This RGB thing has been going through my head for the last few days. I don't know why I can't just leave things alone.
So I came up with a circuit that would allow me to sequence through the individual colours Red, Green and Blue and also add mixes.
The circuit uses an additional 4017 decade counter IC, on the right, to count Tens while the first 4017, on the left, counts the units and actually drives the LEDs. This will give me up to 9 lighting effect options, more if I cascade. I've only gone up to five LEDs in this example because I couldn't be arsed to do more. :/
I then use a transistor to act as a switch from the outputs on the second 4017. I believe this is a multiplexing technique where a single anode is live when a single cathode goes to ground. Whether the way I have done this is correct or not I'm not sure. It works and that's enough for me.
Integrating dimming effect would be quite complex as I would need at least 6 transistors, if is even possible.
I've been looking at integrated RGB strip controllers such as
this which would give me total control over the colour. Indeed I am already waiting for one that I will be using to modify my keyboard backlighting.
I'm not sure how I could integrate this into a sequencing circuit but should be fun trying. I could have course just have 18 LEDs lit by the controller and just have them lit all the time.
Anyway here's a video of the RGB circuit as it stands.
The video, after a time, goes Red, Green, Blue and then on the fourth a sort of Reddy/Orangey/Yellow colour which is created by driving the Red to high current and the Green element to medium current. LEDs don't dim very consistently with resistance but wiring up a variable PWM circuit would just get too complicated.
I'm grabbing some 40106 oscillator ICs which should give me a fading effect rather than this switching effect.