rpi-ws2801

This is a node.js library to control a WS2801 RGB LED stripe via SPI with your Raspberry Pi.

I wrote this to control a RGB LED stripe using the WS2801 with my Raspberry Pi. This should also work with other SPI devices.

installation

npm install rpi-ws2801

Module is registered to npm as rpi-ws2801

initialization

var leds = require("rpi-ws2801");
// connecting to SPI
leds.connect(32); // number of LEDs

parameters:

• the number of LEDs your RGB LED stripe has (32, 60, …)
• (optional) the name of the SPI device (if different to /dev/spidev0.0)
• (optional) the gamma correction value (1, 2.5, …)

disconnect from SPI

leds.disconnect();

send stored buffer to SPI

leds.update();

This command sends all stored or set colors to SPI.

fill complete stripe with one color

leds.fill(0xFF, 255, 0x00);

parameters:

• red value (0 to 255) or (0x00 to 0xFF)
• green value (0 to 255) or (0x00 to 0xFF)
• blue value (0 to 255) or (0x00 to 0xFF)

This example sets the complete stripe (all LEDs) to color yellow (r: 255, g: 255, b: 0).

set LED color by array

leds.setColor(0, [255,0,0]);  // set LED1 to red

parameters:

• set led index from (0 to number of LEDs -1)
• set color array[red, green, blue] with value (0 to 255)

This example sets the LED 0 (first LED) to red.

set LED color by percentage value

leds.setChannelPower(0, 0.5);

parameters:

• set channel index from (0 to number of channels - 1, number of channels = 3 * number of LEDs)
• set percentage from (0 to 1)

This example sets the channel 0 (by default the first red channel) to 50%.

sending the values to your driver

leds.setRGB(0, '#FF0000');    // set LED1 to red

parameters:

• set led index from (0 to number of LEDs -1)
• set hex color with web like hex color string.

This example sets the LED 0 (first LED) to red.

example

var leds = require('rpi-ws2801');

// connecting to Raspberry Pi SPI
leds.connect(32); // assign number of WS2801 LEDs
  
// set all colors to yellow
console.log("fill all yellow");
// fill(r, g, b)
// r, g, b: value as hex (0x00 = 0, 0xFF = 255, 0x7F = 127)
leds.fill(0xFF, 255, 0x00);
  
// after 2 seconds set first 6 LEDs to (red, green, blue, red, green, blue)
setTimeout(function(){
  console.log("red green blue red green blue");
  // setRGB(ledIndex, hexColor);
  // ledIndex: 0 = LED1, 1 = LED2, …
  // hexColor: '#FF0000' = red, '#00FF00' = green, ...
  leds.setRGB(0, '#FF0000');    // set LED1 to red
  leds.setRGB(1, '#00FF00');    // set LED2 to green
  leds.setRGB(2, '#0000FF');    // set LED3 to blue
 
  // setColor(ledIndex, color);
  // ledIndex: 0 = LED1, 1 = LED2, …
  // color: array[red, green, blue] = [255,0,0] = red, [0,255,0] = green
  leds.setColor(3, [255,0,0]);  // set LED4 to red
  leds.setColor(4, [0,255,0]);  // set LED5 to green
  leds.setColor(5, [0,0,255]);  // set LED6 to blue
  
  // send all set colors to SPI via update();
  leds.update();
}, 2000);

When running this example the LED stripe will first fill all LEDs with yellow color. After 2 seconds it sets the color of the first 6 LEDs to (red, green, blue, red, green, blue).

additional commands

Invert all color values.

leds.invert();

Reverse the order of LEDs (begin on start of stripe ot end of stripe).

leds.reverse();

Clear complete LED stripe (fill with black)

leds.clear();

Get channel count

leds.getChannelCount();

Define a new RGB order (if first LED is blue instead of red).

leds.setColorIndex(2, 1, 0);

parameters:

• set red channel index from (0, 1 or 2)
• set green channel index from (0, 1 or 2)
• set blue channel index from (0, 1 or 2)

This example sets the RGB order to address first the blue than the green and at last the red color channel. Red: 2, green. 1, blue: 0 => blue, green, red. Default is red: 0, green: 1, blue: 2 => red, green, blue.

thx @ Frederic Worm for the initial idea of creating this library.

wiring the Raspberry Pi

Connect your Pi like this to the LED driver:

| Raspberry Pi | led driver | |:------------:|:----------:| | GND | GND | | 5V or 3.3V (or external) | input V+ | | SCLK | input CLK | | MOSI | input DIN | | CE0 | input LAT |

Connect /OE on the LED driver to GND or to a GPIO of your choice (you can quickly turn off all LEDs by using a GPIO).

Or use this Raspberry Pi Bridge from http://www.hackerspaceshop.com/

I am not responsible for any damages to your hardware. Use this at your own risk.