I started these lights back in May … 2016 !!! Oh well, better late than never.
A small micro controller (PIC12F1840) drives a WS2801 LED chip which in turn drives the RGB LEDs.
In some ways this was easier than having the micro PWM the LEDs directly via transistors.
The single sided circular PCB has 3 RGB LEDs & some circuitry.
A centre cutout allows for the cable gland and power wires to the board.
The PCB was spray lacquered after programming and testing.
It was an interesting exercise positioning the 3 LEDs around the
circumference and drawing the curved tracks to connect them.
Sorry for the blurred photo.
The cable tail was a standard 15mm type from Ray Wu.
It’s strong enough to hang the assembly from.
I cut them at 750mm, but in hindsight could have left them longer.
That would have allowed for easier positioning in the trees.
Completed unit with the 300mm tint tube attached.
It was secures with 2 screws through the side of the cap.
One last test before they go outside.
The current draw is about 60mA @ 12V per tube.
9 tubes hung in the tree on our footpath.
8 T piece cables were used to connect them together.
12V power is fed to the tree via a flying cable.
I may change that to 30V and fit a small DC converter in the tree.