GE Color Effects Hacking using a MacBook Pro and FPGA

This video shows the hardware, FPGA, and software I built to control from one to ten strands of GE Color Effects Christmas lights using my MacBook Pro. The hardware consists of an off-the-shelf FPGA board, a transmitter board capable of driving up to ten remote strands of Color Effects lights, and a receiver board for each strand to be controlled.

The Mac sends light levels to the FPGA over USB. The FPGA receives the levels, translates them to the Color Effects protocol, and outputs them to the transmitter board. The transmitter board converts the low-level signals from the FPGA to RS-422 and sends them to up to ten receiver boards. The receiver board converts the RS-422 levels back to a low-level, single-ended signal to drive the lights. RS-422 is used so that the light strands can be dispersed about the yard and quite some distance from the controlling computer and FPGA.

The software is written in C++ and currently configures the FPGA and runs a small demonstration show. The hardware and software are capable of driving up to 10 strands of fifty lights each. The board is currently populated for only one strand. I'll post another video once I get the board more fully stuffed.

The FPGA is an Altera Cyclone II. The USB receiver is an FTDI FT2232H. The FPGA is written in Verilog, was simulated using Cadence NCSIM, and was synthesized using the Altera Quartus tools.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• GE Color Effects
• Color Effects
• Christmas Lights
• FTDI
• FPGA
• Altera
• Cyclone
• MacBook
• Hack