Programmable Light Controller PCB

Dilshan R Jayakody set out to design a “maintenance free and low-cost light which automatically turns on and off at the predetermined time of the day.” What he came up uses an low power and widely available ATmega8 microcontroller, along with a DS1307 RTC module to keep lighting properly synced to the time of day. User interface for the board is handled by a 4-digit 7-segment display, which allows the actual time to be set, as well as when the light needs to turn on and off.

The controller is designed to work with a 24VDC power supply, which matches up with most LED modules on the market today. While this small PCB has only one simple job, it seems well-suited for the task and is a rather nice-looking PCB. It could serve as a good jumping off point for other timing and/or lighting projects, perhaps adding a dimming feature, or even the ability to work with RGB lighting.

If you’d like to examine the design, schematics and firmware are available here on GitHub, and more instructions about how everything works and its assembly are outlined in this Jayakody’s write-up.