RGB Bluetooth LE light bulbs (a.k.a. "smart bulbs") for household light sockets are really neat-o, allowing you to create custom lighting effects for your room. Typically, these are controlled with a mobile device app, but we think it's much more fun to build our own custom remote, and use physical sliders to mix colors!

Using CircuitPython, running on the nRF52840-based Circuit Playground Bluefruit (CPB), makes it all possible. We can send the same commands over Bluetooth LE (BLE) from the CPB as you would normally from your mobile device, the proprietary MagicLight app, and a whole lot more!

We'll harness the Circuit Playground Bluefruit board's buttons, slide switch, on-board NeoPixels, and speaker to act as RGB color value indicators, connection state UI, two-position dimmer switch, and momentary light blinkers!

Parts

MagicLight Bluetooth LE Bulb

You can find these at many online retailers and big box hardware stores.

shot of a Black woman's neon-green manicured hand holding up a Circuit Playground Bluefruit glowing rainbow LEDs.
Circuit Playground Bluefruit is our third board in the Circuit Playground series, another step towards a perfect introduction to electronics and programming. We've...
$24.95
In Stock
hand slowly sliding potentiometer back and forth - 35mm Long.
Slip slidin' away Slip slidin' away You know the nearer your resistance The more you're slip slidin' awayIf you're...
$1.95
In Stock
Angled shot of half-size solderless breadboard with red and black power lines.
This is a cute, half-size breadboard with 400 tie points, good for small projects. It's 3.25" x 2.2" / 8.3cm x 5.5cm with a standard double-strip in the...
$4.95
In Stock
 Bundle of Small Alligator Clip to Male Jumper Wires
For bread-boarding with unusual non-header-friendly surfaces, these cables will be your best friends! No longer will you have long strands of alligator clips that are grabbing little...
$7.95
In Stock
Bundle of multi-colored multi-length wire jumpers
75 flexible stranded core wires with stiff ends molded on in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, black and white. These are a major improvement over the "box of bent...
$4.95
In Stock
Fully Reversible Pink/Purple USB A to micro B Cable
This cable is not only super-fashionable, with a woven pink and purple Blinka-like pattern, it's also fully reversible! That's right, you will save seconds a day by...
$3.95
In Stock

Let's get on with the magic!

This guide was first published on Jan 15, 2020. It was last updated on Mar 14, 2024.

This page (Overview) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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