Brilliant LED Projects

A unique DIY guide to creating visually exciting LED displays using a variety of electronic circuits

Brilliant LED Projects reveals how to build inventive, affordable, and impressive LED projects using a selection of components that includes single-color LEDs, bi-color and tri-color LEDs, RBG LEDs, 7-segment displays, dot matrix displays, and IR LEDs. Projects include:

• Emergency LED torch
• Rear bike light
• Color-changing disco lights
• Glove lights
• Persistence-of-vision (POV) projects, such as a digital oscilloscope screen, a rain emulator, and an LED clock

The projects use a variety of digital integrated circuits to achieve the desired results. You’ll learn to work with CMOS 4000-range ICs, 555 timers, bargraph drivers, and the 16F628 PIC microcontroller.

This hands-on guide opens with a clear explanation of the book’s intentions, the tools needed, and the basic concepts. It includes an overview of the various LED components, example clock and driver circuit building blocks, illumination and flashing LED projects, sequencers (strings of flashing LEDs), and multiplexers. Every chapter illuminates important concepts and techniques that produce fascinating electronic displays. Programming code, when needed, is available for download.

Brilliant LED Projects

• Features easy-to-understand, step-by-step instructions for building each project from start to finish
• Contains detailed explanations of how each kind of circuit works
• Explains key parts of the assembly code for microcontrollers—the full code for the projects can be downloaded from a companion website
• Shows how to build the projects on readily available stripboard; no special PCBs need to be purchased, and you’re not left to figure out how to build the circuits from looking at schematics
• Uses affordable electronic components for all the projects
• Covers PIC microcontroller programs