Bored of simple LEDs and Neopixel strips in your Arduino projects? Want something a little bit more.... dramatic?
In this video tutorial, I'll demonstrate how you can use an Arduino UNO to control DMX stage lighting and other effects (e.g. fog machines). This is ideal for creating theatrical set-pieces in escape rooms: setting mood lighting, using spotlights to highlight particular elements of a room, or setting ambient/environmental lighting effects such as lightning, police cars, or a magical UV blacklight effect.
All these effects can be triggered directly by DMX signals programmed in code in a simple standalone Arduino sketch. But I'll also show you how you can use Node-RED to create a browser-based graphical interface to the Arduino - creating a "virtual lighting desk" - which you can use to set hue, brightness, store presets, and activate/deactivate DMX slave devices in realtime, or triggered by in-game events such as puzzles being solved, or when the game countdown only has a certain time remaining etc.

Timings
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00:00-03:45 Introduction and demonstration
03:46-08:49 Explanation of DMX hardware and interface
08:50-20:11 Arduino code
20:12-38:04 Creating a virtual lighting desk in Node-RED
38:05-39:08 Wrapup

Resources Used
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- Conceptinetics DMX shield - https://www.tindie.com/products/Conce...
(other shields are available - e.g. https://thepihut.com/products/dmx-shi.... It's also possible to create your own DMX shield using a MAX485 chip, as explained at https://playground.arduino.cc/DMX/DMX... )
- RGB Cans: £70 for 4 - https://amzn.to/34yeHA3
- Spotlight: £19 https://amzn.to/36xgaIC
- UV light: £23 https://amzn.to/2NmH6TV
- Node-RED - https://nodered.org/

If you'd like to support me making more video tutorials explaining how to use tech in escape rooms and other playful settings, please check out my Patreon at   / playfultech  , where you can also find code downloads, wiring diagrams, and additional resources for all my projects.