How to assemble an RGB strip switching controller using three transistors without microcircuits

To control a multi-colored LED strip, you don’t necessarily need an expensive programmable controller or a device with a complex circuit. Just three transistors are enough to make an RGB strip shimmer in different colors. There are no microcircuits or microcontrollers in the circuit, only 9 parts.

Will need

• 3 transistors IRFZ44 -
  
• 3 resistors 500 kOhm.
  
• 3 capacitors 4.7 µF.

Power supply 12 Volt. Well, and, accordingly, the RGB tape itself is 5 meters -

Switch circuit

The scheme, as you probably already noticed, is very simple. Essentially this is a three-stage multivibrator. Thanks to the use of powerful field-effect transistors, such a controller can control all five meters of tape at once.

Making a controller for RGB strip

First we assemble one cascade. Solder a capacitor parallel to the gate and source.

Solder a resistor to the drain.

We collect all 3 cascades.

We connect them with resistors.

We solder the ring-closing resistor.

We solder the color output from the tape to the drain of each transistor.

We connect the sources with short wires.

The transistor controller is ready.

Let's connect.The common wire from the tape is to the positive of the power source, and the common wire from the sources of the transistors is to the negative.

The switch works, the tape periodically changes colors.

Watch the video