1. TLC5940 controller / 16 RGB LEDs Eric Moore 1/25/2009 http://www.stonedcoder.org/ ~druid/balloon/ Files and image of circuit ALL PIN NUMBERS ARE SIMPLIFIED

2. Materials 1 Breadboard Jumper cables – either bought or made 1 Arduino 16 RGB LEDs 3 resistors – anything with a k that works You need a laptop and cable to load the code in to the arduino. If you haven’t done that before, stop and follow the tutorials at arduino.cc

3. Insert chip on board, leave 1 pin open on the left, and 2 open between chips – use ruler / straightedge to bend pins if needed

4. Note the 2 spaces between chips, now tie pins 1 and 14 on each chip to pins 1 and 16 on the opposite side of the breadboard

5. Note the yellow lines, now we will add our power lines to the chip

6. Insert ties to ground (7 and 10)

7. Insert ties to high (8) and connect SOUT (12) to SIN (3)

8. Now tie pin 11 to pin 11 on chips 2 and 3

9. Do the same with pins: 2, 4, 5, and 6

10. Now pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11 should be connected on the third chip

11. When you are done, your board should look like this, hopefully cleaner

12. Tie pin 9 to ground w/ a resistor on all 3 chips

13. Arduino time!

14. Pin 4 on the first chip…

15. Goes to pin 8 on the ‘duino

16. Pins 9 and 10 on the ‘duino go to pins 5 and 6 on the first chip

17. Arduino 12 goes to chip1 pin2 Arduino 13 goes to chip1 pin3

18. 11 arduino goes to chip1 pin11

19. Your board should look like this

20. Connect red to anode AKA high (+5 or +3.3) Connect blue to black cathode AKA low or ground

21. Connect to either a power supply, or the arduino directly.

22. Now for the LEDs! The long leg is the anode, and run to high.

23. Bend the anode (long leg) away from the other legs, making sure that the pin that is alone on one side is to your left, and you bend toward you. This ensures all the LEDs are in the same order.

24. Insert the LED into breadboard pins 1-2-3 with anode in the RED bus

25. 15 LEDs later…

26. Connect the RED bus on one side of the board with the RED bus you just inserted all the anodes in to.

27. All done! Program your arduino and enjoy!