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As the dark winter months approach, almost everyone is looking for original ways to add atmosphere for Christmas. Perhaps this fun and affordable DIY kit is just what you need to add something unique to your Christmas decorations. |
Introduction to this candlestick with LEDs
The candlestick with LEDs in function
In the video below, we give an impression of what you can expect from this LED candlestick. Five tri-colour LEDs hidden behind circuit boards in the shape of candles are controlled by a microcontroller. Using the included remote control, you can adjust the lighting effect generated by the five LEDs. The PCB is powered from a standard 5 Vdc power supply with the included USB cable.
Please note that this video does not really show the effect you see. The brightness of the LEDs overloads the image sensor in our camera, making the 'flames' of the candles appear largely white. In reality, you will see the real colours of the tri-colour LEDs there.
Suppliers and price
For once, this kit is not for sale through our standard suppliers Banggood and AliExpress. It is offered on the site of the also Chinese mail order supplier ICStation. ICStation provides a lot of fun, cheap and interesting kits, we will review one more often in the future. This candlestick with LEDs is offered for $ 15.99. Shipping costs $ 5.00. Search for 'ICSTATION Candle Lights Soldering Learning Kit' and you will find the page offering this kit. The only problem is that you need to have an account with PayPal or a credit card to pay with this company, iDEAL is not supported.
ICStation is also supplied by Amazon these days, see:
You can order the kit there for € 15.14.
Delivery of the kit
We ordered our kit directly from China and already two weeks later the package was delivered by DHL. The picture below summarises what you receive for that paltry sum. The electronic components are in two plastic bags. You will also find a one meter power cable, a sheet of paper and an infrared remote control in the parcel.
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| The contents of the package. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
The components supplied
The components supplied are of excellent quality, nothing to criticise. The candlestick consists of eight PCBs. The largest PCB contains the electronic components. The two PCBs below it form the legs of the candlestick. The five 'candle' PCBs contain only the tri-colour LEDs and are inserted into the largest PCB by means of four-pole connectors.
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| The delivered components displayed. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
The building instructions
In the first picture with this article, you saw that a sheet of paper is included. This is the building description, which is rather brief. It contains the parts list and a short description in English of the function of the buttons of the remote control. The construction of the candlestick is described using twelve small photos.
The electronics of the candlestick with LEDs
Unfortunately, we could not find a schematic of this kit. All we can tell you is that it uses an STC microcontroller of type 8G1K08. The tri-colour LEDs have four connecting wires. The longest one is connected to the common anode (or cathode). An HS0038 is used to receive the infrared signals from the remote control. This three-pin IC contains a PIN-diode as receiver, an amplifier with automatic gain control and a demodulator stage with a switching transistor as output. The signal is taken from the collector.
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| The supplied tri-colour LEDs and the HS0038. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
Building the candlestick with LEDs
Step 1: connecting the PCBs
In the manual, the first action is to connect the four resistors on the base board. This does not seem to us to be the most logical first step. We started by fitting the four-pole connectors that plug the four 'candle' PCBs into the main board. Place such a 'candle' PCB in the right place against the main PCB. Take a female connector with pins and a male SMD connector and solder them onto the PCBs as shown in the picture below.
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| Connecting the two PCBs. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
Now turn around the PCBs and solder a female SMD connector on the 'candle' PCB and a male connector with pins on the main PCB.
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| The connectors on the other side of the PCBs. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
There are now two male connectors on the main PCB and two female connectors on the 'candle' PCB. Repeat these operations for the four remaining 'candle' PCBs.
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| The two female connectors on a 'candle' PCB. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
Step 2: soldering the LEDs
This is a very precise job, as the four soldering pads into which you have to solder the four connecting wires are very close together. Also pay attention to the correct position of the LEDs. The picture below shows how to solder such an LED on the back of a 'candle' PCB. The longest connecting wire fits into the second hole, counting from left to right. So, to be clear, that is the soldering pad that lies between the letters 'L' and 'E' of the word 'LED' printed on the PCB. It is best to bend the four wires in the right direction at a 90-degree angle with pliers seven millimetres from the LED's housing. Afterwards, fiddle the four wires through the four holes and solder them onto the 'Front' side of the PCB on the four tiny soldering pads.
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| Soldering an LED onto one of the 'candle' PCBs. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
Step 3: assembling the parts on the main PCB
Now you can assemble the main PCB. Solder on one side of this PCB:
- The two resistors R1 and R2 of 10 kΩ.
- The resistor R3 of 100 Ω.
- The resistor R4 of 51 kΩ.
- The 16-pin IC socket, note the position!
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| One side of the main PCB. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
Turn around the PCB and solder:
- The push button switch K1.
- The USB-C connector.
- The optical receiver HS0038.
- The slide switch ON/OFF.
The HS0038 should rest with its flat side on the PCB.
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| The other side of the main PCB. (© 2024 Jos Verstraten) |
Step 4: the final assembly
Press the microcontroller 8G1K08 into the IC socket in the correct position. Solder the two remaining PCBs as legs under the main PCB.
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| The completely assembled candlestick with LEDs. (© ICStation) |
Setting the candlestick with the remote control
The power supply
You can power the board from any 5 Vdc supply.
The function of the buttons
Pull the plastic foil blocking the connection between the battery and the electronics out of the remote control. Switch on the candlestick with the slide switch. You can now use the seventeen buttons on the remote control to set the following lighting effects.
- Buttons 1 to 7:
Fixed lighting with seven basic colours yellow, cyan, white, blue, purple, green and red. - Button 8:
Rapid sequence of all basic colours with varying intensity. - Button 9:
White, cyan and blue with decreasing intensity. - Button 0:
Yellow only with decreasing intensity. - Button *:
Sequence of the seven basic colours at full intensity. - Button #:
Freezing the current light effect. - Buttons ◄ and ►:
Vary the intensity in five steps. - Buttons ▼ and ▲:
Scrolling through all effects. - OK button:
Switch off the candelstick.
Note
You can also use the small pushbutton K1 on the main PCB to scroll through all effects.
Candle Light Soldering Learning Kit
