Der,
You hit the nail on the head here....and I thank you for starting this thread. I'm in the boat you described, I'm a tinkerer, I can solder, but I have no idea how to design a electrical circuit. I'm not looking for a full blown controller yet, just something to run my lights.
I'm going to throw this out for you to look at. Yes it would raise the price a little and add to the complexity, but it is already designed for the Arduino and gives you more lines to use, plus a joystick. Just another thought.
http://www.nuelectronics.com/estore/...products_id=12
Again thanks, and I'll be following closely.
Scott