# RGB and controllers



## Axkiker (Jul 22, 2010)

Hey can anyone fill me in on how the RGB controllers work????

I love how you can take one of the RGB diodes and create and endless array of colors. Experimenting with such is on my to do list


----------



## jason 77 (Jul 22, 2010)

Axkiker said:


> Hey can anyone fill me in on how the RGB controllers work????
> 
> I love how you can take one of the RGB diodes and create and endless array of colors. Experimenting with such is on my to do list



got any one controller in mind? Most of them use some sort of PWM "Pulse Width Modulation" to control the individual LED's separately. There are sellers on Ebay that sell little RGB drivers, or you could build your own if you were so inclined. Check out Dan Goldwater's DIY here...

http://www.instructables.com/id/RGB-Color-Controllable-High-Power-LED-Room-%2b-Spot-/


----------



## usLEDsupply (Jul 22, 2010)

an RGB controller works by varying the brightness of each color (using PWM) Red, Green, Blue and by making say red and blue bright and green dimm it will make purple so you can make most any color just by dimming different colors 

there are lots of types of RGB controllers out there including ones that have remote controls and even some that have audio inputs for making the lights flash to the music or you could even make your own with an Arduino micro controller


----------



## Axkiker (Jul 22, 2010)

well this may be a dumb question but I assume I could use 3 seperate high power leds insted of one rgb diode ???


im gonna bounce around ebay a little bit and see what different controllers they have then im sure ill have some more questions


----------



## jason 77 (Jul 22, 2010)

Axkiker said:


> well this may be a dumb question but I assume I could use 3 seperate high power leds insted of one rgb diode ???
> 
> 
> im gonna bounce around ebay a little bit and see what different controllers they have then im sure ill have some more questions



Sure! all a RGB led is, is 3 leds in one package "1 each of a red green blue LED"


----------



## usLEDsupply (Jul 22, 2010)

keep in mind if you are using High Power leds you need to feed them a constant current like 350mA for 1w leds and most controllers are 12v constant voltage so you will need an adapter/driver like this to convert a 12v controller to a constant current supply or you could put several leds is series with a resistor or if you only need one led and don't mind loosing some efficiency you could just use resistors (here is a site to calculate the sizes)
either way it is a great learning experience and you can make some sweet projects


----------



## Joe.Smith (Aug 4, 2010)

Are you sure you have to use constant current simply because the LED is high power? You'd better check the LED you are buying because not all high power LEDs run at constant current. It depend much rather on the making. 

Joe
http://www.ledcentre.uk.com/232-led-strip-lights/173-30-smd-power-5050-strip-led-light-rgb-12-v-dc.html


----------



## usLEDsupply (Aug 4, 2010)

```
Are you sure you have to use constant current simply because the LED is  high power? You'd better check the LED you are buying because not all  high power LEDs run at constant current. It depend much rather on the  making. 

Joe
http://www.ledcentre.uk.com/232-led-...b-12-v-dc.html
```

the leds on that strip are not high power leds and the current is still limited by the resistors (little black chip) wired in series with every 3 led lights 
while you can connect them to 12v the current is still limited to the correct amount for the led based on a 12v input voltage


----------



## ledpwr (Aug 8, 2010)

jason 77 said:


> you could build your own if you were so inclined. Check out Dan Goldwater's DIY here...
> 
> http://www.instructables.com/id/RGB-Color-Controllable-High-Power-LED-Room-+-Spot-/


 
I built my own using Dan's Instructable

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/286602


----------



## jason 77 (Aug 8, 2010)

ledpwr said:


> I built my own using Dan's Instructable
> 
> https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/286602



Very impressive! Out of curiosity why did you make the controller box out of wood?


----------



## ledpwr (Aug 15, 2010)

jason 77 said:


> Very impressive! Out of curiosity why did you make the controller box out of wood?


 
Because I had some lying around, I find it easier to work than plastic or metal and it looks good.


----------



## wyager (Aug 15, 2010)

Microcontroller+power transistor+drivers+RGB LEDs=RGB LED control.

That's what I do, most drivers support a few khz PWM easily.


----------

