The arduino runs on 5 volts, and the LED strip runs on 12 volts.
This is not a problem if there is no direct connection between the 12 volt positive and the 5 volt positive. You still want to connect the grounds together, so that the 5 volt and 12 volts are relative to the same base ground.
Note that when you take a voltage measurement you have to use 2 leads to your voltmeter. This is because voltage is always the measurement of a difference in potentials - there's no such thing as an absolute voltage.
So if only 1 line of your two power supplies is common, there won't be any issues. When the 2nd line is also connected, then the 12 volt supply will try to overpower the 5 volt supply, and things will burn out.
Now, the transistors act as intermediaries between the 5 volt and 12 volt supply. The Source-Drain part of the transistor is connected to the 12 volt side, and the Source-Gate part is connected to the 5 volt side. The Source is connected to ground, so the Source is common to both sides of your circuit.
Inside the transistor, there is no connection between the gate and the Source or Drain - it's completely insulated from the 12V side. It's only the effect of having the gate wire *near* the Source-Drain that causes the transistor to turn on or off.
So when the arduino makes the Gate go to 5 volts, there's no chance of 12 volts flowing back into the arduino to burn out things.
The transistor is very much like an insulated switch controlled by the 5 volt signal from the Arduino.
So to turn the RGB light strip completely off, just make the R/G/B control wires (the Gate) go to ground and stay there.
You change colors by making the LEDs switch on and off very rapidly. You can't see the flickering, your eyes perceive the light as being dimmer. When the transistor Gate is rapidly turning ON 10% of the time and OFF 90% of the time, we perceive that as 10% brightness.
To turn the RGB lisht strip completely off, just make the brightness 0 for all three channels. That will be ON 0% and OFF 100%, the gate voltages will be ground, and the transistors will be completely off.
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https://hackaday.io/project/15091/log/46403-toggle-on-off-button
Just Trying It ... If Worked Well I'll send It The Link To the files & Datasheets
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The arduino runs on 5 volts, and the LED strip runs on 12 volts.
This is not a problem if there is no direct connection between the 12 volt positive and the 5 volt positive. You still want to connect the grounds together, so that the 5 volt and 12 volts are relative to the same base ground.
Note that when you take a voltage measurement you have to use 2 leads to your voltmeter. This is because voltage is always the measurement of a difference in potentials - there's no such thing as an absolute voltage.
So if only 1 line of your two power supplies is common, there won't be any issues. When the 2nd line is also connected, then the 12 volt supply will try to overpower the 5 volt supply, and things will burn out.
Now, the transistors act as intermediaries between the 5 volt and 12 volt supply. The Source-Drain part of the transistor is connected to the 12 volt side, and the Source-Gate part is connected to the 5 volt side. The Source is connected to ground, so the Source is common to both sides of your circuit.
Inside the transistor, there is no connection between the gate and the Source or Drain - it's completely insulated from the 12V side. It's only the effect of having the gate wire *near* the Source-Drain that causes the transistor to turn on or off.
So when the arduino makes the Gate go to 5 volts, there's no chance of 12 volts flowing back into the arduino to burn out things.
The transistor is very much like an insulated switch controlled by the 5 volt signal from the Arduino.
So to turn the RGB light strip completely off, just make the R/G/B control wires (the Gate) go to ground and stay there.
You change colors by making the LEDs switch on and off very rapidly. You can't see the flickering, your eyes perceive the light as being dimmer. When the transistor Gate is rapidly turning ON 10% of the time and OFF 90% of the time, we perceive that as 10% brightness.
To turn the RGB lisht strip completely off, just make the brightness 0 for all three channels. That will be ON 0% and OFF 100%, the gate voltages will be ground, and the transistors will be completely off.
Are you sure? yes | no