SparkFun
BlinkM - I2C Controlled RGB LED
BlinkM is a “Smart LED”, a networkable and programmable full-color RGB LED for hobbyists, industrial designers, prototypers, and experimenters. It is desi...
BlinkM is a “Smart LED”, a networkable and programmable full-color RGB LED for hobbyists, industrial designers, prototypers, and experimenters. It is designed to allow the easy addition of dynamic indicators, displays, and lighting to existing or new projects. If you’ve used up all your microcontroller PWM channels controlling RGB LEDs and still want more, BlinkM is for you. BlinkM uses a high quality, high power RGB LED and a small AVR microcontroller to allow a user to digitally control an RGB LED over a simple I2C interface. Multiple BlinkMs can be stranded together on an I2C bus allowing for some amazing light displays.
BlinkMs are also programmable! With ThingMs sequencer software, you can create a mix of colors with different time slices, upload that sequence to the Blink, and then let it rip.
Features:
- 8000mcd 140º full-color RGB LED with 24-bit color control
- Specify colors by 24-bit RGB or HSB
- Fade between colors with variable timing and fade speeds
- Randomized color selection, with ranges and based on previous color
- 18 built-in light scripts (sequences)
- Create and save light scripts of up to 49 commands long
- Stand-alone operation: No microcontroller needed for light script playback
- Can plug directly into Arduino, no wiring or other components needed!
- Two-wire (aka “I2C”) interface
- Up to 127 BlinkMs on a single two-wire network
- Responds to “general call” broadcast for simultaneous commanding
- Reconfigurable network address
- Firmware upgradable
- 5-volt standard TTL inputs
- Low power consumption
Documents:
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- AVR
- AVR is a family of 8-bit microcontrollers used in many classic Arduino-style boards. If a USB host library mentions AVR support, it suggests the examples or compatibility may be aimed at those older microcontroller boards.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode is a small electronic component that lights up when current flows through it in the correct direction. In this kit, LEDs create the flashing effect, so polarity and correct soldering matter for the project to work.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- RGB
- Short for red, green and blue, usually referring to an LED that can mix those three colours. It matters because controlling an RGB LED teaches how separate outputs combine to create different colours.
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