OT: RGB LED controller with digital input

ASF

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A long way OT but it will be attached to a PLC, I promise!

I'm after an RGB LED controller to control the colour of some LED strip lighting. Controllers like this one abound for very low prices, but they're all using a phone app or a remote control to select the colour. I need to have two preset colours (and not just "red and green", quite specific RGB colours), and be able to switch between them with a digital signal.

Long shot, I know, but has anyone ever come across such a device?
 
Some of the wifi rgb controllers expose a sockets interface you can send commands to.

It's not exactly digital but it sure is commodity.
 
I used to use one for miilight bulbs (Easybulb). The bulbs used 2.4gzh radio for control and had little rf remotes to control them. There was a controller that would connect to your wifi and would you could connect to it from an app on your phone. The phone used socket comms to talk to the bridge that would send the rf signals to the bulbs.

Have a look for milight wifi box. There are people writing interfaces for home automation hacking into them. I imagine there is something similar for items like:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/16Million-colors-control-music-Wifi-RGB-RGBW-led-controller-smartphone-and-timer-mode-magic-home-mini/32884865866.html?src=google&albslr=221139184&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=494-037-6276&isdl=y&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&aff_platform=google&aff_short_key=UneMJZVf&&albagn=888888&albcp=1706086941&albag=66154788626&trgt=296904914040&crea=en32884865866&netw=u&device=c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxI2P_png4AIVihaPCh3IKATBEAkYAyABEgKT4PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Aha - the QR is Magic Home and there are projects to run them.
https://github.com/beville/flux_led
 
All the RGB strips have 4 pin connectors.

Red
Green
Blue
Common

All those controllers do is turn one, two or all 3 on and to get more colors vary the voltages to each color. Years ago for a hobby club we were using tri-color LED's for signal lamps. Positive DC was red, negative DC green and AC was sort of yellow, but run the AC through 2 opposing diodes and a specific resistor on each diode the yellow could be tweaked.

Try putting a potentiometer on each color lead and adjusting until you get the colors you want, then put in resistors in, or leave the pots, and use 2 digital outputs to send the DC through the resistors for the color you want. So you don't get power going to the other color either put in diodes or run them though 3+ pole relays.
 
You can build your own controller like this one
30blhz8.jpg
 
If you are going to use a PLC . . .
You might consider using three analog output signals.
Then the PLC program could change the output volts
for the different LED's to change the color.
Poet.
 
If you are going to use a PLC . . .
You might consider using three analog output signals.
Then the PLC program could change the output volts
for the different LED's to change the color.
Poet.

and this way, if you need to add functionality in the future, such as a third, fourth, etc color, you don't have to make any hardware changes...
 
If you are going to use a PLC . . .
You might consider using three analog output signals.
Then the PLC program could change the output volts
for the different LED's to change the color.
Poet.


Now that's an idea...
 
Intensity of the individual colors are not controlled by voltage.
It's a little something called pulse width modulation.
If you need two colors, and two only, get a three pole double throw relay and switch between two cheap led controllers.
Never over complicate things.
 
Intensity of the individual colors are not controlled by voltage.
It's a little something called pulse width modulation.
If you need two colors, and two only, get a three pole double throw relay and switch between two cheap led controllers.
Never over complicate things.
That's actually a good idea, but now that I've floated the idea of analog control and 16,777,216 colours, the customer has decided that we should go that way. I've even found an off the shelf controller that takes 3x 0-10V in and spits out PWM for the RGB LED light strips. Winning!


One other *possibility* is something like this 12 channel DMX controller which would give me infinite control of four separate LED strips, and in the process blow my customer's freaking mind! Has anyone successfully interfaced a PLC to a DMX controller before? How difficult was it? I'm using a 1769-L18ER-BB1B, so my options are Ethernet, or a 1734-ASC module. Or, there's a Windows 10 SCADA PC in the picture running an Ignition SCADA application, maybe that could do some interfacing?
 

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