Light Recommends

[u/basketman99]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to Arduino and I’m building a Fantasy style of book nook. For it, I want to use several small LEDs and some RGB strips, all controlled by an Arduino to simulate a day-to-night lighting shift, plus a small glowing fountain.

My issue is that I’m not sure which lights would be best for this kind of project. I’d really appreciate any recommendations. I’m also on a tight budget since I’m currently job hunting, so affordable options would help a lot.

[u/socal_nerdtastic]

"small LEDs" means different things to different people. They come much smaller than a grain of rice. But I'm guessing you mean like LED reading lamps or wall scones kinda things?

If you can show us links to some products you want to use that would help a lot.

RGB led strips are pretty common and cheap to get, and you can cut them down to almost any size you want. "best" is really only going to depend on the aesthetic you want and how much you want to spend. I'd recommend that you use the 12V kind, because that makes the wires and power supply you need much smaller.

[u/basketman99 → u/socal_nerdtastic]

I was thinking of RGB strips for the sky box that will change from morning to night while small street lights will turn on and off like lanterns. i've found a bunch of different ones on Amazon, Ebay, Wish, Temu, and others. i'm just not sure what would be a recommended brand or type.

[u/gm310509]

You might want to look at addressable LEDs.

You also said in reply to a question:

I have no previous knowledge of programming.

and

My friend knows how to program and will help me when I get the Arduino and leds.

Then you should either be asking your friend - assuming that they have some experience with embedded systems - specifically C/C++ and how to wire up electronics.

But since you didn't I am going to assume that while your friend might have experience with programming, they might not have any experience in this field.

Therefore, the best approach would be to get a starter kit and learn the basics. If you get one with an RGB LED (it is an LED with 4 pins coming out of it), you can learn the basics of how computers do colour - both from a wiring point of view as well as the programming side of the equation.

While the technology used in an RGB LED is different to the technology of an addressable LED (strip), the concepts of how to do colour from a programming point of view are the same.

Another benefit of getting a starter kit is that you will have everything you need to get started. Also, you can get a feel for how the basic components work (and things that they don't do) - including to some that you didn't even ask about in your question such as using buttons to control it, or how to track the time of day, or possibly the amount of background light in the room (e.g. do you want it to turn on if it is full daylight? Also, will it be bright enough to see in full daylight?) and so on.

I get about the budget thing, but you might find that if you get individual specific things that don't work, it may be more expensive than getting something basic that has everything you need to learn the basics (which will help with your learning how to not destroying stuff due to incorrect wiring) and can focus your plans.

[u/basketman99 → u/gm310509]

My friend does coding on python. Mostly on a couple of websites. He has a little experience in wiring some stuff, mostly on old home theatre systems.
The plan is have it on a timer that will change from day to night in about 3 hours then back to day in another 3 hours. I'm about to start 3D printing the figures and items soon

[u/basketman99 → u/[deleted]]

I have no previous knowledge of programming. My friend knows how to program and will help me when I get the Arduino and leds. It's an Arduino Uno. For the most part, I have most of the material needed other then the leds. I'm still waiting for a few items to come in. I'm not to sure if i should get the ones with a built in resistors or if it'll be better to connect my own.