{"id":1039,"date":"2009-06-19T03:14:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-19T07:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/2009\/06\/19\/thrusday-night-get-the-led-out\/"},"modified":"2009-06-19T03:14:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-19T07:14:00","slug":"thrusday-night-get-the-led-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/2009\/06\/19\/thrusday-night-get-the-led-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Thrusday night – Get the LED out"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t Friends,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 OK… I know that some of you may be getting sick of the story about my light up headband…\u00a0\u00a0 but.. l’d really appreciate it if you can take a minute to go check out my Too Cool Rainbow Headband Project entry <\/a>in the Instructables ‘Get the LED Out contest’ . If you like the project, please vote for it .<\/b>. and any other projects you like there.. ( It’s OK.. they said it was OK to promote your own entries)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s easy to become an Instructables member so you can vote.. What’s<\/p>\n

more.. if you’re anything like me, you’ll absolutely love<\/p>\n

Instructables. It’s one of the best DIY sites there is !
I’m sorry to be self-promoting here.. but the prizes in this contest are just too cool… They’re giving away cool blinky lights !.. MUST…. HAVE… MORE… COOL.. BLINKY… LIGHTS… MUST…. HAVE… MORE… COOL.. BLINKY… LIGHTS… MUST…. HAVE… MORE… COOL.. BLINKY… LIGHTS… <\/p>\n

OK.. that’s the last thing I’ll say about that contest .. no wait.. it’s the second to last.. <\/p>\n

Last night something really cool happened. The story about how I ran into Xander H at Makerfaire.. and how that lead to our collaboration made it to the front of HackaDay.com<\/a> yesterday..\u00a0 Hackaday is one of my three favorite Geek Do it yourself blogs.. You gotta understand, that’s like getting on the cover of Rolling Stones for me.\u00a0 That story linked to a more complete story on Synoptic’s.com What I really liked is the way Xander tells the story of the meeting coincidence.. it’s almost poetic \ud83d\ude42
He even gave a plug for my Rainbow Headband<\/a> entry in the contest (did I mention the contest ? \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n

I guess that’s all for tonight… more manana.. nite folks.. nite Sam
-me<\/p>\n

ps. Here’s the story from Synoptics website.. it reads liek a good mystery.. <\/p>\n

Adressable RGB LED Strip<\/a><\/font><\/h2>\n
\n
\"RGB<\/a><\/font><\/div>\n
Recently I\u2019ve been playing with something I think is somewhat of a<\/p>\n

holy grail in LED enthusiast circles: the addressable RGB LED strip. <\/font><\/div>\n

Non-addressable RGB strip (meaning you can turn the whole strip a<\/p>\n

particular color but not any individual LED) is becoming easier to find<\/p>\n

in the market but a RGB strip where you can actually control each LED<\/p>\n

individually has only been the subject of geek fantasy. Every time I\u2019ve<\/p>\n

done something public with common RGB strip, someone has come up to me<\/p>\n

and said \u201coh wow man, can you control those LED\u2019s individually?\u201d. No,<\/p>\n

sorry, with those strips you couldn\u2019t \u2014 but with this strip you can!<\/font><\/div>\n

So where do these fabled strips come<\/p>\n

from? Well, the one I\u2019ve been playing with fell into my lap a few<\/p>\n

months ago \u2014 tossed there by my friend Dan who got it from a<\/p>\n

shady-looking factory in China while there evaluating LED video wall<\/p>\n

products. I\u2019ve asked him for the name of the factory but he\u2019s so far<\/p>\n

been drawing a blank. <\/font><\/div>\n

At the time he assumed (as did I when I first saw it) that the strip<\/p>\n

consisted nothing more of RGB LED\u2019s hooked up to standard standard<\/p>\n

shift registers, similar to how I built my single-color LED serial strip<\/a>. This turns out not to be the case and that the chips driving the LED\u2019s are actually packed with a bit of smarts to them.<\/font><\/div>\n

This became evident when I built a simple test program which treated<\/p>\n

the strip like a common shift register but failed in confounding ways<\/p>\n

to work. Eventually I had to cut away some of the silicone liner on the<\/p>\n

strip to get a closer look at the driver chip. The chip turned out to<\/p>\n

be a \u201cHL1606\u2033, nothing I\u2019d ever heard of. A few hours of online<\/p>\n

research left me with a datasheet for the HL1606 written only in<\/p>\n

Chinese and a single posting by one \u201cJohn Cohn\u201d from September 2007<\/p>\n

looking for anybody who had more information on how to drive the chip.<\/p>\n

The posting didn\u2019t get any useful replies.<\/font><\/div>\n

I tried running the datasheet through Google translate which was<\/p>\n

somewhat successful but left me scratching my head over the precise way<\/p>\n

to interpret sentences like this:<\/font><\/div>\n

When a data bit for the Road 10 (D2D1 or D4D3 or D6D5)<\/p>\n

and latches valid, the corresponding LED driver output state for<\/p>\n

Prescribed changes gradually, when the change to keep the brightest<\/p>\n

light of the state, until the new data is entered and effective latch.<\/font><\/div>\n

It *sounds* like english, right? Yeah, anyways, trying to decipher<\/p>\n

the datasheet lasted for only so long before I got pulled away to more<\/p>\n

important distractions and the RGB strip sat on my bench untouched for<\/p>\n

months.<\/font><\/div>\n

Then Maker Faire happened and, by some freak chance, while I was chatting to people about the MonkeyLectric<\/a><\/p>\n

bike wheels, a guy came by wearing a most eye-catching headband. The<\/p>\n

headband was constructed out flexible circuit board material on which<\/p>\n

RGB LEDs were mounted and were clearly being controlled individually.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this was a guy I had to talk to. After a short conversation<\/p>\n

I learned that he had found the strip from an electronics booth in<\/p>\n

China, the strip was built using HL1606 driver chips, and he too had<\/p>\n

had a heck of a time (and only partial success) figuring out how to<\/p>\n

drive them. We exchanged contact info and a pledge to get in touch<\/p>\n

after the faire to share data and geek out on the strips. It wasn\u2019t<\/p>\n

until after I had gotten home did I piece it together that this guy was<\/p>\n

none other than the \u201cJohn Cohn\u201d whose lonely, unanswered call for help<\/p>\n

in 2007 was the only evidence I was able to find that anybody else in<\/p>\n

the world was playing with these strips. <\/font><\/div>\n

Maker Faire rocks.<\/font><\/div>\n
Anyways, shortly after we got to our respective homes, John sent me<\/p>\n

a copy of the datasheet in Chinese which I had already found earlier as<\/p>\n

well as the PIC code for his headband. The PIC code was the missing key<\/p>\n

to the puzzle and by studying it in conjunction with the<\/p>\n

machine-translated datasheet I was finally able to get my head wrapped<\/p>\n

around how the chip worked. <\/font><\/div>\n

Below is a short video showing off a basic rainbow-scroll (the \u201chello world\u201d of addressable RGB strip effects): <\/font><\/div>\n
\n<\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/object><\/font>\n<\/div>\n
So that nobody has to ever go through what John and I went through to get these strips to work, I wrote an Arduino library for the HL1606<\/a><\/p>\n

and open sourced it. It\u2019s still a bit unpolished and under-documented<\/p>\n

but it\u2019s feature-complete in the sense that it can control all of the<\/p>\n

features of the HL1606. <\/font><\/div>\n

Oh, and before anybody asks, I don\u2019t yet have a solid source for<\/p>\n

more of the strips but I\u2019ve found them being sold online. So far I\u2019ve<\/p>\n

only been able to find them being bundled with a controller and I\u2019d<\/p>\n

like to find a source selling them without one (hopefully at a reduced<\/p>\n

price). To hunt them down on your own, the keywords to look for are<\/p>\n

HL1606 and 5-volt operation. The 5-volt operation is actually the key<\/p>\n

distinguisher, as all of the non-addressable RGB strips run on 12V or<\/p>\n

higher. <\/font><\/div>\n

Update 6\/18\/09:<\/b> I see John\u2019s posted an Instructable on his Too-cool Rainbow Headband<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In it he documents more what you need to do to drive the chip and even<\/p>\n

suggests some possible suppliers for the strips. Check it out (and if<\/p>\n

you like it, give him a vote for the \u2018Get the LED Out\u2019 contest he\u2019s<\/p>\n

entered it into \ud83d\ude42<\/font><\/div>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThis entry was posted<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\ton Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 11:41 am\t\t\t\t\t\tand is filed under Tinkering<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0<\/a> feed. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/font>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

15 Responses to \u201cAddressable RGB LED Strip\u201d<\/font><\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\tJoe Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 5:03 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

Where oh where can I buy this?<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tGoJimi Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 5:05 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

This<\/p>\n

Looks Sweet! I am doing some research trying to find more info on these<\/p>\n

strips\u2026. it appears that the Chinese manufacturer is Top Semiconductor<\/p>\n

Lighting Co., Ltd. and the model number is TP-YWSMD5050. Hopefully we<\/p>\n

can track these down stateside!<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tGoJimi Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 5:29 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

Also check the LED Light Ribbon (RRFT1000-40RGB) made by http:\/\/www.rightleds.com\/?action=text<\/a>|rightleds|1515|en|20589|2<\/p>\n

this is the non waterproof one which may be cheaper\u2026 now if we can find<\/p>\n

a way to purchase these in smaller quantities we would be set!<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tGoJimi Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 6:10 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

OK\u2026 found somebody who sells what appears to be these strips or a variation thereof\u2026 http:\/\/www.ledlight.com\/electronic-flexible-water-proof-led-light.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n

not sure of length, number of rgb leds per meter, or if these have the<\/p>\n

hl1606. They are closed for today so I guess those questions will have<\/p>\n

to wait till tomorrow!<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tahoy there! Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 8:42 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

You definitely want to use the \u201cSix color jumpy change\u201d\u2026\u2026<\/font><\/div>\n
http:\/\/www.coolight.com.hk\/download\/5V_waterproof_digital_RGB_flexible_LED_strip.pdf<\/a><\/font><\/div>\n
http:\/\/www.chinalttc.com\/longtime_en\/upload\/2009\/320093182322773.doc<\/a><\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tBenD Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 8:57 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

I\u2019m also very interested in doing something with these. Perhaps if there was enough interest, a group buy could be organised?<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n Richard<\/a> Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 9:03 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

How<\/p>\n

long does it take to refresh the entire string of it – could you get<\/p>\n

24-30 updates a second into a lenght that had a couple of hundred LEDs<\/p>\n

on it?<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tdewski Says:<\/p>\n

June 17th, 2009 at 9:52 pm<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

this<\/p>\n

is awesome, i\u2019ve always been interested in LED lighting and this fits<\/p>\n

the bill for a ton of ideas I have, keep up the awesome work!<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\terik Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 1:07 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

I<\/p>\n

live in Shenzhen (was just at the big electronics market yesterday) and<\/p>\n

could visit this factory if there was enough interest in getting a<\/p>\n

small order of these strips.<\/font><\/div>\n

contact me at erikseverin at yahoo com<\/font><\/div>\n
If there is contact info for John Cohn, I could ask him where,<\/p>\n

specifically, he bought the strips. Was it in HuaQianBei Electronics<\/p>\n

Market in Shenzhen? They have TONS of parts and especially LED bits to<\/p>\n

pick through. I could return there and see if they have more.<\/font><\/div>\n

Cheers.<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tjack Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 3:22 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

Here seem to be a few sellers:
http:\/\/romanso.en.alibaba.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

(search for 5V)<\/font>\n<\/div>\n

http:\/\/redsun-led.en.alibaba.com\/product\/235769205-202128135\/Waterproof_SMD_RGB_LED_Strip.html<\/a><\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n jo<\/a> Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 4:16 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

hi all,<\/p>\n

these strips are great!!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m playing around with the Arduino and some TLC5940 16ch 12bit PWM<\/p>\n

drivers. They work great, but a soldered solution with all the leds and<\/p>\n

ICs is great!<\/p>\n

I could just find larger quantities on ebay for around 50$\/meter.<\/p>\n

I hope they\u2019ll get more pricy soon \ud83d\ude42<\/font><\/div>\n

Cheers,<\/p>\n

jo<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tWill Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 6:36 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

I am also interested in this, any idea on where to find one?<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\tNick Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 6:54 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

This is exactly what I need!<\/font><\/div>\n
So where can we get this :).<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n MarkP<\/a> Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 7:16 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

This could be an option:
http:\/\/cgi.ebay.co.uk\/New-5m-multicolor-SMD-5060-Flexible-RGB-LED-Strip-Light_W0QQitemZ120424361711QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Lighting_SM?hash=item1c09d9eeef&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12<\/a>|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1686|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50<\/font>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n MarkP<\/a> Says:<\/p>\n

June 18th, 2009 at 7:16 am<\/a> <\/font><\/p>\n

Woah, long link! Try this instead: http:\/\/bit.ly\/Fu9F9<\/a><\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friends,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 OK… I know that some of you may be getting sick of the story about my light up headband…\u00a0\u00a0 but.. l’d really appreciate it if you can take a minute to go check out my Too Cool Rainbow Headband Project entry in the Instructables ‘Get the LED Out contest’ . If you like the … Continue reading Thrusday night – Get the LED out<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johncohn.org\/base\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}