The Raspberry Squid is an RGB LED with built-in resistors and header lead sockets that can fit directly onto GPIO pins of a Raspberry Pi.
The Squid has its own library to make it super easy to mix colors on the RGB LED. After the library documentation that follows, you will find instructions on how to create your own Squid. Please feel free to make a squid for your own use, but please don't make them to resell.
If you don't want to make your own Squid, you can buy a ready made Raspberry Squid from http://www.monkmakes.com and you will also find it for same on Amazon.
Please note that GPIO Zero, the standard Raspberry Pi GPIO library, directly supports RGB LEDs like the Raspberry Squid. So you may just prefer to use this: https://gpiozero.readthedocs.io/en/stable/api_output.html#rgbled
Squid is a Python library to drive the Raspberry Squid RGB LED. Or in fact any common cathode RGB LED. The library also includes code for switch debouncing. Something that you may find useful if you have the Raspberry Squid's companion the Raspberry Button.
The Raspberry Squid is an RGB LED with built-in series resistors and sockets on the end of color-coded flying leads that will plug directly onto the GPIO header of a Raspberry Pi.
The Raspberry Button follows the same concept, but has a push switch with protection resistor built into the leads.
To install the library on your Raspberry Pi, enter the following commands in LX Terminal.
For Python 2 use:
$ git clone https://github.com/simonmonk/squid.git
$ cd squid
$ sudo python setup.py install
For Python 3 use:
$ git clone https://github.com/simonmonk/squid.git
$ cd squid
$ sudo python3 setup.py install
Plug in a Squid or connect up an RGB LED as follows:
- Black, Common cathode of the LED to GND (the one between GPIO 18 and 23 is most convenient)
- Red squid lead to GPIO18
- Green squid lead to GPIO23
- Blue squid lead to GPIO24
There are two test programs, one (test.py) that simply turns the LED red, green, blue, white and then bright white. The other test program (gui.py) opens a TkInter window with three sliders to control the red, green and blue chanels of the LED.
First change to the examples directory using the command:
$ cd examples
To run test enter the following command:
$ sudo python test.py
To run gui.py enter the following command:
$ sudo python gui.py
This will open up the window below. Dragging the sliders about will allow you to mix any color. Note that this esample program requires a graphical interface so you cannot run it from SSH.
You can probably find all you need to know by looking at the source code for the examples.
from squid import *
rgb = Squid(18, 23, 24)
The three parameters are the pins connected to the red, green and blue LEDs.
rgb.set_color(RED)
The color can be one of the following constants: WHITE, OFF, RED, GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, PURPLE and CYAN.
You can also just provide an array containing R, G and B values each between 0 and 100, like this:
rgb.set_color([100, 50, 10])
An optional second argument allows you specify the brightness of the color. The value of 100 is equivalent to one of the LEDs only being on at full brightness, thus if you make your R, G and B values add up to 100, then you can reasonably set the brightness value between 0 and 300.
rgb.set_color(CYAN, 300)
These methods allow you to set the three channels separately. They take one parameter which is the duty cycle for that channel of betweem 0.0 (off) and 1.0 (full brightness).
This method sets the LED color to an internet color value of the form #FF0000. That is a # followed by a six digit hexadecimal string. The six digit string comprises three two character hex value for the red, green and blue channels.
rgb.set_color('#FF0000') # red
Plug in a switch between the following pins (it does not matter which way around the leads are):
- GND
- GPIO 25
from button import *
button = Button(25)
The parameter is the pin that the button is connected to. There is also an optional second parameter of the debounce period (in seconds) to prevent false triggerings due to contact bouncing.
button = Button(25, debounce=0.1)
button.is_pressed()
This will return true if the button is pressed and will block and wait until the button has been released and the debounce period has elapsed.
Check out the example programs in the /examples folder of this library.
To make your own Squid, you will need the following parts:
- An RGB common cathode diffuse LED (the bigger the better)
- 3 x 470 Ohm resistors
- Red, green, blue and black Female to Female jumper wires cut in half
- 4 short lenths of heat shrink
You will also need soldering equipment and a hot air gun.
Leave the longest lead (common cathode) untouched, but trim the other leads as shown below.
A apir of helping hands will - well - help.
Trim the resistor leads and solder one end to each of the three short anode leads on the LED.
When all the resistors are soldered, it will look like this.
Slip the heat shrink sleaving over the wires BEFORE soldering the wires to the resistor wires and the common cathode. Use red for the red anode, green for bgreen and blue for blue and use a black wire for the common cathode.
Push the heat shrink sleaves right up to the body of the LED and then shrink the wires using a hot air gun.
