Christmas LED Light String Display
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Contents |
Introduction
This project shows how to build a simple LED light string display using seven 24V LED light strings. I built this project for Christmas 2009 in order to decorate my balcony with lights. The light strings used are very common and (at least in Sweden) can be purchased from many places during the Christmas period.
The project sequences the seven light strings with full PWM brightness control allowing it to display a number of patterns.
YouTube Demonstration Video
Hardware
The hardware design is very simple and uses a 24V 2A switching power supply which is controlled via a ULN2004A to turn the LEDs on an off. An LM2576 switching regulator is used to provide the PIC18F2550 with 5Vs (I used a switching regulator since 24V to 5V is quite a large step).
Here is the circuit schematic for the LED string controller board:
The circuit board is a single layer board with through-hole components and is very easy to make. The connections to the LEDs are made though 'pin and spade' style speaker connections (since that was what the light strings came with). Here is a picture of the completed board:
Firmware
The firmware is written in Hi-Tech C and can be downloaded from the links below.
Files for download
PCB and Schematic - The PCB artwork and schematics in expressSCH and expressPCB format (these are freely available programs).
PIC18F2550 Firmware - The PIC18F2550 firmware source code (for HiTech C18)
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