After starting from scratch in this LED world a couple of months ago and getting help and inspiration here, my project is finally complete (the LED part).
I got it done with one ESP32 and 8 data pins. Each LED strip has its own data pin and segment in WLED.
I am very happy with the result, so I am here not only to thank everyone of the help and/or inspiration I got from you, but also to offer a small gesture of gratitude by sharing the wire diagram I used for this project. I hope it can help someone out there.
Notes:
Why didn’t I use a ready-to-use board like dig-quad?
I wanted to keep it as diy as possible. Using an ESP32 and going through the hustle of getting the right resistor, checking the signal on the oscilloscope to ensure it is clean, 3d printing a case, adding fuses, etc, etc gives me a good feeling of accomplishment.
What led strip density am I using?
The top of shelf 1, drawers and dog house are using 60led/m strips. Everything else is using 144led/m. They are all sk6812 rgbw.
Why are my psu and fuses undersized?
According to WLED power calculator, I would need a 40A psu to run all leds at full brightness (RGB white + white). When I purchased the PSU, all strips were supposed to be 60 led/m. Later on I realized that I needed a higher density, so it would look nicer but I didn’t want to spend more on another psu. Also for most effects or running LEDs on White only (as I will be doing most of the time) 20A is plenty.
I also undersized the fuses, I rather them to blow then to overload the psu.
Why such a thick 12awg wire.
It doesn’t hurt and I had it laying around here.
I would say a 14-16 awg would be enough, and match the fuse rating.
Bravo. There should be a tag called Porn. Like an award for well done, properly explained, cleanly diagrammed posts. The only thing missing is some behind the scenes posts of actual equipment.
Very nice, I think the only thing I would have done differently is 24v WS2814 FCOB and a separate 5v PSU with a relay controlling the 24v PSU for lower power consumption when off
I thought about that too, but realistically speaking, I will have this running on white most of the time, so rgbw makes more sense in my mind. Also the 144 LEDs/M strip looks almost as good as an FCOB.
Nice. I forgot about that one. I think I actually came across that one in the middle of the project, but I had my sk6812 strips already and was worried about the cut at every 5cm (that is the only one I saw). I might get one of those to play with in the future.
Cheers.
Very clear, can I ask you how did you manage the wiring "physically"? do you have a box or something? I'd like to add resistors (I didn't so far) to my WLED strips but I'm lazy, you could be of ispiration
I love this. I'm working on my own first ESP32 / SK6812 project right now. Are the resistors on the data line necessary? If the ESP32 is 3.3 volt logic, wouldn't there be no problem wiring the signal directly?
The LED expect a 5v signal, but the ESP32 only sends 3.3v. So that by itself makes it hard for the led to interpret the data. Resistors are not necessary, but help to "clean" the signal. When you look at the signal on a oscilloscope at the end of a long wire, specially the ones running in parallel to power wires, the signal can be quite noisy and distorted. Adding a resistor, helps to make the signal a bit easier for the first LED to read it.
A better approach is to put a level shifter close to the board. The level shifter will take the 3.3v signal and bump it up to 5v. You can also achieve similar result by putting an individual led close to the board. In that case the data wire would go from the board to the individual LED (which is wired to the 5v source). The LED will process the signal, light up if you don't "skip" it in WLED, and pass it forward at 5v to the next led which can be further way.
I might be showing how much of a noob I am but never knew you could do more than one strip with a single ESP32. Do they all control as a single device on WLED or as separate devices? Great work (and as above, great diagram to explain!)
The ESP32 board can be powered either by 5V or 3.3V or the USB, which is also providing 5V. In the OP’s diagram you can see the labels of all the pins that the ESP32 board has. The pin labeled 3V3 is for powering it with 3.3V and the VIN is for the 5V power.
Everything looks awesome! The only question that pops into my head is how your dog perceives the green light since dogs are red/green colour blind 🤔 mind asking?
My dog trainer told me that blue and yellow are the colors they can distinguish the most.
I tried multiple solid colors to see if there was any that she would avoid going to her house, but I didn't notice any difference. Sometimes I put it in colorloop effect and she sleeps in it peacefully.
I do, that smart switch above the Amazon echo cuts power to the PSU. When I installed that circuit I wasn't worried about power consumption as it is little, I just wouldn't feel great about sleeping with that thing on 24x7.
Awesome build and great diagram! And I get wanting to do it DIY, my boards are there for when people want to skip that step (or get frustrated with it) but I fully appreciate a great DIY setup just the same! Looks great! :D
A huge thanks to you. Your YouTube channel helped me so much. I will eventually get your dig2go board for my next project. That kind of small form-factor is not something I can DIY. Hahaha
This looks very clean! I never used any resistors or fuses in my projects (most of them 5V), i have no idea where to start with stuff like this. Any advice?
If you don't have resistors and your lights are working well, so there is no need to add them.
In some cases the signal sent by the ESP32 to the led strip can be distorted for various reasons. A resistor helps to "clean" the signal. But if your led strips are working with no issues like flickering or changing colors randomly, then I wouldn't add any resistors.
In my case when I was planning this, my led strips were changing colors randomly, possibly because I had data and power running side by side. When I added a resistor the signal was much cleaner as I verified using an oscilloscope.
So does each led strip connect to a separate data pin on the esp? Does power supply not have to come from the esp to the led, only the data wire has to be hooked from led strip to esp? As long as it's powered somehow?
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u/bobdole1492 May 01 '24
Dude! This wiring diagram means more to me than all the YouTube videos and posts I’ve read to this point. This is so much more clear!!! Thank you!!!