

amirsami

Joined Dec 19, 2013
9
Hi yeeshima,
I have a lamp at home which has this bunch of transparent fibres coming out of the center like a fountain and it has a button which does exactly what you want. one press and the lamp turns on green, second press and the lamp fades into red, third press it fades slowly into blue, fourth press and it fades into orange, a fifth press and all start cycling very very slowly like fading into each other and the last press and it turns off.
I opened it up and all it had was a small 1 cm x 2 cm circuit board with a black dot (covering a chip or circuit) with a few wires coming out which go to the LED, the battery and the switch.
Sorry couldnt find out much more as to what is inside the circuit. but i think if you go with some sort of counter with the output/s driving a set of opamps which can fade in/out the LED, you might end up with the right kind of circuit to do the job. Maybe someone with more knowledge of electronics design can help here to design the circuit. I think it should not be much of a problem.
 

amirsami

Joined Dec 19, 2013
9
Yes, that is exactly what it looks like. I'll see if I can come up with a counter and driver setup for you. Is space an issue?
 

amirsami

Joined Dec 19, 2013
9
One more question, yeeshima. Is it necessary to use the CR2032 battery? I have used some simple blinking LEDs on my RC aeromodel for night flying and used a very tiny Lipoly cell (the type that is used in bluetooth earpieces. They have a small size and pack a lot of power, are rechargeable and have sufficient voltage (3.7 Volts) to drive all color LEDs.
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,263
That black blob on the circuit board contains a micro-controller which is doing all the donkey-work. To replicate its actions using counters and other discrete logic ICs would not be trivial. A major challenge for a newby.
 

Thread Starter

yeeshima

Joined Dec 21, 2013
7
Well if i knew who to buy it from i would buy it lol but i have no idea where to get my hands on it...and with the cr2032 batteries i used them with this exact board and i know it is sufficient power.... ok maybe should i ask anyone know where i can buy these chips instead of making them?
 
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