Week #8 - Journal

Ideation

Tell us about your assignment's idea for this week. Why do you care about this idea? What inspired you? (Please include images or links to sources of inspiration)

I’ve always loved the look of the disco ball and the shiny, changing colors in it, so when I found an RGB LED, I decided to recreate the disco ball design.

Tool Chain

Which software/machines/materials did you use in the assignment? Why?

TinkerCad to simulate the circuit

Arduino IDE to write the code

Ardunio UNO

Breadboard

Arduino bluecontrol

RGB LED

BUZZER

Bluetooth module

3 resistors 220

9V adapter

Design/Preparation Process

Explain the design and/or preparation process of your assignment. How did you use the tool or software to design and/or prepare your assignment before fabrication/implementation?

RGB LED to switch between colors

BUZZER to make sound like music

3 resistors 220 um one on each leg (colors) .

Bluetooth to control the circuit wirelessly

I use the 9V adapter with Arduino when connecting the Bluetooth module because it provides stable power and keeps everything running smoothly.

Arduino bluecontrol application to control with my phone .

I connected the RGB LED to pins 3, 5, and 6 because these are PWM pins on the Arduino, which allow me to control the brightness of each color and create different color combinations.
I connected the piezo buzzer to pin 8, since it only needs a digital signal and does not require PWM.
I did not add the Bluetooth module because Tinker CAD does not provide a Bluetooth component in its simulator.
Since I couldn’t find the Bluetooth module in Tinkercad, I used a potentiometer instead because it provides variable analog values that I can map to simulate the Bluetooth input signals. This way, I can still test the circuit logic and control the LED (or other components) during the simulation.

Everything connected with Arduino on breadboard (wireless) .

Development/Implementation Process

Explain the development/implementation process of your assignment. How did you use the machine/tool to manufacture or implement the design of your assignment?

First, I connected the RGB LED with resistors (one resistor for each color).
From each resistor, I connected wires to Arduino pins 3, 5, and 6.

After that, I connected the buzzer to pin 8 and the ground to Arduino GND on the breadboard.

Then, I connected my Bluetooth module: GND to GND, VCC to 5V on the Arduino, TX to RX, and RX to TX.
The TX and RX are not connected during uploading the code, because they share the same serial communication with the computer, and leaving them connected can cause uploading errors.

#define RLED 3, #define GLED 6, #define BLED 5, #define BUZZER 8

→ Defines constants to label the Arduino pins for the RGB LED and the buzzer.

char READING = '0';

→ Creates a variable to store the incoming character from Serial communication.

void setup()

Sets the LED pins and buzzer pin as OUTPUT.
Starts Serial communication at 9600 baud rate to receive commands (characters) from the Bluetooth module.

Checks if there is data available from Serial (Bluetooth).
Reads the incoming character into the variable READING.
Turns off all LEDs and the buzzer at the start (reset state).

If READING = 'A' → turns on the red LED.

If READING = 'B' → turns on the green LED.

If READING = 'C' → turns on the blue LED.

If READING = 'D' → activates the buzzer for 200 ms, then turns it off.

.INO

video_2025-09-23_17-12-38.mp4

This project uses an Arduino Uno, an RGB LED, a piezo buzzer, and a Bluetooth module.
The RGB LED is connected through resistors to pins 3, 5, and 6, while the buzzer is connected to pin 8. The Bluetooth module is connected to 5V, GND, TX, and RX for wireless communication.
The Arduino receives characters via Bluetooth and controls the components accordingly:

‘A’ turns on the red LED.

‘B’ turns on the green LED.

‘C’ turns on the blue LED.

‘D’ activates the buzzer briefly.

For controlling the system, the Arduino BlueControl mobile application was used to send the commands wirelessly.

Community of Learning

Did you ask for feedback? What are the ideas that others have contributed or suggested? What was someone else’s idea that you built upon? How did you help your peers? How did your peers help you?

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Overcoming Challenges

When you got stuck, what/who did you turn to? At what point did you have to pause to research or learn more before moving on? What are some mistakes, pitfalls, or challenges that others can avoid if they were doing this assignment?

When I first connected the Bluetooth module through a 5V adapter, it didn’t work properly, and only the buzzer was functioning. Later, I learned from my instructor that I needed to use a 9V adapter instead.

The reason is that the Arduino Uno board requires higher input voltage on its power jack (7–12V recommended) to regulate and supply stable 5V to all connected components, including the Bluetooth module. Using only a 5V adapter directly was not enough to power both the Arduino and the Bluetooth module correctly.

video_2025-09-23_18-58-47.mp4

Final Project

How can you use the skills and knowledge that you've acquired this week in your final project?

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WOW!

What is the coolest thing that you've learned this week? What is something that you will never forget from this week?

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Weekly Digest [OPTIONAL]

Tell us about any other cool things that you've made this week: in the Hands-on activity, tutorial examples, exercises, or any other cool mini-project that you tried out aside from the assignment.

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Assignment Design Files

.INO

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