So the I have gotten the code to function as intended. So now for the hardware.
I started by depopulating the pcb that came with the original product. My original plan was to make an acrylic version with just the mounting holes, but realise if i flipped the pcb over, it would have the same effect.
The only component which gave me any trouble was the inductor, the contacts were soldered under the ferrite core, and in the end i just snapped it off, as i was not worried about keeping the PCB traces.
For the neopixels iI purchased some breadboard friendly ones from ebay (same price as most online retailers and no shipping cost) and simply hot glued them into place. The was to be able to replace them if needed.
And that is really all the hardware, the motor was connected through a transistor with diode protection. And it was ready for its first test.
Everything appeared to be working, so I turned off the lights, closed al the blinds ready to see it in the dark, and;
The picture has done it some justice here, but it is very dim in person. and for comparison, I purchased another of the original for comparison, and turned them on together. All the light is from the original. I have included a short video to greater illustrate the point, this one was with the lights on.
It is fair to say that I am a bit disappointed at the moment. I though that the Neopixels would be bright enough, any of Adafruit videos show them being very bright.
I think the next step is going to be looking for higher powered RGB Addressable LEDs, somewhere in the region of 1W, as i think that is the value of the ones in the original. If anyone know where i could get my hand on them it would be much appreciated. I was considering buying normal 1W RGB LEDs and the Driver IC WS2811, but i think they are surface mounted and I am not wanting to go down the road of getting a custom PCB made for this.
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