[tutorial] How to Control an RGB LED Strip

Introduction

rgb led strip

In this tutorial we will use one strip with 8 RGB LEDs with the Arduino uno board. We will use the Adafruit's NeoPixel library to change the color of each led.

Let's get started!

What you will need

parts

For this project you will need:

  • Arduino uno
  • RGB LED strip
  • 3 breadboard cables

The circuit

parts

The connections are pretty easy, see the above image with the breadboard circuit schematic.

The code

Here's the code, embedded using Codebender!

Try downloading the Codebender plugin and clicking on the "Run on Arduino" button to program your Arduino board with this sketch. And that's it, you've programmed your Arduino with this sketch!

Press the "Edit" button and:

  • change the color of LEDs at lines 16 to 18
  • change the brightness of LEDs at line 23 "pixels.setBrightness(value 0-100);"
  • change the delay time at line 32

Well done!

led strips

You have successfully completed one more "How to" tutorial and you learned how to use an RGB LED strip with Arduino!