AC Light Dimmer || DIY or Buy || Phase Angle Control Tutorial

[@andrew2004sydney]

Great video! I made this in 1992 with an EPROM based micro controlling 8 of these in parallel and accepting dimming values from the serial port. I programmed it all in ASM and every iteration of the development code took 40 minutes in the UV light to erase the EPROM. I also made the PCB by hand with a Dalo pen and drill. Good times!

[@unbekannternutzer8506]

You mentioned not using a capacitive dropper due to insulating issues. However the copper-fill on your board brings the mains too close to the low voltage side. The arcover distance is too low I would say. Many PSU PCBs do not feature any copper fill due to this reason.

[@greatscottlab]

Possible, that is also why Buy wins in the end. I am not a PCB design engineer. That shines through sometimes.

[@unbekannternutzer8506]

@@greatscottlab it still is a great design idea

[@bashaaksema94]

That is not true many pcbs do have a copper fill but they always seperate the mains and output fron eachother and ofcourse use optocouplers. Look up diodegonewild for this

[@TheBigBadButler]

​@@greatscottlab Looking at the way this channel is heading - soldering batteries, creating making mood lights, making dimmers - you should maybe get in touch with people who do 240V PCBs. 240 Volts aren't much of a problem if you consider a few safety rules, like 6mm spacings. Maybe watch a few of BigClive's Videos, too, he always nags about unsafe electronics devices and shows why safe devices are safe. But I guess you already know him... It's not about nagging, more about the fact that I'm gonna build what you show here.

[@unbekannternutzer8506]

@@bashaaksema94 yeah that's correct. As long as you keep no copper distance between traces and maybe even make adequate cutouts everything is fine

[@pieceofpotato7883]

someone need to give this guy a quality highlighter... i mean it's in every single video!

[@greatscottlab]

You don't like my highlighter?

[@wi_zeus6798]

It's actually a high quality German made highlighter but the ink of the other pens if probably water soluble.

[@ftaloYT]

@@greatscottlab I think he thought that the highlighter was wetting the paper too much

[@walid0the0dilaw]

フタロ - P then the paper is probably the problem. High quality paper resists wetting.

[@echobravo5488]

GreatScott! I like it! It’s like one of your trademarks!

[@toolazyforausername363]

I've been with channel since 100k subscribers, and your content just gets greater and greater with every video. I used to not know anything about electronics, but now i'm starting to take apart printers, and reuse all the components, and I now have the knowledge of arduino programming. Thank you.

[@victoryfirst2878]

I learn so much from your videos Sir. What gets me is the poor quality of purchased dimmers on the marketplace. When I was in school the teacher always stressed making a circuit that produces a pure SINE WAVE. This was the era of incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs. Since the controlled item is much simpler electrically and electronically, there is less of a need for excessive circuits. Now with the fancy items one can buy complicated dimmers are just part of the scenery. There has to be a way to make a simple and bulletproof bulb dimmer a DIY can make . I look forward to see what you come up with in the future Sir. Nice work too fella. vf

[@szerocools]

i never get tired of your "stay creative, and i will see you next time!"

[@Gurux13]

One more benefit of the BUY version is that it doesn't require power and can be used as a light switch, while the DIY version needs mains voltage. In fact, that might make a good video - how to draw current in series with a load, it has a lot of variations to it. Also, the trace separation is soo narrow. I have one PCB that is pretty much the same thing, with a termoresistor and an LED display, but I had to go with big trace spacing and also clean the board very well. All in all, I hate dealing with mains voltages :)

[@tristaaaaan3473]

only $2 but $18 shipping cost :D

[@varunatik632]

I was looking for this down here XD

[@WillianMai]

I've just rung the bell of your channel, your videos are quite high quality.. We can clearly see there is an effort put on quality! and not just entertainment such as other channels. Great work!

[@l_szabi]

11:30 "while the buy version obviously have to follow safety standards" *_proceeds to buy from ebay_*

[@wunderwaffeyt4077]

1:58 GreatScott!: "in German or phase angle control" English Captions: "in German or face anger control" I obviously laughed at that point

[@georgekot6377]

The only thing that truly amazes me is how this channel does not have 10.000.000 subscribers yet ! Keep up the good work.

[@wi_zeus6798]

Filling the ground plane in this case doesn't make very much sense since you have galvanic isolated between the high and low voltage portions of the circuit. The filled plane reduces the isolation distance unnecessarily. My biggest concern would be the potentiometer otherwise the case is enough protection. A partial fill would have been better.

[@NightmareQueenJune]

I never understood the reason behind a ground plane. Maybe for interfearence reduction in highly sensitive circuits or when DIYing PCBs with a CNC. But even when etching it makes no sense. Ferric cloride is so cheap that being able to etch more PCBs with the same solution was never a valid argument for me.

[@therealchayd]

I'm glad someone mentioned this!

[@shuashuashua1]

@@NightmareQueenJune Ground planes are just like You said to supress EMI and in most driver IC's, transistors, diodes etc for heat dissipation. For some data traces You can calculate capacity between data line and ground plane to get lowpass filter but I never used it in practice.

[@TheParamotorGuy]

I use ground planes for impedance matching on RF circuits and sometimes for ease of use in DC grounding. For low-frequency circuits such as this, the ground plane should have been avoided.

[@ninaddeshmukh654]

My phone rings a notification Me hoping a boring notification New video from GREAT SCOTT where are my headphones

[@greatscottlab]

I like that :-)

[@ninaddeshmukh654]

GreatScott! thank you so much I very much appreciate that this is my 3rd comment you replied 😁

[@euvo_sound]

@@ninaddeshmukh654 I ilke the comment

[@ninaddeshmukh654]

Jacob#5332 Romero than you I very much appreciate that

[@euvo_sound]

@@ninaddeshmukh654 Thanks!

[@Cahrdek]

PHASENANSCHNITTSKONTROLLE ... jawohl

[@FufsowyFufs]

Tbh DIY version is better due to its customizability. You could easily add sensors, replace the microcontroller for something with mode features or make it a multiple channel dimmer. I once wanted to make a this kind of dimmer for my bedroom lights and have Wi-Fi capability on it, but couldn't find a commercial product with a good price. Making it by myself was the only option, but up to now I couldn't find much information on it. Thanks Scott!

[@owaisy_sehrayi]

the warning At starting this guy gave seems to be a joke for Electroboom viewers😂😂😂

[@greatscottlab]

Well, partly. Mains voltage is dangerous and people should be aware of it.

[@zacharypike6408]

i had a stroke while trying to read this

[@owaisy_sehrayi]

obviously sir...

[@geetanshgautam]

I was about to comment that too

[@Patrik2166]

@Jaakko Jylhä You came from electroBoom? Then you know it is not necessary the current but the amount of time you're exposed to it what kills you and not necessarily the voltage. Wow I almost learned the definition he came up with xD

[@frarugi87]

Just some piece of advice for when you have to deal with mains voltage. 1) you did not respect clearance and creepage distances. The mains traces are too close to each other and to the low voltage part. I think clearance should be in the range of 3mm, and in the points where you are close to this you should make a slot in the pcb to increase the creepage 2) as others have said, don't use a ground plane in the mains voltage. You are reducing the insulation. 3) in your pcb, clearly separate the mains voltage area and the low voltage area, and possibly use a slot there to further increase the creepage. So draw a line, then put all mains components on one side, all low voltage on the other, and the connecting (hi-link, optocouplers) across. Avoid what you did here between the optocouplers Thank you for all your videos :)

[@vijayendirangiridharan6113]

"STAY CREATIVE AND I WILL SEE YOU NEXT TIME" ...this line has a separate fan base!!!!!!

[@TechBuild]

So true!

[@fredrickrari9338]

Very true

[@kodydeville3850]

I am new to this electronic stuff so I am 16 and I just take components off of random circuitboards from broken thing I can find. What does a coil do i found a random core "or what ever it is called" and it didnt have any wire around it. I tried to wrap wire around it and hooked it up to something I didnt get a circuit, nothing happened can anyone tell me what I did wrong

[@spike4850]

Kody Deville more information needed, what were you trying to achieve? Try asking on Arduino forums or reddit

[@kodydeville3850]

@@spike4850 like I said I am new like verry new to this can u start like I depth with what an ardwino does and how I can find them on old circuit boards

[@amalbabu4003]

2$ for pcb and 18$ for shipping .definitely buy option wins.!!!!

[@schweizzz]

It's so expensive because he chose "fast shipping" without it's about 7$ if I remember correctly

[@imnota]

Yeah jlcpcb tries to make you think they're cheap but they rip you off on the shipping.

[@JanCiger]

@@imnota If you consider DHL delivery from China in 3 working days (because that's what those 18 EUR is for) being "ripped off", I think you need a serious dose of reality, mate. They do offer a much cheaper (but also slower) shipping option if you don't like to be "ripped off". Or move to Shenzen, then you won't have to pay for shipping in the first place ... Just for kicks, try to price a similar board, with 3 day delivery, from someone like EuroCircuits or some other non-Chinese PCB fab and you will see how much you have been "ripped off" by JLCPCB. Just beware of the sticker shock ...

[@imnota]

@@JanCiger Bro, don't try to tell me about shipping prices, I know the value of different companies with different origins and destinations. I've ordered lots of stuff on internet over the years so I know the prices. And let me tell you I've paid less shipping for a whole fucking 3d printer by dhl from china to Belgium in like 5 days. YOU really need a dose of reality if you think 18 euros to ship a really tiny package from china is normal. I don't disagree that jlcpcb is cheaper than other places, but they're trying to look even cheaper by putting real low prices and high shipping prices. And they shouldn't do that, that's clickbait, and their products are already at an interesting price points so they really don't need to cheat.

[@ahmedelwan9129]

2$ for 10 pcbs

[@HobkinBoi]

I think with a better design of the PCB, and with an ESP8266, you could make a wifi controlled dimmer. Then have something like a rotary encoder for local brightness control. A central Raspberry Pi could be used for automation as well.

[@gelisob]

I was also thinking, adding esp-12f module would bring in a great benefit over the Buy versions, because you can then connect dimmer to many smarthome systems. (homeassistant)

[@masonp7258]

Another thing the potentiometer does in these circuits is reduce the power to the load, assuming the circuits were designed for maximum power transfer when the voltage is in phase. Great video I enjoy this channel I think they should show more examples like this in engineering classes

[@Patrik2166]

You should learn how to design a board for AC applications. That's the only problem stopping the DIY option. Unless you're experienced it should be a good project. You just have to keep it in mind that you work with AC and unless you screw it up good then house starts on fire.

[@thewhitefalcon8539]

Seems to me like it's the same as low voltage, it's just worse if you screw up. Engineers for the power grid call 240V low voltage :P

[@petrickoliveira1351]

well, it's been 2 years, but can you send me any docs, videos or tips for AC PCBs?

[@cobaltdragon_5678]

Congrats for the 1 million subs you deserve it ! Any planned video or project about this ? Love your videos ! A old subscriber from Swiss

[@OneEyedWheeler]

Thanks! I thought maybe I don't have enough confidence to do this and hope it doesn't electrocute anybody in the house. Your conclusion confirmed it for me- would be good fun but seems better to buy a factory made dimmer.

[@MrBlade2021]

JLPCB is a really great company. I've used them for over a year now and have not received a single defective product yet!

[@xXELevenXx1]

I am realy looking forward how you deal with the flickering led bowl and try also make a circuit it without with a microcontroller

[@mmdnaderi7183]

Here we go again another great project from Greatscott!

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks :-)

[@phinok.m.628]

Since most mains power LED lights have a fairly high capacitance on the input, dimmable ones usually work better with phasenabschnitt. So if you're gonna use a ATtiny anyway you might as well use mosfet based circuit to control the AC since you can turn it off whenever you want during each half wave, you don't need a specific minimum latching current etc. For low power applications like these, mosfets while being more complicated to control AC with definitely have a lot of advantages over triacs.

[@innovation4u336]

You are best teacher in world. I always wait for your next video. Nice work keep up.

[@deltaray3]

You should see if a highlighter marker company wants to sponsor a video. 😁

[@dnyaneshvarsalve]

I was always wondering why diac is used with triac. Cleared now. Thank you

[@anindyamitra5091]

Well, you have done a great job! I might say DIY is the winner but there is no point for not using a capacitive dropper for the 5v supply, because the circuit will still be associated with mains and so the entire PCB should be isolated anyway.

[@dmkays]

I like the way you can go from an idea to a very professional looking pub board in such a short time. I can use my Laserjet printer and hi-gloss paper to print and etch a board but where I cut the board and drill my holes doesn't look that good, and I can't silkscreen. I look forward to designing my first pcb and having the board made professionally.

[@IzzJohnny]

I would recommend trying to make a trailing edge dimmer using a mosfet instead. You have more control over the waveform using mosfet instead of triac, less audible buzzing, less inrush current, and more friendly to LED lamp circuits when making it trailing edge.

[@WR3slo]

At 4:15 it is a bit misleading that ON is written on the first part of the period where the lamp is OFF. But the explanation is correct, and on the graph 10s later it is more clear that is the tON.

[@rossmckenzie1854]

Atmel/Microchip recommend a 100nF cap placed directly across the Vcc/Gnd pins of the ATTiny85.

[@VoidHalo]

That's just the bypass cap. You should include such a cap on every single digital component as close to the VCC and ground pins as you can to reduce parasitic inductance. They're not absolutely necessary. Your circuit will probably still work without them, but it improves stability and levels out fluctuations in the power supply.

[@proyectosledar]

Hi, trailing edge dimmer for the next video. Cheers

[@juancarloslinaje5297]

Me too! ( Deseamos todos que nuestra cantante favorita nos dedique la misma cancion!) 🤪😄

[@brzydka_i_bestia]

I would say a nice 3D printed case/wall mount would bring the safety aspect up, but not everyone nas a 3D printer. Another thing to worry about is the possibility of microcontroller crashing due to interference making your light suddenly come on at full brightness, or turn completely off. Also why do you need a bootloader on the ATTiny, if not only you program it via ISP, but you also program it only once. Bootloader (especially the default arduino one) only takes up space and delays the startup of your program.

[@anycatdessai]

For the umpteenth time you deliver info exactly on what I wanted to work on. Thanks a lot.

[@greatscottlab]

You're welcome :-)

[@anycatdessai]

We have these AC motors on ceiling fans in India. Can we run those on these circuits to control the speed? Will the current flow and heating be too much to handle?

[@elmardus]

@@anycatdessai Motors cannot be dimmed since a motor is an inductive load, which will destroy the dimmer. These dimmers are only suitable for resistive AC loads.

[@damani662]

Thanks scott, because of you now i took diploma in Mechatronic and maybe after that i will go to German under German Malaysia Institute further study

[@julian23561]

I'll just watch this, be amazed, get inspired, and end up not doing it anyway. Still a cool project, GreatScott!

[@greatscottlab]

Well,....it is something.

[@ziomalZparafii]

I wonder why switching on in the middle of the sine is better than switching on at zero crossing and then cut off in the middle of the sine? I would assume soft on should be nicer to the load than just high impact at full voltage? I miss such explanation in all those videos about phase angle control. Thanks

[@antoineroquentin2297]

adding a bit of noise suppression is recommended. the transients produce a lot of harmonics.

[@arvand26]

Your DIY version is WINNER

[@jovintony7120]

I found a AC PAC unit and i had a problem with it this video help me to debug that devices thank you GreatScott

[@kokachifans6646]

Dude! Your videos are so interesting!!

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks mate :-)

[@zhirayrshirinyan2370]

Hey 👋, thanks very much vor the videos, this is great one, Im planing to build one myself, but the fact that you've written safety in RED got me thinking 🤔. Just wanted to ask are you planning to make a video about DIY safety features, like voltage spikes handlers, noise suspension etc? Thanks in advance

[@Ians2910]

Hi!! Nice video!! I didn't understand why this circuit is not safe. You've said that you wouldn't use the capacitive dropper circuit for safety reasons, and then used an IC to solve this problem. Then, why is it unsafe if you aren't using a dropper circuit?

[@ganopterygon]

Excellent video just one suggestion, those last copper planes break safety, you should not have them due to clearance and creepage distances standards for a given voltage, altitude and polution degree, by having them you defeats the purpose of the isolated power supply you are using :)

[@nevius.x]

You should try making one of those laser projectors that you see in clubs, using hdd actuators as galvos or something. Its a really challenging project

[@alfblack2]

so love this DIY or Buy series.

[@asdomega]

Thanks for your summary "buy due to safety" !

[@djaberkharoubi3825]

Hi, thank you so much for this great explanation Just a simple question, this circuit that you just built, is it suitable to use with an inductive load, like a vibratory feeder?

[@ElijahEchekwu]

Cool !! am a big fan GREAT SCOTT!!

[@sirmiro2]

Thank you! I think I've been nagging about this for years now, so thank you so much for taking the time to do this!! =D

[@jonmayer]

I was hoping for something different. Guess I'll have to wait for the future video. I hope you can demonstrate a good trailing edge dimming circuit.

[@whitefields5595]

Please do a trailing edge dimmer as these are more difficult but avoid the high voltage turn on

[@tiborklein5349]

custom PCB: $2 shipping: $18 OOF Maybe you could make your own PCBs at home and make a video about it?

[@imnota]

Hell nah, he's sponsored by jlcpcb, he gets more than enough money to refund every time he gets ripped off by his own sponsor lmao. Ps: Nice profile pic, Robbie's a great youtuber.

[@tiborklein5349]

@@imnota Oh shit, you're right. And it's nice to see a fellow Committed Crew member on a channel that has nothing to do with cars. What other car channels do you watch?

[@greatscottlab]

I paid for both. The PCBs and the shipping.

[@tiborklein5349]

@@greatscottlab Thank you for ignoring my question and replying to someone else instead. It feels good.

[@imnota]

@@greatscottlab Yeah, but jlcpcb pays you to give them a shout out, so not really.

[@MegaMohsina]

thank you for your educative video! if I may ask why R2 and R3 have to be equal at scheme in 8:03 ? and why they have to be 47k?

[@ejonesss]

as long as you have the board properly enclosed in plastic enclosure you should not have any safety issues? you would need to design a knob stem that insures you can not come into contact with the metal threaded part of the pot control. maybe a deeper enclosure and a pot control stem extension (you see this on some older tv monitors from the 60s to 80s to ensure the user cant come in contact with the high voltage parts such as the flyback transformer, multiplier and screen and focus boards if an arc or short to the low voltage parts is made i would think the fuse would blow and the dimmer would be blown

[@DenshiMoe]

One thing I like about the DIY route is that I could give it wireless IOT potential and make dumb dimmable lights into smarter ones!

[@jancoow]

I'm just working on exactly the same project. I've made pretty much the same PCB specs, however with a far better zero cross circuit. I was hoping you could explain how do proper filtering of the triac output to illuminate voltage spikes. But you didn't mention it at all :(. Also this doesn't show the best way to dim LED bulbs. You could do far better dimming with trailing edge dimming instead of leading edge. I was hoping you would explain that to, because that's what I learned from my project so far after I destroyed a few led bulbs...

[@greatscottlab]

Wait for the follow up video :-)

[@ferihun8858]

I've made something similar but my design is for 12V LED strips. If you're interested I can maybe send you my project files or even a few PCBs. About your PCB design: it's quite good but I'd not use ground plate around the mains traces for obvious reasons.

[@ElijahEchekwu]

Great video, I saw a AC dimmer using a triad, diac , capacitor, and a 100k pot

[@BaronVonBiffo]

Triad? Obviously a Chinese import. ;)

[@ElijahEchekwu]

@@BaronVonBiffo sorry I meant triac

[@tonpilzosterhase]

Brilliant video! What about explaining a switch mode power supply? I think that could be an interesting topic!

[@subhabratabasu266]

Can we do the dimming job without any microcontroller Like using any timer ic which will provide the pulse for turning on the triac after every zero crossing

[@FreeCircuitLab]

Sir! Actually I want to know Why you have chosen such a complex method of dimming? There is much more simpler analogue controller... Although in India the fan dimmers have same circuit as diac-triac system , costs around one USD and works flawlessly... So what's the advantage of your complex circuit?

[@ritvarsrizikovs7117]

This is nice until You dimm active loads. Lets try some inductive loads (Fans and motors). For correct dimmer work You need to add shiffer circuits after optocoupler and also after triac. Nice PCB by the way. My latest finding for cheap uC in such of projects are STM32F051 - just 0.63€ in china. Most advanced feature in my point of view is 12bit ADC and DAC wich makes it perfect for some analog processing. I have made the same circuit some time ago with my CNC machine but for 8 channels, and understand that it was big mistake without sniffer circuit on load sides. Actually comercial solution wins only in one case - if You want to adjust power with You hand. But if You want to use some analog signal (Like 0...10V or 4...20mA) - then Your way works much better (Just need to replace potentiometer to analog input and it works.). Keep going - I love Your videos.

[@TrungTran-hw7ws]

Do we need a filter like a capacitor & a inductor for the Hi-Link power supply? Thanks for your attention

[@greatscottlab]

Always a good idea to add a bit of filtering. But it should also work without it.

[@TrungTran-hw7ws]

Agree, also we need to minimize the PCB size so the filter my be neglect. Excellent video sir.

[@elmardus]

@@TrungTran-hw7ws These power supply modules contain internal capacitors. However, the ATtiny should have a 100nF ceramic capacitor placed close to the microcontroller, between the VCC pin and GND. Keep in mind that if you try to replicate a project like this, to read about isolation distance with high voltage. A groundplane should not be used close to the AC terminals and all signals should be suffficently isolated from the mains.

[@TrungTran-hw7ws]

@@elmardus In a nutshell, are u trying to say about clearance and creepage? Sorry, still try to learning these things.

[@elmardus]

​@@TrungTran-hw7ws ​ Yes exactly! It is quite common to have insulation slots cut out to prevent creepage, for example by cutting a small slot below the optocoupler. Do you have any PCB design experience? If not, then please DO NOT start with a project like this. Working with mains can be incredibly dangerous if you are not experienced. There are countless good beginner project (tutorials) available online which are powered by lower voltages and are much safer to get experience before starting on higher voltages.

[@ArnyminerZ]

Can you make an AC power meter?? With an Arduino, or even an ESP8266-ESP32. That would be cool!

[@sdk2586]

Since the output contains harmonics but at the same time harmonics also help in heating process and work effectively.

[@fahadkhan463]

Very informational! I was just wondering have you made the next video on LED flickering? Thanks in advance.

[@stickz9871]

Ive been waiting for this!

[@abeditani8293]

Great Scott ! Your great in DIY 👍 . I will try to do this project as a test for small motor 220v AC/DC 30w and see .

[@kamlakarkadam9073]

hello greatscott i am an electronics and telecommunication engineer and i just graduated last year. I had basic electronics subject in my curriculum but I want increase my knowledge upto your level.So what i can do so that i can understand and create my own pcb like you do?.Thank you and as your name you are great !

[@fmjkevlar]

Great video... a part of me was hoping you would touch on Leading and Trailing edge dimmimg 😁

[@feronimus7723]

"The safety aspects of my version are terrible". I would really like a bit more informations about that statement. Why its terrible, what are the reasons? I mean the hole decision making between buy or diy was set on that sentence alone with little or no informations for the amateurs out there, like myself! Great video btw!

[@greatscottlab]

Look through the comments. Biggest problem is the space between mains voltage and the lower voltage. I am not a PCB design engineer. Sorry.

[@feronimus7723]

@@greatscottlab Thank you for the answer. Now i got the problem!

[@aiton.]

Hey Scott, can you do a movie of how we power on a monitor screen with presence sensor? I have a PC display fixed in a high height and can't press the power on and power off... Many thanks!

[@vidrogic1499]

I use old vacuum cleaner speed control for dimming my lights at home. They are awesome because they have nominal power of over 2000W. Only problem is that they need to be conected betwen live and neutral from wall and live and neutral from lightbulb. Would be cool if I could transform such citruit into the one conecting in series with the load.

[@Amir-kz6yq]

I just noticed that both Electronoobs and GreatScott talked about triac and thyristor today

[@ompandya9240]

Correct

[@arduinoexplorer5437]

You finally started designing pcbs. It is not safe to have copper pour near the mains input . Only fill the MCU side with copper pour.

[@sairfan06]

a small question for you, why do you not use smd oven for soldering? my general perception is its quite simple to use. thanks

[@GandhiTheDerg]

zero = 1 Mathematicians: Wait, you were not supposed to do that! Great video as always, i really enjoy them!

[@D-Khaz]

Can you make a video on trailing edge dimmers? They are supposedly a more complex circuit to build but have a much better compatibility range for LEDs.

[@greatscottlab]

Watch the follow up video about the LED light bulbs.

[@D-Khaz]

@@greatscottlab Awesome!!!

[@JasonWho]

GreatScott! Looking forward to that one, smart dimmers and 3-way smart switches (no dimmers yet) are very expensive still, yet seem so simple inside.

[@D-Khaz]

@@JasonWho Agreed. I'd suggest using an ESP8266 instead/with TINY85 to give it remote control

[@JasonWho]

@Dmitriy the way things are going, ESP32s are becoming the new standard. Capacitive sensor pin, deep sleep, Bluetooth presence monitoring, lots more pins to play with on top of the WiFi ability...once the community gets the hang of ESP-NOW we won’t even need access points to communicate.

[@ejbuendia]

Hello @Greatscott! I wonder if you can make 220V UPS for a wifi router. The power supply is pluged-in and if the power loses it will automatically switch to battery source with the device(router) prevents shutting down. Thanks.

[@TheFlyingKiwiNZ]

Great video thanks! I'm searching for a dimmer that uses a PWM input instead of a potentiometer, but capable of dimming AC LED lights with zero flickering. I want to make a module with an ESP32 to control dimming my ceiling LED lights with Alexa. Is it possible to hack a 'bought' LED dimmer to accept PWM? It would be great if you could do a video on this please! Thanks

[@anomymous7400]

When will you be making a video on why certain LEDs flicker?

[@greatscottlab]

In a few weeks.

[@anomymous7400]

@@greatscottlab cant wait!!

[@jonny11bonk]

Hi! I have an idea for the next video/topic ! Diy or Buy: 3D Pen! I tried to make one by myself, and it failed while heating. Can you try to make one using arduino, display and bluetooth? (BT to comtrol the Temp. From the app.)👌😊 Thank you, for making us happy! 😍

Great video! But there is any way to change the potentiometer to a digital component? Because I would like to dimmer my lights with my Arduino board, without a potentiometer. There is a way to simulate a potentiometer with digital components? Thank you for your video =]

[@greatscottlab]

There are digital potentiometers, or you add push buttons to increase/decrease the input value. There are tons of possibilities.

[@Amanullah-dx5uy]

Electroboom should feel proud of startup warning ? right or nah?

[@kruemmelbande5078]

Ok...

[@electronic7979]

Very good 👍

[@sdlion7287]

It's seems that both analog and digital versions are equivalent on the final result. The reason the digital could control better the LED light bulbs is just that it can go further down on the turn on signal interval? (that LED light bulbs are only dimmable with the upper range of net energy delivered, since they need a minimum power to even work). If that's true, then a faster clock on the uC could work even better?

[@sensiblewheels]

I need to know as well!

[@mohamedosama597]

Hey i want learn about transistor working .Because I will not check transistor output wave like ac or dc.

[@_BlackSpectrum]

I had an LED and old fan regulator I connected both of them in series , it dimmed quite well but at lowest setting of my fan regulator it flickered too much and last two setting had almost same brightness and regulated five levels.

[@VoidHalo]

A lot of speed regulators will use half wave rectification for the half speed setting. It only lets the positive side of the AC wave through while blocking the negative side. The result is the fan or bulb only gets half the power, but the 60/50hz frequency is also cut in half, or if you use it to dim the light, the light will flicker at 30/25hz instead of 60/50. You can flatten out the wave form by putting a few hundred uF of capacitors on it to act as a filter. I can't speak for ones with multiple speed settings, though. You can see an interactive demo of this on www.falstad.com/circuit/e-rectify.html

[@ЕвграфЕвлампиевич]

Hello man, great video! Can you, please tell me what solder you use and at what temperature. Thanks in advance!

[@electronique_et_creation]

Great video, thank you.

[@akhurash]

I tried a dimmer with an dimable LED light but my bulb goes bad after few months of use... Maybe I should try a different dimmer. Very cool project.

[@pieceofpotato7883]

wtf this video was uploaded 10 min ago but ur comment were 2 days ago

[@pion10]

Patreon

[@akhurash]

@@Basement-Science I use the same LED bulbs on a different room with just a on/off switch and they have been working well over a year. I'm thinking I don't really need this dimmer and just switching it for a standard on/off switch.

[@rahulmaurya9762]

I think the snubber circuit would help the flickering problem

[@NaudioElectronics]

Take off the ground plane around the mains tracks and add some cutouts.