Fading Lights

Creating an LED that makes aesthetic lights in these dark times--Join us on this journey of electrical engineering (aka "MAGIC")

BeginnerFull instructions provided474

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Texas Instruments EK-TM4C123GXL TM4C Tiva LaunchPad

Breadboard (generic)

SparkFun RGB LED

Jumper wires (generic)

Tilt Switch, 15 °

Software apps and online services

Texas Instruments Energia

Texas Instruments Code Composer Studio

Story

Entry 1 ~ Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in the midst of an apocalypse, two brave electrical engineers decided to come together and provide light for the community. They can't meet face to face due to social distancing, however the wonders of modern technology have made it possible for them to meet and cooperate over the web. We, Alonzo Diaz and Oland Carter, are here to tell you our story of bringing light to a dark world. Welcome to the SHOW

Two electric entrepreneurs meet for the first time to develop their startup. The idea, the hardware, the code, everything comes into shape, and they do all this---over Zoom.

Entry 2 ~ The two engineers, one more technical than the other, gather to finish off the project that they have started. It's now up to the group to assemble their board, write the code, and get the LED's fading like clockwork. Here we have detailed a little bit of the process with some pictures of Alonzo managing to get the LED to change colors. Enjoy!

Entry 3 ~ We have finished! Alonzo has gotten the project to work and cycles through all of the colors we chose in the next video!

This project was a wild ride and we had lots of fun collaborating in a neat class. Although the class is coming to an end soon and this is our last lab, our bond and love for the electrical engineering arts will not disappear anytime soon. Thank you for the opportunity to showcase our sick skills--AD and OC out

Code

Fading Lights Code

/*

 Credits to Example 01: Fade RGB LED (PWM) from Energia 
*/

// #define to rename our pins from numbers to readable variables
#define RED 19 
#define GREEN 38 
#define BLUE 31
#define delayTime 10 


int redVal;
int greenVal;
int blueVal;


void setup() {
 
 pinMode(RED, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(GREEN, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(BLUE, OUTPUT);

 // Test Red
 digitalWrite(RED, LOW);
 digitalWrite(GREEN, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(BLUE, HIGH);
 delay(500);
 // Test Green
 digitalWrite(RED, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(GREEN, LOW);
 digitalWrite(BLUE, HIGH);
 delay(500);
 // Test Blue
 digitalWrite(RED, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(GREEN, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(BLUE, LOW);
 delay(500);
}

/* In the loop function we will fade the brightness of the RGB LED
 * and simultaneously change the colors.
 */
void loop() {

 // We will use a for loop to change the color gradually
 // This will make it fade instead of instantly change
 // We need to go from 0 to 255. You may need to modify
 // your range depending on your LaunchPad to see a smooth
 // result.
 int PWM_RESOLUTION = 255; // this variable will hold our resolution.


 /* Start with full red */
 int redVal = 0; // zero voltage will give us full color
 int greenVal = PWM_RESOLUTION; // max voltage will give us no color
 int blueVal = PWM_RESOLUTION; // max voltage will give us no color
 analogWrite( RED, redVal );
 analogWrite( GREEN, greenVal );
 analogWrite( BLUE, blueVal );

 /* Fade from red to green */
 for( int i = 0 ; i < PWM_RESOLUTION ; i += 1 ){
 greenVal -= 1;
 redVal += 1;
 analogWrite( RED, redVal ); // set the new red value
 analogWrite( GREEN, greenVal ); // set the new green value

 delay( delayTime ); // wait for how long delay time is
 }

 /* Now full green */
 redVal = PWM_RESOLUTION; // max voltage will give us no color
 greenVal = 0; // zero voltage will give us full color
 blueVal = PWM_RESOLUTION; // max voltage will give us no color
 analogWrite( RED, redVal );
 analogWrite( GREEN, greenVal );
 analogWrite( BLUE, blueVal );

 // again we will use the for loop to change the color gradually
 /* Fade from green to blue */
 for( int i = 0 ; i < PWM_RESOLUTION ; i += 1 ){
 blueVal -= 1;
 greenVal += 1;
 analogWrite( BLUE, blueVal ); // set the new blue value
 analogWrite( GREEN, greenVal ); // set the new green value

 delay( delayTime ); // wait for how long delay time is
 }

 /* Now full blue */
 redVal = PWM_RESOLUTION; // max voltage will give us no color
 greenVal = PWM_RESOLUTION; // max voltage will give us no color
 blueVal = 0; // zero voltage will give us full color
 analogWrite( RED, redVal );
 analogWrite( GREEN, greenVal );
 analogWrite( BLUE, blueVal );

 // again we will use the for loop to change the color gradually
 /* Fade from blue to red */
 for( int i = 0 ; i < PWM_RESOLUTION ; i += 1 ){
 redVal -= 1;
 blueVal += 1;
 analogWrite( RED, redVal ); // set the new red value
 analogWrite( BLUE, blueVal ); // set the new blue value

 delay( delayTime ); // wait for how long delay time is
 }
}

Credits

Oland Carter - ojc1

1 project • 1 follower

Alonzoz Diaz (ad81)

1 project • 1 follower

Fading Lights