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I am currently working on an 8-way computer controlled disco / theatre light project. The controller works either as a standalone unit or in conjunction with a computer to provide complete controller over the lighting sequences.
The project uses low voltage (12v) Par16 cans to reduce the risks associated with mains voltage electricity. Domestic lighting transformers are used to provide high light power output (max 50w per channel, 400w max).
The project was going well until my bridge rectifier exploded with a flash of light and a small bank and bit of smoke. I believe this may have been due to a short circuit, perhaps in the cable going to the Arduino. I've now replaced the bridge rectifier and bypassed the damage to the stripboard. After further research it turns out that this was due to a short created because of the earthed USB connection on the PC and the earthed connectors to the lights. The earthing of the connectors also caused other problems, the solution was therefore to replace the connectors and remove the earth from the AC circuit.
Since then I've now added a Arduino shield with a shift register to increase the number of available pins and a 16-segment LCD driver circuit. I've also added the switches and speed control circuitry. I have created the initial Arduino Sketch code to provide basic standalone functionality, although this does need code to provide the PC control.
In addition to the software I will need to add an additional Triac driver module to make it into an 8-way version (currently it is only 4-way). The final section which is destined for future install is a sound to light module.
Please view the copyright information regarding use of the circuits.
