Adalight-FastLED_rgbwMod/README.md

# Adalight-FastLED [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/dmadison/Adalight-FastLED.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/dmadison/Adalight-FastLED)

![Adalight-Rainbow](http://i.imgur.com/sHygxq9.jpg)

## Synopsis

This project modifies the Adalight protocol to use [FastLED](https://github.com/FastLED/FastLED) ([fastled.io](http://fastled.io)). This expands Adalight to, in theory, work with *[any supported FastLED strip](https://github.com/FastLED/FastLED/wiki/Chipset-reference)* including WS2812B (aka Adafruit NeoPixels).

In addition to ambilight setups, the protocol can be used to stream *any* color data over serial from a computer to supported LED strips.

For this sketch to work, you'll need to have a copy of the FastLED library. You can download FastLED [from GitHub](https://github.com/FastLED/FastLED) or through the libraries manager of the Arduino IDE. This program was writen using FastLED 3.1.3 - note that earlier versions of FastLED are untested and may not work properly.

For more information on my own ambilight setup, see [the project page](http://www.partsnotincluded.com/projects/ambilight/) on [PartsNotIncluded.com](http://www.partsnotincluded.com/).

## Basic Setup

Open the LEDstream_FastLED file in the Arduino IDE and customize the settings at the top for your setup. You will need to change:

- Number of LEDs
- LED data pin
- LED type

Upload to your Arduino and use a corresponding PC application to stream color data. You can get the Processing files from the [main Adalight repository](https://github.com/adafruit/Adalight), though I would recommend using [Patrick Siegler's](https://github.com/psieg/) fork of Lightpacks's Prismatik, which you can find [here](https://github.com/psieg/Lightpack/releases).

## Additional Settings

There are additional settings to allow for adjusting:

- Max brightness
- LED color order
- Serial speed
- Serial timeout length

There are also optional settings to clear the LEDs on reset, configure a dedicated ground pin, and to put the Arduino into a "calibration" mode, where all LED colors match the first LED. To help with flickering, the option to flush the serial buffer after every latch is enabled by default.

## Debug Settings

The code includes two debugging options:
- DEBUG_LED
- DEBUG_FPS

`DEBUG_LED` will turn on the Arduino's built-in LED on a successful header match, and off when the LEDs latch. If your LEDs aren't working, this will help confirm that the Arduino is receiving properly formatted serial data.

`DEBUG_FPS`, similarly, will toggle a given pin when the LEDs latch. This is useful for measuring framerate with external hardware, like a logic analyzer.

To enable either of these settings, uncomment their respective '#define' lines.

## Issues and LED-types

I've only tested the code with the WS2812B strips I have on hand, but so far it performs flawlessly. If you find an issue with the code or can confirm that it works with another chipset, please let me know!

## Credits and Contributions

Thanks to Adafruit for the initial code and for developing the Adalight protocol. The base for the original FastLED modifications is [this gist](https://gist.github.com/jamesabruce/09d79a56d270ed37870c) by [James Bruce](https://github.com/jamesabruce). Thanks James!

Pull requests to improve this software are always welcome!

## License

Adalight is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of
the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Adalight is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
License along with Adalight.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.