Schlagwort: LED Tester

  • This DIY tool automates LED testing and current limit calculations

    This DIY tool automates LED testing and current limit calculations

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    GPIO pins on most microcontrollers operate at low voltages, typically between 3.3V and 5V, and are unable to deliver much current — oftentimes stopping at 20-40mA. This is why, when setting up an LED, series resistors are used to limit the amount of current draw and prevent damage to the pin. Mirko Pavleski created a workbench device that helps figure out the size of this resistor and allows for an LED to be connected for live testing.

    Built around an Arduino Nano, the system presents the user with a display for selecting the desired maximum current draw and LED voltage input. The panel of buttons on the left can increment or decrement the ideal voltage/current levels that, in turn, are then used to calculate the value of the series resistor. This value appears on the bottom alongside the part number for ordering the resistor from a distributor.

    The values at the top of the LCD indicate how the connected LED currently behaves given a known voltage. By wiring the LED to a couple of sense resistors and an analog input pin, its forward voltage along with its current draw can be determined.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEMeySv-Z_c?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    More details about this project can be found in Pavleski’s Hackaday.io write-up here.

    The post This DIY tool automates LED testing and current limit calculations appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • Ramp up programmable LED troubleshooting with the BlinkBox

    Ramp up programmable LED troubleshooting with the BlinkBox

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Ramp up programmable LED troubleshooting with the BlinkBox

    Arduino TeamJuly 23rd, 2018

    Programmable LEDs are amazing pieces of hardware, allowing hackers to add a rainbow of colors to projects at reasonable prices. Troubleshooting these devices, however, can be a pain, so Devon Bray developed the “BlinkBox” to help with this task.

    The resulting Arduino-based tester can work with multiple types of LEDs, and is able to cycle through each individual LED module in a string, and change the animation pattern as needed. He had previously done this kind of testing on a breadboard, but his new iteration is much more permanent and professional looking. 

    You can find CAD and code for it on GitHub if you’d like to build your own!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg_kiPnU8oM?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK