Tutorials - February 25, 2019

It's RGB Time!

The Harry Potter Hogwarts set was a landmark for Light My Bricks in several ways. For sure it was, and still is, their biggest ever set.

But also it marked the subtle introduction of remote controlled RGB lights.

We now have stock of the RGB component range from Light My Bricks so here's the low-down on what this kit is for!

What is RGB?

RGB stands for Red Green Blue. These LED components look and work just like our other lights, albeit with more wires. This is because every LED is actually four lights - one of each colour plus white. As such when they light up in various combinations you can make a whole range of different colours.

What's Different?

These lights require four tiny wires to operate, which means special connectors and cables. As such they're not compatible with our main range, but can however share the same power supply.

Most important to note is that the cables used four wires, and the plugs are bigger. This means you get great lighting flexibility but it reduces the ease of use between / under / through LEGO components.

Here's the new connectors:

What's available?

Similar to our standard LED range, these components are made up of the following parts:

Bit Lights

Available in packs of 4 with 30cm of cable. These provide bright light and can fit inside LEGO bricks.

Strip Lights

Available in packs of 4, these lights fit on a 1x6 LEGO brick and have self adhesive backs. They feature two bright multi-colour LEDs and a connector on each end, making them perfect for connecting in sequence.

The Brains aka IR Board and Remote Control

To make these lights work you need to be able to control them! The control board has an IR receiver fitted so must be placed somewhere in or near your LEGO where this receiver is visible.

The board has 1 input - which is a standard connector so takes power from any of our power supplies or connects to an expansion board using normal connecting cables.

And it has 2 outputs which are the special new connectors for RGB components.

The board supports 4 special effects and multiple colours of course - all controlled through the infra-red remote control.

Flash - Flash effect on your chosen colour
Strobe - Will flash quickly while cycling through all the colours
Fade - Will cycle through all the colours 3 seconds at each colour
Smooth - Will cycle through all the colours 7 seconds at each colour

Each output can connect to a light or a chain of strip lights or to an expansion board.

With the IR Remote Control you can select the colour, the effect, and the brightness of the connected LEDs.

Expansion Boards

Just like our main range, this is a tiny board with 6 RGB compatible connectors and are used to bring together multiple lights into one connector, such as to connect 5 bit lights to a single output on the IR board. This will result in all those lights showing the same colours at the same time.

And finally... Connecting Cables!

Necessary to hook this all up, these are RGB compatible cables in packs of 4. They're available in 15cm or 30cm lengths.

Summary

The Light My Bricks RGB range is a great addition to allow real flexibility in how you light up your LEGO.

To see the lights in action, check out the product video for the Harry Potter Hogwarts set, which shows RGB strip lights being used to add coloured flood lights to the outside of the castle.

Handy Links

You'll find all these components in our DIY Components section

Questions / Comments?

Leave a comment below or write to us at hello@elegantbricks.com!

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