Any interest in wireless RGB LED strip lights with HomeSeer?

[vasco]

First, you put the led's in your favorite dancer's hands. Start the music, and then say, dance to the color of the led's.

Works everytime

LOL

[huggy_d1]

I test this module now for almost two weeks. Installed HS2 Plug-in version 1.0.2.0 and it's still running fine. No problems like huggy_d1 with the power suply but I use one that can give more than enough (5 amp@12 volt) for the used LED strip. The strip here is single color warm white 5 meter 24 watt total so it draws 2 amp max at 12 volt.
...
Kevin-Lo, you made a beautiful module for LED strips with (HomeSeer) domotica control and I will recommend it to all my friends.

Which strips are you using? Link? I can see cases for warm white around the house. I like the ones I'm using because they are relatively inexpensive, but for white light applications, drawing 1/3 the current, that'd be great.

With any single color, I draw 2A at max current. It was only when I asked for max brightness for simulated white, or all 3 RGB on did it draw 6A and burn up the 5A supply.

It is now time to install the strip behind the TV and test the right max intensity as it relates to the current room light level.

When I power up the TV/Pioneer AVR/etc., the led's run through a relatively random set of colors relative to a max intensity level - based on room luminance sensor (HSM-100).

If I could set a max intensity level like I do for fade rate, I could then issue ON commands and they just go to that max intensity level. Outdoors I might want 100%, but indoors, but as you already noticed, 15-20% is more than enough for most effects.

I have to agree with your assessment of Kevin's LED controller.

What I have noticed is that setting any single color to off takes a little while and HS needs to wait. Setting the fade rate also takes a little while and HS needs to wait. When I create loops, I made sure and put those that need waiting outside my loops and things go very smoothly.

I have noticed that for some events when HS is pegging the CPU to 100% for other tasks, the plugin ends up lagging. Maybe if I set the LED events to be a priority event they will not be as affected and will feel more fluid.

No further troubles to report with the unit. It just works.

Couple of things to note for HS2 users accessing the plug-in...

1. Do not check the box to wait for a script to end as it does not show any compiler errors.
2. Using tenholde's VB.net tool to debug the scripts is hit or miss as to what works and what does not work for the plugin. I get serialization errors when running the script via tenholde's plugin, but no errors when HS2 runs the script. Also, any VB.net script command HS2 executes needs to be on one line. tenholde's tool will successfully compile even if you press enter between parameters. HS2 will complain (see #1 above about how you find out about the complaints) .

[kenrad]

What RGB led strips are you using with the controller, Links would be nice very interested in what others are using for lights

Cheers Ken

[kenrad]

This RGB light controller is amazing. It was really easy to setup and the Winamp plug in is pretty cool if your a music lover. I can definitely see a few more of these in my setup.

It also responds very quickly in changing colors. now just to get teh scripting commands figured out LOL

Thanks Kevin AWESOME JOB!!!

[huggy_d1]

This RGB light controller is amazing. It was really easy to setup and the Winamp plug in is pretty cool if your a music lover. I can definitely see a few more of these in my setup.

It also responds very quickly in changing colors. now just to get teh scripting commands figured out LOL

Thanks Kevin AWESOME JOB!!!

Here's a simple script that sets the color based on R,G,B input. It scaled to current light level, or you can hard code the setting in a virtual device and set the value to whatever light level (0.00-100.00%, or in HS device terms, 0 to 10000). This allows the light output to match current room lighting.

    Public Sub Main(ByVal Params As Object)
        '====================================================================
        '
        '  Sets the rgb color according to ratio of supplied rgb colors
    '  but still respects the max intensity settings using
        '  wifi rgb controller 
        '
    '  parameters : Red|Green|Blue
    '  example : Main("96,48,32")
        '
        '  writes to HS log if an error occurs
    '
        '====================================================================

    '--------------------------------------------------------------------
    ' CONSTANTS
    '--------------------------------------------------------------------

        Const sRED As String                 = "Red"
        Const sGREEN As String                 = "Green"
        Const sBLUE As String                 = "Blue"

        Const sON As String                 = "On"
        Const sOFF As String                 = "Off"

        Const Client As Integer             = 1
    ' Set to HS2 device code, or to a virtual device you control to set max
    ' level, perhaps set via script
    ' Q13 = ###.## with the . implied, so 100% = 10000 in Q13
    Const LightLevelDevice As String         = "Q13"
        Const pluginName As String             = "WifiRGB (3P)"
        Const LogHeader As String             = "rgbWifi_Controller1"

    '--------------------------------------------------------------------
    ' VARIABLES
    '--------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dim parms As String()
    Dim RedCmd As Integer
    Dim GreenCmd As Integer
    Dim BlueCmd As Integer
    
        Dim MaxIntensity As Integer = 255

    Dim LightBasedIntensity As Integer

    Dim LightLevel As Integer 

    '--------------------------------------------------------------------
    ' Program code
    '--------------------------------------------------------------------

    parms = Split(Params,",")
    If parms.Length > 1 then
        RedCmd = CInt(parms(0))
        GreenCmd = CInt(parms(1))
        BlueCmd = CInt(parms(2))
    
        LightLevel = hs.DeviceValue(LightLevelDevice)

        RedCmd = RedCmd * LightLevel / 10000
        GreenCmd = GreenCmd * LightLevel / 10000
        BlueCmd = BlueCmd * LightLevel / 10000

        LightBasedIntensity = (MaxIntensity * LightLevel)/10000
        hs.Plugin(pluginName).SetRGB(Client, RedCmd , GreenCmd , BlueCmd )
        hs.WriteLog(LogHeader, "LightLevel Estimate : " & CStr(LightBasedIntensity) & ". Levels set to R="&CStr(RedCmd)&", G="&CStr(GreenCmd)&", B="&CStr(BlueCmd))
    Else
        hs.WriteLog(LogHeader, "Parameter issue.  Received "&parms.ToString)
    End If
    End Sub 

[huggy_d1]

Here is a script I run when the TV powers ON that is timed to display various LED controller features while the Harmony remote turns on all the various devices and they perform their own POST routines.

Public Sub Main(ByVal Params As Object)
    '====================================================================
    '
    '  Performs a visual PowerOnSelfTest (POST) to display some of the
    '  rgb controller and LED strip capabilities
    '
    '
    '  writes to HS log if an error occurs
    '====================================================================

    '--------------------------------------------------------------------
    ' CONSTANTS
    '--------------------------------------------------------------------

    Const sRED As String = "Red"
    Const sGREEN As String = "Green"
    Const sBLUE As String = "Blue"

    Const sON As String = "On"
    Const sOFF As String = "Off"

    Const Client As Integer = 1

    Const pluginName As String = "WifiRGB (3P)"

    '--------------------------------------------------------------------
    ' VARIABLES
    '--------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dim MaxRedIntensity As Integer
    Dim MaxGreenIntensity As Integer
    Dim MaxBlueIntensity As Integer

    Dim LogHeader As String = "rgbWifi_Controller1"

    Dim RedHalfIntensity As Integer
    Dim GreenHalfIntensity As Integer
    Dim BlueHalfIntensity As Integer

    Dim LightBasedIntensity As Integer

    Dim RandomRedColor As New Random(30876)
    Dim RandomGreenColor As New Random(6456)
    Dim RandomBlueColor As New Random(6368)

    Dim i,j,k As Integer            ' loop index variables

    Dim LightLevel As Integer 

    '--------------------------------------------------------------------
    ' Program code
    '--------------------------------------------------------------------

    LightLevel = hs.DeviceValue("Q13")

    LightBasedIntensity = (255 * LightLevel)/10000
    hs.WriteLog(LogHeader, "LightLevel Estimate : " & CStr(LightBasedIntensity))

    MaxRedIntensity = LightBasedIntensity
    MaxGreenIntensity = LightBasedIntensity
    MaxBlueIntensity = LightBasedIntensity

    ' Establish 1/2 full allowed brightness for fade testing
    RedHalfIntensity = MaxRedIntensity / 2
    GreenHalfIntensity = MaxGreenIntensity / 2
    BlueHalfIntensity = MaxBlueIntensity / 2

    hs.WriteLog(LogHeader, "POST Started")
    'hs.WriteLog(LogHeader, "Wifi RGB LED Controller FW Ver " & CStr(hs.Plugin(pluginName).FWVersion(Client)))

    hs.Plugin(pluginName).SetRGB(Client, RedHalfIntensity, GreenHalfIntensity , BlueHalfIntensity )

    hs.Plugin(pluginName).SingleControl(Client, sRED, sOFF)
    hs.WaitSecs(1.25)
    hs.Plugin(pluginName).SingleControl(Client, sGREEN, sOFF)
    hs.WaitSecs(1.25)
    hs.Plugin(pluginName).SingleControl(Client, sBLUE, sOFF)
    hs.WaitSecs(1.25)

    hs.Plugin(pluginName).SetFadeRate(Client, 16)
    For i = 1 To 10       '  Loop to randomly assign colors

        hs.Plugin(pluginName).SetRGB(Client, RandomRedColor.Next(0, MaxBlueIntensity), RandomGreenColor.Next(0, MaxBlueIntensity), RandomBlueColor.Next(0, MaxBlueIntensity))
        hs.WaitSecs(0.1)

    Next
    hs.Plugin(pluginName).SetRGB(Client, RedHalfIntensity+10, GreenHalfIntensity+5, BlueHalfIntensity)
End Sub 

[kenrad]

Kevin Lo,

I today I received a few new sets of RGB led's the same layout as the ones that you sent with the controller.

I am still having the same issue with only the red channel lighting. I have moved the red channel to the different colors and it also comes on there but it will not light the other colors.

any idea what the issue might be. at first I thought it might be a bad led strip but now that I have tried more strips I can't believe that they are all bad is there a way to test only the strip with out the controller

Cheers Ken


EDIT: error was on my end it was a failing power supply

[huggy_d1]

Kevin Lo,

I today I received a few new sets of RGB led's the same layout as the ones that you sent with the controller.

I am still having the same issue with only the red channel lighting. I have moved the red channel to the different colors and it also comes on there but it will not light the other colors.

any idea what the issue might be. at first I thought it might be a bad led strip but now that I have tried more strips I can't believe that they are all bad is there a way to test only the strip with out the controller

Cheers Ken


EDIT: error was on my end it was a failing power supply

I have had to replace one 5A 12VDC power supply already and recently ordered 2 more of them from amazon. They list them as LCD power adapters, 12VDC 6A output, and once you cut the plug end off, it wires to the wifi LED controller from Kevin Lo without further problems. WAF is gradually increasing with the various LED strips around the house.

Took a while to get the light intensity properly integrated for the TV background lighting effect. My original script above needed a little adjustment at lower light levels to boost output. It seems the LED strip light output does not feel linear to the human eye, so I boost it at lower levels and as the room lighting increases, less boost is required for the proper effect.

Now working on a raspberry pi control scheme for the K.Lo wifi controller, albeit slowly. Will post python source if anyone is interested, but that may be many weeks away.

[Automated]

I would really like to have the Kevin Lo controller with a hard wired Ethernet option (or even serial port) instead of having to use wifi.

[Kevin Lo]

I would really like to have the Kevin Lo controller with a hard wired Ethernet option (or even serial port) instead of having to use wifi.

Yes , it already have. I plan to sell into two version.
One is Wifi version. (User can access via Wifi or X10 \ PLCBUS interface)

One is Non-Wifi version. (Actually is the same controller , but I didn't install the Wifi module , so user can access via TTL or X10 \ PLCBUS interface , now the TTL port is provide 3.3V , Ground , TX , RX 4 pin.)

For non-Wifi version , it will come with TTL to USB cable , you can setup or control the device via TTL RJ12 port.
So , you can also buy a TTL to RS232 converter or TTL to Ethernet converter on market easily. Then it should fit all of your request.

[Pete]

Kevin,

Will you be integrating the RS-232 control into the Homeseer plugin you wrote?

Or will you be creating a separate plugin for Homeseer?

Here have built a base of DIN mounted 12VDC LED power supplies such that the source 12VDC for LED's is in one location. Pictured above.

I am currently at some 12+ zones of LED lighting using around 10 DIN 12VDC LED power supplies with dual 12VDC outputs of 75 watts to 160 watts per DIN LED power supply.

I am currently controlling the HV side of the DIN power supplies with UPB powerline switches. This source will serve for both RGB and standard LED lighting.

[Automated]

Any interest in wireless RGB LED strip lights with HomeSeer?

Yes , it already have. I plan to sell into two version.
One is Wifi version. (User can access via Wifi or X10 \ PLCBUS interface)

One is Non-Wifi version. (Actually is the same controller , but I didn't install the Wifi module , so user can access via TTL or X10 \ PLCBUS interface , now the TTL port is provide 3.3V , Ground , TX , RX 4 pin.)

For non-Wifi version , it will come with TTL to USB cable , you can setup or control the device via TTL RJ12 port.
So , you can also buy a TTL to RS232 converter or TTL to Ethernet converter on market easily. Then it should fit all of your request.

Will all of the plugin features still be available? If so, I would get the ttl model right away. In your web store, the description says that many features are only available in the wifi version.

[Kevin Lo]

Will all of the plugin features still be available? If so, I would get the ttl model right away. In your web store, the description says that many features are only available in the wifi version.

All features will available. All features on Wifi version , use TTL also have.

Except :
1) Concurrent connection , for TCP , it support 32 concurrent connection.
2) Now , HS v2 plug-in only work on TCP connection.
3) Winamp plug-in only work on TCP connection.

I will make a compare table on the web later. Should be Wifi \ TTL VS X10 \ PLCBUS interface , since some two way communication , only Wifi or TTL can work.

Thanks

[Kevin Lo]

Kevin,

Will you be integrating the RS-232 control into the Homeseer plugin you wrote?

Or will you be creating a separate plugin for Homeseer?

Here have built a base of DIN mounted 12VDC LED power supplies such that the source 12VDC for LED's is in one location. Pictured above.

I am currently at some 12+ zones of LED lighting using around 10 DIN 12VDC LED power supplies with dual 12VDC outputs of 75 watts to 160 watts per DIN LED power supply.

I am currently controlling the HV side of the DIN power supplies with UPB powerline switches. This source will serve for both RGB and standard LED lighting.

Now I am stuck on the HS3 Plug-in . I will take a look , see is that add support on RS232 easily. Will keep post in here.

[gearyt]

I'll be ready to jump in when HS3 version is avail.. rs-232 or ethernet. First application will be behind TV.. almost pulled trigger on HUE strip lighting until I saw this thread.. Love being able to change w/ music when TV off