[chrisparton1991]

This is a fun article, I enjoyed reading about the reverse engineering aspect.

These days you can easily buy 5 metres of dirt cheap addressable LED strip and control them with an Arduino and FastLED. You don't get same learning experience though!

[nerdbaggy]

Any links or products?

[cronix]

1) LEDs: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/701799

2) Library: http://fastled.io/

3) Have fun ;)

On fastled.io, check the "community" link for tons of examples. This is a great time of year to find fun/cool projects as well.

I'd recommend a Teensy board over an arduino. It's many times faster, which is crucial for long strips and timing.

https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/

Paul (creator of Teensy) has some other really cool writeups as well, including building a giant TV out of the LED strips.

[mrgriscom]

Should include a warning: cheap addressable LEDs from aliexpress are extremely addictive...

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOOcHCF-EgPoRngivJNbxA_...

[chrisparton1991]

You don't have to tell me twice! I have a giant box full of the things.

[soylentcola]

Hehe...It's always burners with the best LED projects :)

[ttsda]

When using FastLED keep in mind it's still not compatible with chips containing 2 or 4 LEDs (Warm/Cool White and RGBW), like many WS2812B strips available online. At least in the case of RGBW the strip will work, but the white LED will remain off.

[chrisparton1991]

I prefer ESP32 boards myself. Super fast, cheap and they have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in.

There are some pitfalls, such as the ESP32 using 3.3V logic whereas most LED strips use 5V logic, but once you figure out how to use them they can be very powerful little beasts.

[StavrosK]

Has anyone used those string LEDs that look like Christmas lights? Are they suitable for actually using as Christmas lights?