Add a post about the shelf lights

content/blog/2024-01-14-shelf-lights.md

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+---
+title: Custom lighting for my bookshelf
+description: For when Ikea is slightly too much effort
+date: 2024-01-14
+tags:
+  - electronics
+draft: true
+extra:
+  auto_center_images: true
+aliases:
+  - /blog/shelf-lights
+---
+
+Beside my desk, I have a bookshelf. While this *"book"shelf* barely contains any books, it is a key part of my hobby work as it contains all kinds of electronic components, a server, some networking gear, and my 3D printer.
+
+![Office Layout](/images/posts/shelf-lights/office-layout.png)
+
+A few years ago, I semi-permanently affixed a strip of PWM-controllable RGB LEDs around the frame of my desk to make it glow at night, and since then I've been looking for more things to LED-ify. Thus, the next logical step was to light up my bookshelf!
+
+![The lights on my desk](/images/posts/shelf-lights/desk-lights.jpg)
+
+<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Lights on my desk</em></p>
+
+## The plan
+
+My bookshelf is laid out as follows:
+
+![Bookshelf Layout (side)](/images/posts/shelf-lights/shelf-layout-side.png)
+
+I only wanted to light up the top row, since the bottom row has very little room for light to bounce around in, so after a few hours of tinkering, I settled on the following wiring layout (top-down view):
+
+![Bookshelf Layout (top)](/images/posts/shelf-lights/shelf-layout-top.jpg)
+
+***NOTE:** In both images, the purple lines represent the LED strips, and the red lines represent the wires connecting them.*
+
+I opted to use some WS2812 LED strips, and a small Arduino to tie everything together software-wise.
+
+Of course, in real life, the wiring looks a.. um.. appropriate amount of sketchy.
+
+![A photo of the wiring](/images/posts/shelf-lights/shelf-lights-left.jpg)
+
+<p style="text-align:center;"><em>A photo of the left-most section</em></p>
+
+## A custom LED controller
+
+The LED controller that came with my LED strips isn't awesome... mainly because it doesn't even power on :laughing:. So, equipped with an Arduino and a soldering iron, I set out to make my own.
+
+The software isn't really important here, since its basically the [NeoPixel](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_NeoPixel) example code, but I did opt to make my program function with one button.
+
+I can tap the button to cycle through a few different preset colours, and I can also hold it for a few seconds to turn the whole thing on and off.
+
+The controller itself is 100% function and 0% aesthetic, but that sums up most of my personal harware projects, so it fits right in.
+
+![The controller](/images/posts/shelf-lights/led-controller.jpg)
+
+## The results
+
+So, how does it look?
+
+Great actually!
+
+![The lights on my bookshelf](/images/posts/shelf-lights/shelf-lights.jpg)