Angstrom Is a Rainbow in a Box!

LEDs are great sources of illumination for DIY projects, and increasingly whole rooms. Programmable RGB LEDs take things further, as do RGBW models, but they can’t hold a candle (or candlepower) to the Angstrom Tuneable LED Light Source.

This device produces light with not one, three, or four LED elements, but combines 12 channels into a single LED light, and can be built for under £100 (~$130 in US currency). LEDs are powered via a 5V 60W supply, giving it plenty of room to power what’s onboard, and even more LEDs could theoretically be added if so desired. Cooling is provided by a pair of heatsinks.

Listed applications for the Angstrom include microscopy, forensics, colorimetry, and scanning. As an added bonus, the colors coming together through multiple fiber optic lines looks like something straight out of a mad scientist’s laboratory.

The Angstrom is controlled by a Raspberry Pi Zero W, which generates a webpage with a dozen sliders for each individual LED. Users can adjust things exactly as needed using this interface, offering a virtually infinite array of colors. While it’s difficult to convey the true vibrancy of a device like this using a computer screen, the writeup assures us that, “the multiple wavelengths create a beautiful and unique multicolored shadow effect that normal white or RGB LED sources cannot duplicate.” Perhaps you’ll just have to build one yourself!