a bit of documentation

doc/readme.txt

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+IRlicht -- a 4-channel (RGBW) controller for LED-lamps, based on Arduino and
+controlled via infrared by a universal remote.
+
+Copyright 2014 Ronald Schaten <http://www.schatenseite.de>
+
+
+CIRCUIT
+
+You can see how to connect your Arduino in the enclosed Fritzing files and
+their rendered breadboard schematics. Basically, it's just the IR receiver
+diode, and one MOSFET per output channel. The Arduino can live quite well with
+the 12V on it's Vin, so no more voltage regulation is necessary.
+
+The receiver doesn't necessarily have to be an TSOP31238. After frying two of
+those, I dissected an old DVD player and desoldered the enclosed IR receiver
+diode from that. Worked like a charm. :-)
+
+
+SOFTWARE
+
+After installing Ken Shirriff's IR receiver library in your Arduino
+environment, everything you need is the enclosed sketch (irlicht.ino).
+Depending on the setup of your hardware, you may have to adjust the pins your
+receiver and your MOSFETs are connected to.
+
+Use the examples that are shipped with the IR remote library to find the codes
+that your remote is emitting, and set up the defines according to this.
+
+With the initial brightness levels given in the sketch, you can select which
+mode and colors should be active when the device is switched on.
+
+
+USAGE
+
+If your remote is set up like mine, you get the following functions:
+
+Some keys for basic color selection:
+
+1 -- red
+2 -- green
+3 -- blue
+5 -- white
+7 -- yellow (red and green)
+8 -- cyan (green and blue)
+9 -- magenta (blue and red)
+
+On the first press, the channel is turned on to 1/5 of maximum. Repeating the
+key enhances the brightness, after five levels the channel is turned off again.
+
+4 -- all channels on
+6 -- all channels off
+
+This turns the whole setup on or off with one single press of a button.
+
+Flash -- Hard cycle through all colors (except white).
+Fade -- Soft cycle through all colors (except white).
+Strobe -- Turn the currently selected color on and off.
+Soft -- Fade the current color from dark to a certain level and back.
+
+Dim -- Decrease the maximum brightness of the lamp.
+Bright -- Increase the maximum brightness.
+
+AllLightsOn -- Misleading name: this speeds up the current animation.
+AllLightsOff -- Also misleading, although consistent: slows down the animation.
+
+
+COMMENTS
+
+Feel free to drop me a line at <ronald@schatenseite.de>.