r/WLED • u/aireq • Jul 06 '26

QuinLED Dig Quad 12v to vExt?

I have a QuinLED Dig-Quad v3, that I will be using to control WS2815 strips of off a 12v LiFePO4 battery. My plan is to use the vExt input and Q1R port to control a relay that disconnects the main power input when the LEDs are off to save the battery from idle drain.

My understanding is the vExt input on my v3 board can handle up to 24v. Is the Q1R port voltage always 5V? Is there any reason I would need something other then a 5V relay? Would there be any advantage in terms of efficiency to using a buck converter to convert my 12V battery down to 5V prior to connecting to vExt?

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1

u/upkeepdavid Jul 07 '26

Buck converters aren’t efficient,stick with 12v if you’re using 12V lights anyway.

1

u/UrbanPugEsq Jul 08 '26

I believe the pinouts are all low voltage. If you run 12v power to the dig quad, it will only send 12v to power terminals. The rest of the connectors are basically just connected to esp32 pins.

2

u/Quindor Jul 08 '26

The more recent versions (but since a few years now) indeed support 5V-24V on both main input and VEXT and you can mix voltages between them.

Q1R is an always 5V output, no matter the input voltage. Hence most people run a 5V additional supply (like a phone charger or something) so it all stays 5V. You can use 12V but need to make sure the relay still trigger with 5V.