Electronics & dispersion (Cabinet Light Pt. 5)
It's time to start installing all of the electronics! I'm using the Arduino Metro here.
The Arduino Metro on a protoboard
![](/assets/electronics-1-metro-300.jpg)
Soldered in!
![](/assets/electronics-2-solder-350.jpg)
Next is wiring the potentiometers to control the HSB values, and the resistors in line with the buttons.
Potentiometers
![](/assets/electronics-3-pots-300.jpg)
Button inline resistors
![](/assets/electronics-5-button-backs-350.jpg)
Finally, wiring it all together into the control box.
Electronics all installed!
![](/assets/electronics-4-installed-500.jpg)
Testing
Testing the LEDs out - it works!
Lights!
![](/assets/electronics-7-working-400.jpg)
Backside :P
![](/assets/electronics-8-working-back-400.jpg)
Upgrading the power
During testing, I drew too much power for the pigtail connector and had to remove it and upgrade to Anderson connectors. I don't really like these, as they tend to not 'connect' very well, but they have high amperage, which is what I need.
Melted connector
![](/assets/electronics-9-melted-connector-400.jpg)
New connector!
![](/assets/electronics-10-anderson-connectors-400.jpg)
Dispersion
I needed something to disperse the light from the strip a bit to avoid seeing distinct LED light. I grabbed these covers which dispersed really well, but unfortunately were slightly too narrow for the (unplanned) slot I routed:
Unplanned LED strip slot
![](/assets/cabinet-2x4-routed-400.jpg)
To increase the width of the strip a bit, I used double-sided tape to attach some acetate sheets (projector sheets) that I cut into strips. It worked really well!
Taping the sheets to the diffuser
![](/assets/electronics-11-dispersion-tape-400.jpg)
It works!
![](/assets/electronics-12-dispersion-installation-300.jpg)
Only thing left is to install under the cabinet!
Published: 2021-12-27