Arduino Christmas Lights

Or How I took 2 months and 8 extensions cords to synchronize lights to music December 2013 - v1.0

Parts List
Electronics Arduinoboard(andobviouslythecables&softwareneededtomakeitwork) Relayboard Electrical outletbox outlets lightswitch wire(Romexisthenamebrandedelectricalcable) wirenuts&electricaltape Software Vixen2.1 Arduinosketch

Electronics

Chancesareifyourereadingthis,youknowwhatanArduinois.Ifyoudont,thiswholedocumentwillbeoflittle use.YoullneedyourArduinoIDEloadedandboardconnectedreadyforuploadingsketches.(Atleastyoushouldknow whereyourstuffis.Again,Ivebettingwiringtheelectricalpartswilltakeawhilesoconnectingtheboardisnotyet necessary.) Therearetwooptionsfortherelayboard.Youcanbuildyourownorbuyapremadeshield.Imusingahomebrew combinationbutIstartedwiththeSeedstudioRelay_Shield_V1.0.

Ithas4relaysandmountsdirectlyontheArduino. Theirdocumentationwasokbuttheexamplewas poor.Basicallyitslikeanyotherdigitaloutputonan Arduino.YouassignadigitalPINasoutputandset ithigh.Thisdevicehassomeextrafeatureslike wirelesscontrolusingRFBee.Thisultimately meansyourestuckbothcoveringArduinoPINS younowcannotuseANDtrappedwiththeirPIN configuration. Channelsareasfollows: PIN7Channel1 PIN6Channel2 PIN5Channel3 PIN4Channel4

YoucanworkaroundtheblockedPINSby buyingalargerboard,whichiswhatIdid. ArduinoMegawithUSBhostmode

Iaddedanadditionalrelayboardtorunchannels512.ItsaSaintek8channelIfoundcheaponAmazon.

Wiring Electrical
IfyouarenotcomfortablewithhighvoltagethenSTOPNOW!!!ImnotanelectricianalthoughIplayoneonthe weekends.EventhoughIthinkenjoyableChristmaslightsmightbeworthelectrocutingmyselffor,youmaynotfeelthe same.Ifindoubt,phoneafriend.Iftheyhanguponyou,readthroughthisonemoretimeandyoumayunderstandjust enoughtokeepyourselfsafe.oratleastnotdead. (Sincesomecountriesusedifferentwiringcolors,thisentiredocumentisbasedonUnitedStateswirecolors.If needed,searchforwirehomeoutletforyourcountrytodetermineanydifferences.ThisstuffcankillyousoIfeelthe needtobeoverspecific.)

Standardhomeoutletsare110voltsanduse3wires.Olderhomesuse2butthatsnottoosafe.Youllseewhylater. Thethreewiresarewhite,black,andgreencorrespondingtoneutral,hot,andground.Alternatingcurrent(A/C)isnot thesameasdirectcurrent(DC)andcannotbethoughtofinthetraditionalsenseofpositiveandnegative. DCshownontheleftisaconstantflowofvoltagewhiletheACvoltagerisesandfallsoveracertaintime.InNorth America,thattimeis60cycles/secondor60hz.Europeuses50hz.

Ifyouthinkofthepicturesasflowofvoltage,thehorizontalXaxisrepresentstheblackorgroundwire.Thehorizontal linelabeledVdcrepresentstheredorpositivesideofthevoltageflow.Withalternatingcurrent,thevoltageliterallyrises thenfalls.Lookingbackatthediagram,the0displacementline(orXaxis)representstheneutralorwhitewire.This correspondstoareferencepointfromwhichvoltagedifferencecanbemeasured.Blackcarriesthevoltageandwhite providesareturnpathforvoltageflow.Thegroundwirewasintroducedasasafetyfactor.Ifforanyreasonawire becomesexposed,thegroundwireprovidesapathfortheelectricitytoflowliterallyintothegroundoftheearth. Electricitytakesthepathofleastresistanceandthegroundcableprovidesthatpath.Withoutit,youllendupbecoming thatpathofleastresistanceandwhilebeinginvolvedwithcircuitryisfun,becomingpartofthatcircuitisnot!Usea voltmetertoverifyzerovoltsanddontforgettochecktheplugifunsure. IfoundeverythingIlearnedsofaraboutACtobeveryfascinatingandsuggestdoingyourownresearch. Themostimportantthingstoremember: Greenisgroundandshouldconnecttoallswitches&outlets. Greenwirewillonlyshockyouifsomethingismiswiredorinsulationismissing. Blackcarriesvoltageandiscalledhotorlive.Donottouch! Whiteisneutralandisthenormalreturnpath.Whiletheorysaysitsok,IsuggestDonottouch! Alwayshookupinthefollowingorder:GREENWHITEBLACK Alwaysdisconnectinthefollowingorder:BLACKWHITEGREEN Dontwireacircuitwhileitslive. Iuseapowerstripsincethecircuitbreakerandswitchprovidesalittleextrainsurance. Checkyourpowerstripisonbeforetearingapartacircuittofindoutwhyitsnotworking.Trustmeonthis.

Parts
510ftcordwithplugtobeusedformasterpowerfeed 2ft3conductorwiretobeusedforjumperpowerfeed 510ft3conductorwire(orothersufficientlysizedwire)forrelay&outletwiring lightswitch outletbox wirenuts

Master Power Feed

Youneedtostartwithathreewirecordthatwillbeusedtofeedpowertothestringsoflights.Iwouldsuggestusinga separatefeedcableforeachsetof10orsolights.Justfollowthesameprocessforeachfeedcableanddistributethe hotlegtotheappropriategroupingofrelays.Iusedanoldcutfromavacuumcleaner.Ithasahardrubberyplug,is long,wellinsulated,andthickenough.Whenpowerflowsthroughacable,bothAD&DCwilllosesomevoltagedueto resistance.Thatresistancewillshowupasheat.Youwantcablethickenoughtoholdthenecessarycurrent(upto 110V@15AMPs)butnotbetooresistanttoflow.Inotherwords,youshouldnotuseCAT5networkcabletocarry 110Vbutwirethethicknessofjumpercablesisalittleoverkill.

Wiring Feed
Startwithyourmasterfeed cable(withplug),lightswitch, twooutletboxes,andthe jumperfeedwire. Striptheinsulationfromthe outsideandthenforallthree innerwires.Hookthegreen wiretothegreenscrewonthe switch.Hookthewhiteneutral wiretothejumperpowerfeed andsecurewithwirenut. Screwtheblackwiretothe switchupperterminal.(Hint: Twistthewireandputasmall bendtotheright.Whenyou tightenthescrew,itwillpullthe wirearound.Alwaysmake sureyourwireissecureinthe plasticbeforetightening.)Addtheblackwirefromthejumperfeedcabletothebottomscrewoftheswitch.Thejumper feedcablewillnowrunintothesecondoutletbox.Theswitchwillallowyoutoturnoffalllightswhileallowingyour systemtorun.ItsusefulforreplacingbulbsbutmakesmefeellikeIhave*sigh*onemorelittlepieceofinsurance.I usebarecopperwireasgroundwireinsomeplacessogreen,copper,andgroundwireareallinterchangeableterms.

Wiring Outlets
Forthis,youllneedanoutletbox,outlet,6inchesofblack,white,green(orcopper),andoneotherifyouhaveit.Iused 4conductorcablesinceitprovidesallthoseandusesredasthelastcolor.Youcanuseblackforthesecondoutlet sinceIsuggestlabelingallwiresanyway. Toalloweachoutlettobeswitchedseparately,wellneedtomodifytheoutlet.Lookingfromthefront,thetabonthe right(hot)sidewillneedtobecut.Oncethetabiscut,hookthegroundwiretothegreenscrewontheoutlet.Next, hookthewhitewiretotheleftsideusingthesamewirewrappingtechnique.Hooktheblackwiretothetopscrewon therightsideandtheadditionalcolorwiretothebottomscrewontherightside. Feedallwiresthroughoutletboxandlabelasfollows: greenground whiteneutral blackhot#1 red(orblack2)hot#2 Thatbundlewillbeusedtofeedthefirsttwochannels.Repeatthesameprocessfortheremainingoutletsbutusethe numbers3&4inplaceofoneandtwo.Makesureblackisonthetopoftheoutletoryouroutletswillbebackwards!

Combining outlets
Now,youllneedsomewirenutsandsomegreenandwhitewire.Connectthegreenwiresfromthejumperfeedwire tothegreenwiresfromeachoutletbox.Dothesameforthewhitewire.Makesurethewirenutsaretightened.Add sometapeifyouwanttobesafe.

Hooking to relays
Youllneedonewireforeachchannelyouaresettingupandoneblackforajumper.My4relaysetupwillneed5total. Hookonetoeachcommon(COM)portonyourrelayboard.Twisttheotherendstogetherandaddtheblackjumper wire.Securewithwirenuts.Taketheotherendoftheblackjumperwireandhookittotheblackwireofthejumperfeed wire.Nowyouhaveahotleadintoeachrelaywhichwillbeusedtosendthehotlegtoeachoutlet.Installthewirefrom eachoutlet(hot#1,hot#2,hot#3,etc.)toeachrelaynormallyopen(NO)connection. Doublecheckyourwiring.Fromthemasterfeedwire,greenandblackshouldbehookedtotheswitch.Green,white thenhooktojumperfeedwire.Blackshouldrunoutofswitchonjumperfeedwire.Greenwirefromjumperfeedwire goesintowireboxandhookstoalloutletgreenwires.Whitefromjumperfeedwiregoesintowireboxandhookstoall outletwhitewires.Blackfromjumperfeedwirehookstowirethatconnectstohotchannelfeeds.Hotchannelfeedsgo toeachrelaycommonterminal.Eachindividualoutlethotwireconnectstotheindividualrelaynormallyopen connection.

Hardware
HereiswherewehooktherelaystotheArduino.Ifyouusearelayshield,youcanpluginandyouregoodtogo. Otherwise(orinaddition)youllneedtowireupaquickcircuittoactivatetherelay.(IusethisfortheSaintekboard.) Thiscircuitusesa10kpulldownresistorto ensurethetransistordefaultstotheoff position.Thedotontheleftsideiswillconnect toadigitalpinonyourArduino.The2.2k resistorthrottlesthecurrentfromtheArduino 5voutput.Thecoilontherelaywillconnectto 5vononepinandtotheRELAYBOARD INPUTmarkedonthegraphic. WhentheArduinopingoeshigh,itwillactivate thetransistorandgiveyouaconnectionto ground,allowingtherelaytoactivate.Although theArduinoprovides5v,useanexternalpower tosupplytherelay5v.
NewerArduinoshaveaninternalpulldownresistorsoyoucaneliminatethe10kone.Theotherpartsshouldcostlessthansixorsevendollars. 3.3voltinputshoulduse2.2k,for5v,use1k.Youcanusea2N2222or2N4401NPNtransistor.

Youllneedonerelayforeachchannel(oroutlet)youplantoswitch.EachrelayneedsanArduinopintodriveit.Im usingatotalof12channels,splitacross2setsofrelays.4areontheSeeedshieldand8areonaSaintek8portrelay board.TheSeeedshieldisprettymuchplug&play.Assignpins47andyouaredone.However,itblocksalotofpins thatIwanttouse.Toaccessthose,IendedupusingaSeeedProtoShield.Imusing8additionalpinstodriveNPN transistorstoprovidegroundusingtheabovecircuit.

Software
Therearetwopartstothesoftware.VixenlightstocreatethedisplaysandArduinocodetolistenforVixencommands.

Arduino Code
TheArduinocodelistensfordataarrivingovertheserialinterfaceandsettheoutputchannelsappropriately.BestI understand,Vixenjustsendsaseriesofbitscorrespondingtoeachchannelyouhaveconfigured.HIGHs(FF)and LOWs(00)areusedtoturnthechannelsonandoff.
/* ArduinoVixengenericserialinterface Basedoncodebysmching(ediy.com.my) Modifiedbynetman427 */ #defineCHANNELS_COUNT13 #defineCh17 #defineCh26 #defineCh36 #defineCh44 #defineCh522 #defineCh624 #defineCh726 #defineCh828 #defineCh930 #defineCh1032 #defineCh1134 #defineCh1236 #defineCh1338 //LEDfortrackbeatindicator intCh[CHANNELS_COUNT]={Ch1,Ch2,Ch3,Ch4,Ch5,Ch6,Ch7,Ch8,Ch9,Ch10,Ch11,Ch12,Ch13} intincomingByte[CHANNELS_COUNT]//arraytostorethevaluesfromserialport voidsetup() { Serial.begin(9600) //setchannelpinstooutput for(bytei=0i<CHANNELS_COUNTi++)pinMode(Ch[i],OUTPUT) } voidloop(){ if(Serial.available()>=CHANNELS_COUNT){ for(inti=0i<CHANNELS_COUNTi++){ //Serial.readprocessesonechar incomingByte[i]=Serial.read() digitalWrite(Ch[i],incomingByte[i])//WritetheDigitalOutputtotherespectivepin. } } }

OpenyourArduinoIDE,loadtheabovesketchandwritetoyourArduino. Howdoesthiswork? Createanarraytoholdthechannelpins. Loopthroughthearraytosetthepinstooutputmode. Looptocreateacounterpointingtothecurrentchannelnumber. Setthecurrentchannelnumber(fromarray)totheincomingcharacter Doitagainforeachchannelthenstartoverforthefirstchannel.

HereisasampleofthedatasentbyVixen.Notethereisonecolumnforeachchannel.
1217201302:45:49.353[10]0000000000 1217201302:45:52.119[10]FFFFFFFFFF 1217201302:45:53.462[10]0000000000 1217201302:45:54.822[10]FF00000000 1217201302:45:55.275[10]0000000000 1217201302:45:56.181[10]00FF000000 1217201302:45:56.431[10]0000000000 1217201302:45:57.431[10]0000FF0000 1217201302:45:57.681[10]0000000000 1217201302:45:58.900[10]000000FF00 1217201302:45:59.134[10]0000000000 AllOff AllOn AllOff Ch1On Alloff Ch2On AllOff Ch3On AllOff Ch4On AllOff

Inthisexample,Iturnedallchannelsonthenalloff.Next,eachchannelisturnedonandoffindividually. WhentheArduinoseesFF,itsetsthepinassignedtothechanneltoHIGH.Doublezeros(00)willsetthepin LOW.ToenableChannel1,4and5,itwouldlooklikethis:FF0000FF00.

Vixen
Nowthatyouknowallthat,itstimetosetupVixen.Therearetwoversions,stickwithversion2.1.Ithinkitssimpler. http://www.vixenlights.com/downloads/vixen2downloads/.Onceyoudownloadtheprogram,unziptoadirectory. Youcanusethewizard,butIrecommendagainstit.Ithinkitsbettertohavethetrickexplainedbeforewatchingthe magiciandoit.Therefore,herearethestepsnecessarytosetupyourhardwareandcreateasequencemanually.

Create a Profile
Profilesdefinesyourchannelsandwhathardwareyouareusing. ClickProfilesManage. Click+tocreateaprofileandgiveitaname.IsuggestArduinoSerial.TheEditaprofilewindowwillopen. ClickAddonechanneluntilallyourchannelsareadded.(1foreachrelay)

Onceallchannelsareadded,clickOutputpluginsatthebottom.

SelectGenericSerialfromtheAvailablePluginssection,clickUsethenselectGenericserialUnderPluginsinUse. Addyourchannelsontherightside,thenclickPluginSetupunderthechannelnumbers.

Fortroubleshooting,youcanincludeEventdatalogger.Togetbackhere,clickProfiles/ManagethendoubleclickyourprofilethenclickOutputplugins.

SelecttheSerialPortyourArduinoisonandchoose9600fortheBaudrate.ClickOKtoclose.

ClickDonetoclosethroughallwindowstoreturntothemainscreen.

Sequences
Ok,soitsallsetup.HowdoImakethelightswork?Onceyouhaveconfiguredtheplugin,youcantesteachchannel butnotuntilyoustarttocreateatrack.SelectNewStandardsequence.Clickcreateit.Nowlookinthetopleftand youshouldseeacheckboxnexttothechannelcount.

Testeachchanneltoverifyyoursetup.

Throughalotoftrial&error(andsuggestions),Ifoundtheeasiestwaytocreateasequenceisusingatrackbeat indicator.Youlluseitasareferencepointwhencreatingsequences.IusearesistorsoldereddirectlytoanLEDand oneadditionaloutputpin.TheotherendgoestogroundontheArduino.Ifyouareusing12relays,thiswillbecomeyour 13thchannel.Itsassumedyoursequencewillbesettomusic,somakesureyouhaveanMP3fileavailable. Associatetheaudiofilewiththesequence.ClickSequencethenAudio.ClickAssignaudiotoaddanmp3audiotrack. VerifyResizethesequencetotheaudiolengthischecked. Younowneedtosequencethetrackbeatwiththeaudio.VixencanplaytheaudioandyouusetheCTRLkeyonthe keyboardtoselectwhentoactivatethechannel.Fornow,justdothebeattrack.Clickonthechannelyouwishtouse thenclickplay.Hopefullyyoucancountmusicandfindthedownbeatofthesong.RememberFirstgradeandplaying MaryHadaLittleLambontherecorder?Youcount12341234.HitCTRLforeachcountof1.Dontbeconfusedwith songslikeJingleBells.Its123123.Justhitonwhatfeelslikethedownbeat.Youcanpause,rewind,orstartoverifyou needto.Onceyouvedonethewholesong,clickok.Youshouldnowhaveasequencewithasteadypatternofboxes onChannel13.. Youcannowcreateasimplepatternusingthefollowingmethod: OnChannel1,highlightinbetweenthebeattrack.Hitentertoactivate.(Shouldcover4squares) Repeatforentiresong. CopyChannel1toChannel2andinvert.Toinvert,leftclickandholdtoselectasection.Pressttoinvert. CopyChannel2toChannel3thenremovethesecond&thirdboxes. CopyChannel3toChannel4theninvert. Copyasyouseefit.Removeandaddcyclestochangethepatternup. Removeandaddmarkswhereyouwanttocyclethelightsandplayaroundwithdifferentsequences. Youcannowtestit.ClicktheCheckmarktostartplaying,sitbackallyoureffort.