Using WS2812b RGB Light Strips
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- This is a beginner's overview of how to cut, splice, wire, mount and power the popular WS2812b LED strips, including info on when power injection may be needed (and how to do it).
This video covers some of the questions I've been asked in my other LED videos and focuses on the LED strips themselves. Affiliate links to all products used are listed below.
Update: I've added a related blog article that adds some additional info not covered in the video, along with some diagrams where appropriate: resinchemtech.blogspot.com/20...
Chapter Links:
00:00 Intro
01:52 WS2812b overview
03:34 Cutting strips to length
04:59 Data signal direction
05:44 Adding JST connectors
09:23 Joining two segments together
11:54 Dealing with corners
13:14 Connecting the LEDs to the controller and power
14:50 Mounting options
16:34 Voltage drop and power injection
20:20 Selecting the proper power supply
22:44 Can I power the LEDs from the controller?
23:49 Proper powering of LEDs and controller.
24:57 A couple of other questions from viewers
26:57 Outro
Amazon Affiliate links to products shown:
===================
WS2812b LED Strips: amzn.to/3E44eO8
JST Connectors: amzn.to/3p97OCt
Flux Pen: amzn.to/3e5RgFe
Solder: amzn.to/3siMT1D
LED strip connectors: amzn.to/3Fa26pm
Wago Wire Connectors: amzn.to/33HmmB0
Aluminum LED Channel: amzn.to/328P11m
3M Double-Sided Tape: amzn.to/3GTRZFI
ElectroCookie Prototype board: amzn.to/3e9ogfH
As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you.
Other Links:
DigUno/DigQuad Pre-built LED Controllers: quinled.info/pre-assembled-qu...
3D printed LED Clock Blog: resinchemtech.blogspot.com/20...
#ledstrips
#ws2812b
#rgbled - Věda a technologie
Best video I’ve watched on LEDs. So comprehensive and explained clearly. Thank you for putting this together.
You are most welcome! And thank you for the kind words. I never quite know how in-depth to go (vs. length of video), but I generally try to take the approach of "what do I wish I had known when starting out'. Thanks for watching and taking time to leave a comment!
This is very good information. Very informative. I been looking at videos for a while now and by far this is the best one I have seen in a while.
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful. Note that many of my projects (including this one) have a related written version that usually contains some additional information, wiring diagrams and parts lists (where applicable). You can always check the video description for any of my video to see if there is a related written version that supplements the video.
Thanks for watching... and for taking time to leave a comment. I really do appreciate it!
Thanks for this. Very handy. Removed some confusion about these topics.
You are most welcome! While there are dozens or maybe hundreds of similar videos, I find that sometimes a different creator will explain something just a bit differently or with a different approach that just makes more sense to me. I try to create my videos in a way that explains both the how and the why as much as I can, so that viewers understand the concept. This makes it easier to adapt something I might be showing into a different project other than just 'do step A then do step B'.
Thanks for watching and taking time to leave a comment!
Thanks for this some very interesting information 👍
Thanks! I really debated on how much detail to include (and how long the video would be), but I took the approach of things I wish I had known when I first started working with LED strips... and the related questions I have received on other projects. Thanks for watching!
THANK YOU SO MUCH
You're welcome! Thanks for watching.
Thanks - great video, I was especially interested in how to run my Arduino Nano with the power supply so thanks for that.
You are welcome. Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for taking a few moments to leave a comment.
Great video. Can you do a short video that takes it a step further and cover what the strip looks like installed? Specifically how you conceal the wires when injecting power and how close the controller is to the strip, etc?
Thanks... and thanks for the idea. The issue is that every install is different. The way I install and run wires on the pool table is completely different from the kitchen cabinets... etc. The same applies to where/how far away the power supply or controller might be. Each install location dictates how I can best run wiring, place the controller and power supply, etc. to minimize wire visibility. As an example, here are a couple of photos I shared in another comment:
user-images.githubusercontent.com/55962781/146257266-fd5e01b1-4fed-4db6-8716-ee1cf8e561cd.jpg
This is the install for the bar lighting, which uses 3 separate controllers, a single power supply and the wiring run to the LEDs is quite lengthy as the controllers and power supply are in the back of one of the cabinets.
user-images.githubusercontent.com/55962781/146257493-ce9b4520-bd83-4d05-a9e3-77b8ad290244.jpg
But for the dart board, the smaller power supply allowed me to put everything inside the dart board cabinet and the wire run from the controller to the LEDs is only a couple of inches. But this was unique from anything else, because I needed to tap into the incoming AC power to also power the electronic dart board (and only need one cord for both the dart board and the LED lights).
So, again, every install is different and unique depending upon a lot of different factors. I don't know if that is helpful or not!
Thanks!
Wow! Thank you so very much! I'm glad that you found the content helpful. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any follow up questions about this or any of your other projects.
Thanks again.. I really do appreciate it!
Thank you very much for the excellent video and THANK YOU for using easy-to-understand English (I’m an ex-laptop and wireless product trainer from Compaq & HP, so I always take note of good demos 😊👍)! About to start my first lighting project inside my computer I just built. I would like to also light up my game-room shelves - would you share where you got the aluminum 90 degree channel with the white cover? Hoping to hear from you - thanks again!
You are welcome! I'm glad you find my videos helpful. They are a bit "longer" than other videos, but I try to explain the "why" as well as the "how" so that folks can take my ideas and understand them enough to adapt to their own needs.
Note that for most of my videos, I generally always include links to the parts shown or used in the video description, along with a link to a written version (if applicable) that also has the parts lists, wiring diagrams and more. But to save you a little time, here's the link to the aluminum channel that I use (you can get it in shorter lengths/smaller quantities, but I use it so much I buy it in larger quantities to save a few bucks! amzn.to/328P11m
Let me know if you run into any problems or questions along the way. I do have a whole series of LED-related videos, including building your first controller (both a soldered and non-soldered version) and more: czcams.com/play/PLqjDNeOVHOkf079FYwRLRoOHJwLijKkP3.html&si=nPdpNpW5hofphqbG
Thanks
Wow! Thank you. I greatly appreciate it and hope you found the video helpful. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or if there is anything I can help with.
Your videos are extremely helpful. I’m getting ready to install a 9-foot run going down the basement stairs using a WS2812B LED STRIP. I did not yet have the strip in hand so I’m not certain how many LEDs it will ultimately entail. Since the strips will be channel mounted I’m trying to avoid power injection. In your discussion about amp requirements you multiply the number of LEDs by 0.06 to determine the amp requirements. Assuming your 5v power brick is double or triple the amps required, is there still a need for power injection?
In addition, it would be interesting to see how you connect the aluminium channels and diffusers in order to minimise light leak from the butt joints.
Thanks for all you do to educate us! 👏
You are welcome... and I'm glad you find my videos helpful.
Unfortunately, have a bigger power supply with more amps really doesn't alleviate the need for power injection. Voltage drop occurs along the strip and once it drops too low, the LEDs will start to dim and shift colors. Running different effects (other than solid), colors other than white and/or running at less than 100% brightness can help.
I'd recommend that you hook up the LEDs on the bench as a test first. Turn them on solid white first... and see if you get fading towards pink/orange at the end of the strip. This is a sign you need injection. But you can try different colors and effects and decide if you can live with the fading/shifting colors as opposed to running extra wires for injection. My stair lights actually fade just slightly at the very end when on solid white, but since I use the 'wipe effect', they are only all lit at the same time for a very short period, so I decided to "live with it" as opposed to running injection wires.
As far as the butt joints, if you can cut very clean joints, it is barely noticeable. I did at just a very small amount of hot glue to the diffuser joint just to keep the diffuser in place. Hope you find the above helpful.
Omg, been googling for literally two hours, reading half the internet and your video answers my question within 5 minutes. So I CAN cut off the rgb 4 pin connector? It's so bulky and won't look good when the strip of lights is interrupted by a big bulk. I'll just cut it off and connect the rest of the extension strip with a rgb snap clip. THANK YOU!
I often cut or desolder the big, bulky JST connectors from my strips and either add my own wiring (which isn't near as bulky) or solder strips directly together... mostly for the reasons you mention. If I'm placing the strip in something like an aluminum channel, it's nearly impossible to keep the JST connectors between strips and have it fit (and not be very visible). I'm not sure exactly what LEDs you are using (you mentioned 4-pin connectors, which indicated that they are some sort of clocked strip), but as long as the strip can be cut in general (note that some strips, like 12V and 24V can only be cut every 3 or 6 pixels and not every pixel like most 5V), you should be able to remove the JST connectors and join strips directly together).
Glad you found this helpful. Note that I do have another more recent video on common questions that I've received regarding LED strips that you might also find useful if you are somewhat new to working with LEDs: czcams.com/video/GZv5Ztj6i6I/video.html
Thanks for watching!
A Good video on using the WS2812b RGB Light Strips, with the wago connectors .On your video at 24:12 would you recomend adding a fuse from the power supply to the + led lights. Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year.
Adding a fuse on the + line to the LEDs is a great idea and would increase the overall safety of the project. To be honest, I didn't cover it because I've never opted to include a fuse (though I really should). I have another LED project coming up and I'll be sure to include a fuse and show how it is wired in. Thanks for the suggestion... and important safety tip!
@@ResinChemTech Thanks for the reply
Great video. Would like to ask if you could advise the best LED set up for a 20m (65ft) length. It’s for the inside perimeter of my backyard pergola. I would like to use an RGBW strip light with at least 60 leds per meter. Can I get away with just one power transformer, or would it be better to have two connected? Thanks, Craig
That depends upon a lot of factors... too many for me to list here, but a bigger one depends if you want to use 5V, 12V or 24V LEDs. You will almost certainly have to do power injection. Do note that if you opt for multiple power supplies, use extreme caution to assure that the positive lines from different power supplies are not connected. Usually this requires severing the +V on the LED strip and powering different segments of the LED strip with different power supplies. But I think it would be much better to use a single power supply if possible. Also note that when installing outdoors, you will need to assure your LED strips, connections, power supply, etc. are all protected from the weather, with the appropriate rating.
If you haven't already watched, you may wish to take a peek at my video on common LED questions, particularly the sections on power supplies, power injection and wiring: czcams.com/video/GZv5Ztj6i6I/video.html
Great vid. As usual very in formative. Im working on my first project (as I commented about earlier) and don't have a 3d printer (unfortunately my NYC apartment doesn't have the space for one), i have your files for the controller box you designed. Do you know any way i can have some printed for a reasonable cost? (The last price i was quoted was $10 per box. Which seemed pretty steep to me).
Yeah... $10 is pretty steep for something that costs only a few pennies in filament! I tell others that if you have a University or maybe a maker space in your area, you might be able to get them to print one at a cheaper cost. I also recommend that in lieu of a 3D printer, you can get a small project box and drill holes to meet your need. The controller can be hot glued in place to stop it from rattling around... that's what I did before I got a 3D printer. Here's an Amazon (affiliate) link as an example of what you might use: amzn.to/3p6AP1v
@@ResinChemTech You’re find $10 steep, but some outfit asked for $150. Nuts. I’ll check out the link you have for an alternative. Thanks.
So very helpful! I commented on your controller video as well. Wonderful videos! Wanting to confirm what I think I understand regarding power injection. Power injection only compensates for voltage drop over the length of the strip. So a given power supply may be able to supply enough total current for the total strip of lights, but not get enough volts all the way down, hence the need for injection, correct? In a concrete case, if I have a run around a tv that is 13.33 ft long (WS2812B 60/m), that’s ~14.63 amps. So I will likely need both power injection and a 20amp power supply, correct? If so, any luck finding a 20 amp brick style.? Then again, I suppose I could use two 10 amp bricks and run one at the start and the other from the end and kill two birds, i.e., power inject and split the draw between bricks - would that work, or would you recommend splitting the led strips in two and power them completely separately while using a single controller and data wire?
You have it about right. But DO NOT try to use two separate power supplies. That's a recipe for disaster. It can be done, but it is very complicated and everything has to be precisely balanced. Small differences in voltages can result in unexpectedly high current. I've never tried it, and in general it is probably a bad idea without very high quality power supplies.
But you are correct in terms of the need for power injection. Resistance along the strip will eventually drop the voltage enough that the LEDs cannot get enough juice to fully light up. Generally, this results in both a fading in brightness and the color trending toward pink, then red (because the red LED requires the least voltage). Power injection can be done anywhere along the strip, but at the end is the first place, then midstrip if necessary by just soldering 5V and GND to the two appropriate copper pads on the LED strip (and of course the data line ONLY connects at the start of the strip and nowhere else). As a general rule-of-thumb, you'll want power injection about every 300 pixels, give or take. If my math is correct, 13.3 ft at 60/m should be somewhere around 240 LEDs? You actually may not even need power injection. But you can always bench test the entire strip first to determine if/where you might need injection. Turn them on full white and look for fading or shifting towards a pinkish color. If you need/want to power inject, just at the end of the strip should be more than enough in your case.
The largest "brick style" power supply I've been able to find is 5V 15A. To be honest, that would probably work in your case. 240 LEDs on full bright white (max amps) will be unbelievably bright... you'll be surprised how bright.. so you will likely never run that high. As a safety precaution, you can use the brightness limiter in WLED (I'm assuming you are planning on running WLED) and set the power supply amps to something like 12A. This will auto-control the brightness to assure the LEDs never pull more than 12A... and that you don't run the power supply at its rated max for an extended period. Even with the limiter, the LEDs will still be plenty bright! I routinely do this if the LEDs might get close to the maximum rating of the power supply. You only need to allow about 0.5A for the controller.
Sorry for the length, but I hope that answers your questions.
What about using fuses? Especially when using power injection. I have been repeatedly told to use a fuse between power and board, then another between power and the LEDs
Hi I’m looking to add them same LEDS around my room, i will need about 15 metres though, if I get a solder kit will it be okay to solder 3 5M strips together?
You can theoretically solder together as many strips as you like, using the technique I showed in this video. However, you will likely need to do multiple power injection points for a strip that long and with that many LEDs. You also need to be aware as to how many LEDs your controller can adequately support on a single data pin. If you are using 60 LEDs/m, then you will have about 900 pixels. That is really at the upper end of what an ESP8266 can handle via a single data pin. Unless you want to use multiple data pins, an ESP32 would probably be a better choice for an install of that size.
I hope that info is helpful. Good luck with your project.
I know this is a older video but if you see this I have a question. I'm looking for a 3ft strip that has color chasing led's not just solid rgb colors that run off a small 5v power bank to add to my kids bike. Is there anything available like that or are them led strips too powerful for a portable battery bank. Thanks for any help you can give me.
I think there are a couple of challenges. First is the actual draw from the LEDs themselves... they can be a bit power hungry, but they have recently released some "eco" versions of light strips that draw a little less power (at the expense of brightness, I'm assuming... but I haven't tested them). Next, at least with the DIY version that I generally build, the controller continues to draw power, even with the lights are off (and so do the LEDs, actually). I tried to install a strip of around 10 LEDs connected to an ESP8266 and door sensor for closet lights (on with door open, off when closed) and used a 5V battery pack. The battery was drained in a few days even if the door was rarely opened.
To be completely honest, you may be better looking at a pre-built option that is also waterproof, like this: amzn.to/3ux22f8 (Amazon affiliate link... I have not tried these... and there are many other options... just search for battery powered LED strip lights). I generally try to always create a DIY solution, but in some cases it just makes more sense to buy something better built for a given purpose than trying to hack together my own solution.
I hope that helps. Please don't hesitate to reach out again if I can help out any further. And thanks for watching!
Quick question... If I wanted to make a 6 meter strip, that is mirrored 3m for left and 3m for right, could I join (2) 3m pieces that are soldered in the middle with the data arrow away from the center? And inject the data line and power at the center splice? Much like you did the (2) sound tubes, but no green wire between, having a junction in the strips' center instead?
Nevermind, I just realized that if I did this, the 5v and GND would be on opposite sides. LOL
Don't feel bad! I was so curious about whether the signal would work or not, I actually was going to try it before I replied to your question. But like you, just as I went to solder the two strips together, I noticed exactly what you did! I think you could separate them with a very short leads, tie the leads together and then to your power supply and controller. I've split the signal to two separate strips in a number of different projects.
On that solder you use the amazon link list option for mm and grams what do you use?
The link should have brought up the 0.6 mm, which is what I normally use. As far as 100 g vs. 150 g, etc. that's just the amount of length of solder on the spool, so it depends on how much you want. I go through quite a bit, so I usually order the 0.6mm 150g or 200g.
Ok thank you!@@ResinChemTech
My daughter would like LEDs along the top of her bedroom walls (approx 12 ft x 12 ft). I'd like to use BTF-Lighting WS2812B strips (5V 30L/M). I'd likely use a DIGUNO controller and would likely put the lights in an aluminum channel/defuser. I would think this is a typical use case for people watching your videos. Could you do a short video that focuses less on the tech stuff and more on what the logistical layout would look like? For example, what power supply type and does it sit on the floor; where should the controller be placed (on the floor or on the wall); best place to connect power injection, proper gauge wire, and where to run the power injection lines (in the aluminum channel or outside of it, and maybe 5V is not the way to go? I would love to have WLED to control the lights, but as I think about the logistical side of it starts to make me think I am better off just purchasing over the counter lights with less controlability. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
If you have seen my video on the hexagon LED panels (czcams.com/video/lNcsT5DZjAM/video.html), I cover adding both a push button and IR remote to the WLED controller. With the remote, you've basically duplicated the "commercial" versions in terms of control, but still have all the additional effects and features of WLED. And if you are a Home Assistant (or other automation platform) user, there are all sorts of automations that could be used (sunset, light level, motion detection, etc.) But even without Home Assistant/automation, both a push button and remote control provide a lot of different control methods.
Thanks for the suggestion on the "layout logistics". I haven't tended to include this because every situation is so different... where's the AC outlet, where can I 'hide' the controller and power supply, how long is the wiring between the controller and LED strip going to be, etc.? And of course, every viewer's situation will be different than mine. But I can see where I might go back through my different LED projects and show how I opted to 'hide' the components and/or run the wiring. I'll add it to the list of upcoming video ideas!
I bought 15m of ws2812b which are 270 pixels together, it is calculated to 20amps but will it be too much for the led lights to handle?
I'm not sure I understand your question, but you want your power supply to have more amps available than the total calculated amp draw of your LEDs. If you calculate that your LEDs will draw 15 amps, then you want at least a 20-25 amp power supply. The LEDs will only draw the current they need. A larger power supply will not "force" extra amps into your LED strip and damage them. That would be volts... not amps. If you connect a 12V power supply to 5V LEDs, then you will have problems! In your case, 270 WS2812b pixels would draw around a calculated maximum current of around 16 A on full bright white, so a 5V 20A power supply would be OK.
Conversely, you don't want your LEDs to try to draw more current than your power supply can provide. For example, if your LEDs could draw up to 16A, only using a 10A power supply will mean that the LEDs will not be able to light up to full brightness and you will likely eventually damage the power supply because it cannot provide the required current and will probably burn out after a time.
Voltage vs. current (amps) can be a bit confusing when you first start out, but I hope that answers your question.
Hi ,
We always find your videos to be amazing and provided valuable information and most importantly you take time to give feedback as you did
with other and with me personally. I think you are an excellent mentor and you do all this without a personal gain . Please know we appreciate it .
I am wondering if it would be possible to post a question related to WS2812B project I did after watching your videos before which would be of
a great help to me and others .
In summary , I am struggling with powering the esp32 and 8x32 WS2812B matrix from the same 5V12A PSU . Everything works fine with a
separate PSU for esp32 .
As the post is long with links to diagrams, I wanted to ask for your permission and I do not want an immediate answer and can wait until 2022+
or better wait for a how to video in your channel . If for any reason it not possible then I would like to thank you for the help and information you
already providing us .
PS. We are interested in getting the 12V WS2815 strips but it is not in the links , could you add it please
Thank you Sir ,
Thank you for the kind words! I'm always happy to help out and assist as best that I can and as my time permits. It's odd that things work with separate power supplies, but not off a single supply. I will say that for a 8x32 matrix (256 pixels), a 12A power supply is a bit under-powered for full brightness... to account for full white, you'd probably need around 16A (256 x 0.06 = 15.36A), although most effects will be well under this limit, or if using WLED, you can use the brightness limiter.
If you need to share links or diagrams, it is probably best to contact me via email, as CZcams will automatically block any posts with links. You can find my email address on my channel's 'About' page. With the holidays, I may not be able to respond right away, but I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
As far as the 12V WS2815 strips, I have not personally used them, but I have had good luck with light strips by BTF Lighting. Here's an Amazon affiliate link to the WS2815 by BTF: amzn.to/3GZOMV5
I hope that's at least a little helpful!
@@ResinChemTech That is fantastic , I have sent you the mail with the same subject as this video . One last thing is I want to know If it would be possible to send stuff to your channel ( esp32s, strips ..etc ) or anything you may use or tear-down , just as a small thank you . Please say yes
Check your email. I've sent a reply that I hope will be helpful.
@@ResinChemTech WOW , The first paragraph of your email solved the issue . I am really lost for word but really thank you very much Sir .
do some ws2812b lights come with a controller? j cant see to find any that do
Yes, there are many many options. Here is just one: amzn.to/3rbKFTQ
Note that there are also many types of controllers for WS2812b that you can buy pre-built and you just have to plug in the LEDs and power. Here are a few examples of those: www.amazon.com/stores/page/C161BEEF-BFF9-4F10-B1E1-6D3EEA3B7FBC
Or you can just do a search for 'WS2812b controller'.
At what voltage do you think it would need to drop too for the lights to start to dim?
Theoretically, the lights begin to dim at any voltage below 5V. But you probably can't detect it. It's impossible to give a precise voltage when you will be able to appreciably notice it. It also depends on the number of LEDs and the level of brightness you have set. That's why I always recommend a bench test with the total number of LEDs you plan on using for your project. You have to balance what you would consider an 'acceptable' dimming or color shift towards the end of the strip vs. the hassle of running power injection wires. In some cases, you may decide that just a slight dimming in an install where the LEDs are not directly visible is acceptable and better than trying to run extra power wires to the end (or middle) of the strip somewhere. In other cases, like a matrix or something, any dimming at the end of the strip may be unacceptable and you might decide that running power injection wires is worth it.
I can say that once the voltage gets down to around 3V or lower, the LEDs can start to flicker and misbehave in other ways. But as far as dimming, you notice the LEDs start to shift towards a pinkish color when lit up in white. If you start to see pink towards the end of a strip when you LEDs are set to white, it's a sure sign that you need to consider power injection as much more of a voltage drop runs the risk of the flickering/misbehaving LEDs that I mentioned.
@@ResinChemTech thanks for the response.
I am looking for some help with questions. This video was extremely helpful. I’m trying to use two WS2812B together. I have the first one working fine with a controller and this power supply. . BTF-LIGHTING AC100-240V to DC5V10A Max50W Suit 9A 8A 7A 6A 5A 4A 3A 2A 1A Device Transformer Power Adapter Converter. I simply plug them into each other with the connectors and the 2nd led strip won’t light at all. From your video I believe I need power injection. But I’m wondering why the 2nd strip doesn’t light at all ? Not one led ?
Did you update WLED to add the additional LEDs to the total count? If you told WLED that you have 60 LEDs and that fully lights up your first strip, then plug in a second strip, nothing is going to light up because WLED is only sending the signal for the first 60 LEDs. If you are adding a second strip that is another 60 LEDs, then you have to update WLED to tell it you now have 120 LEDs.
Next, assure that you are observing the proper data flow direction. If you are using the pre-attached JST connectors, it should be correct, but double-check the little arrows on the WS2812b strips themselves. The data should be flowing "out" of the first strip and "in" to the second strip.
Next, check both strips individually. Connect your controller directly to each strip, one at a time. It is possible that one of the strips is damaged/faulty or one of the JST connections came lose or has a broken wire. If both light up individually, the data direction is correct AND WLED has the proper number of LEDs set for the total number when using both strips, you should be able to connect them together and get at least something on the second strip, even if power injection is needed to get full brightness on the second strip.
I told my controller board through my app that it was 600 pixels but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t even saving that 600 config. I now just screwed up my first strip. My colors from the app werernt associated correctly with the app, so I read to flip the wires. I flipped the wires and I burnt my first strip. Only 1 led goes on. The rest won’t light up. Ughh.
@@ResinChemTech for reference I use the magic LeD app. With the BFT lighting Bluetooth controller. I’ll check the data direction but I was under the impression it could only go one way because of the female/male sides.
Yeah... it is unlikely that the data direction could be an issue if you are using the standard JST connectors that are pre-attached to the LED strips, but I only mentioned it because it is easy to check just to be absolutely sure.
Sorry, but I'm not familiar with the controller or app that you are using since I generally always build my own controllers and use WLED. Not sure I can be of much help with a controller/app that I haven't use before. Maybe someone else that has used that controller or app can offer some additional advice.
@@ResinChemTech ok. I have to wait for my new strip since I think I burned out my initial one. But if you’re saying I should still see some light just by connecting them together; I’ll try again tomorrow and let you know. I think you recommended a premade controller in the video that I could use instead of the one I am using now. Maybe that would be better?
Should I use 12v if I want to run it through my whole outer ceiling for my living room so I won’t have voltage drop as much as 5v?
That is certainly an option. Although note that 12V will also need power injection at some point... it's just that you can run longer lengths before that is necessary as opposed to 5V. Depending upon the size of your living room, you may still have to do power injection along the strip (or at the end of the strip). Also note that 12V (WS2811) strips are generally only controllable in groups of 3 pixels (not truly individually like WS2812b/5V). For something like a ceiling install, this probably won't matter.... but it is worth noting depending upon your needs/use case.
Thank you for this Video. Is there a normal power supply to power up a WS2812B 5V 5 meter 300 leds (60 leds per meter)? 300 x 0,06 = 18 amp.
If you wish to run the LEDs on white a full brightness, you would probably need a 5V 20A power supply, similar to this (Amazon affiliate link): amzn.to/3eFQv5S
If you want to use a smaller, pre-wired brick-style power supply, I haven't been able to locate anything larger than 5V 15A, meaning you would need to use the brightness limiter option in WLED to assure you don't exceed 15A. Most WLED effects use substantially less than the max amps, so you would probably be OK with this approach... again, as long as you aren't looking for maximum brightness. Here's another Amazon affiliate link to a 5V 15A brick-style supply: amzn.to/3qzOOwo
I don't have a "normal" supply. Each is different depending on the installation location, what I might have on hand, or what I might find on sale online somewhere!
@@ResinChemTech @ResinChem Tech Thank you for your quick and detailed reply. The aluminium adapter looks so bulky. It's just for a small project. Is the wattage also important for choosing the right adapter? Is there a different approach possible with a dig-uno? And on 5 meter with 300 leds is there always power injection necessary on the middle and end of the strip? Or with an enough powerfull supply only the beginning is enough?
Yes, I agree... the transformer style power supplies are much bigger and bulkier.. and you have to build your own power cable to connect to the A/C outlet.
Wattage just reflects the voltage x amps, so 5V x 20A = 100 watts. Or to get amps from the wattage, just divide by the 5V (100 watts/5V = 20A). The recent versions of the DigUno (and Quad) do allow you to use a higher voltage power supply (e.g. 12V) and it will step down the voltage to the required 5V for the controller and strips. You can check out Quindor's site for a lot more information on powering the DigUno with different voltages.
As far as power injection, for 300 LEDs, injection is probably going to be required. As you can see in my video, once you get over around 150 or so pixels, the brightness and color are going to start to be impacted, along with flickering of the pixels at the end. The "power" of the power supply makes no difference here. The issue is the voltage drop that occurs along the LED strip. But with 300 pixels, you can probably get away with supplying power at the start and end of the strip and likely don't need power injection at the mid point. The video I just released (hexagon panels - czcams.com/video/lNcsT5DZjAM/video.html) uses 309 pixels and a 5V 15A brick-style power supply (20A would be ideal, but I didn't want that large transformer-style supply for this project). I only inject power at the start and end of the strip, and with the brightness limiter in WLED, they function fine but I'm probably right at the edge of needing additional power injection in the middle of the strip.
Let me know if you have any additional questions.
@@ResinChemTech Thank you agian for your detailed answer.
Based on your experience with your 309 leds hexagon panels (nice video) I think a a 5V 15A brick-style power supply is the second best option .
That the dig-uno can handle a higher voltage power supply for both the board and the strip is great. I always thought that voltage needs to meet with the strip.
Hello im building a led matrix panel size 128x64 with 60/m led strips. Thats a total of 8,192 5v ws2812b pixels. I plan to use a total of 8 5v 60A 300w power supplies. My question is, can a standard 15A breaker handle all that or would i need two different circuits
The amps on the AC side will be significantly lower than the DC side, due to the higher voltage. There are online calculators where you can determine the exact amp draw for the AC side, but as a rough estimate A = W/V. So, for 300w running at 120V, the amp draw would be around 2.5A (300/120). The actual calculation is a little more complex, but you will be well below 15A on the AC side.
However, recall that WS2812b LEDs can draw up to 0.06A per LED when on full bright white (0.02A per pixel x RGB pixels). With 8,192 LEDs, the matrix could draw up to a whopping 491 amps (8,192 x 0.06A)! Now, that is for all the LEDs lit in white at 100% brightness. Other colors and effects that don't light all the LEDs at the same time will be less, but even at a single color, if all the LEDs were to be lit at the same time, it would still draw up to 164 A. With that many LEDs, you will only be able to run at a significantly lower brightness (I recommend using the amp limiter option in WLED) and I'd also highly recommend that you fuse the system as well. You will need multiple power injection points (one about every 300 pixels).
Finally, you will need to use multiple data pins and an ESP32. Even then, you are likely to see poor performance, as the recommendation for good performance is 1,000 LEDS per pin with 4 pins for a total of 4,000 LEDs. You are going to be more than double that.
But I'm not an electrical engineer... so these are only my suggestions. Good luck... I've never built a single project with more than around 800 LEDs, so let me know how it works out for you.
@@ResinChemTech i think i was in the right track. So i would be using about 2300 to 2400 watts with all the lights at max power. I wont be using them at full power obviously but i want to keep things safe. If i plug into 110v 20A i might be fine but most ppl have 110v 15A on wall outlets so to be on the safe side i believe i would need to plug into 2 separate breakers to keep things safe. So im gonna get a power distro like that i make sure i always have enough power
@@ResinChemTech ohh and i had built a project like this but only with 1800 leds. This one is 4x bigger and im still trying to digest the amount of power they can consume.
i got full circle around my room about 15 m of led strip power injected only at beginning and end
I bought a 5 volt 40 amp power supply for my 2 rgb addressble strips and a led matrix, the same one you show at the end of the video. What nobody shows you is there is no plug to plug in your power supply. You have to basically cut off the 3 prong plug from a washing machine. Do you have a video showing what wires for that plug, plug into what spots on those power supply bricks that you showed.
Im trying to hook up the LED and matrix to my virtual pinball table. I bought a teensy board because everyone said i had to, needless to say it didnt work out. Any help would be appreciated.
Yes, the larger "transformer" style power supplies need an AC power cord to plug into a standard outlet that does not come with it. I usually include that item in the parts list for those projects that require the larger power supply, but guess I didn't explicitly mention that in this video. I always order one like this amzn.to/36dU7Lz (affiliate link) whenever I order the power supply. In fact, I just keep a number on hand. You can get them in different lengths and gauges as well. There are three terminals on the power supply marked 'AC'. Black wire goes to (+), white to (-) and green to GND. Two other items of note. First, most of these power supplies are designed to work with either 120V or 240V AC and are set via a small toggle switch on the side. Be sure it is set properly for your situation (e.g 120V in the US). There should also be a very small set screw on the front near the terminals. This allows you to adjust the output voltage slightly. You should connect a voltmeter or multimeter set to an appropriate DC voltage range, connect to one set of DC output terminals and adjust that screw with a small screwdriver to assure it is outputting 5.0V. I've had them come out of the box as high as 6.1V and as low as 4.3V. This screw is meant to 'fine tune' the output voltage. Do this after connecting the AC power cord, but before connecting any of your 5V devices.
I can't directly speak to the teensy board and why others may have said you "have" to use one of those. If you are trying to use a specific application or firmware with your pinball machine that requires a teensy, then that may be true. But for nearly all of my LED projects, I use an ESP8266 or ESP32 dev board. This already has wifi (and bluetooth for ESP32) on board and can run WLED. Although I have written my own controller firmware using Arduino/C++, it's hard to beat WLED for the features and ease of installation. But your use case might make this option unsuitable.
@ResinChem Tech thank you, i dont know why people use a teensey board for all their Addressble LED's. Thank you for your response,ive learned more from your one paragraph then i have reading for weeks.
Hey... just glad I could help! Again, I'm not sure about the teensy. I just figured it had something to do with tying into the pinball machine? For just standard LED strip lighting, it's hard to beat the cost, ease-of-use and feature set of WLED on an ESP board. I have had occasion to create something 'special' using Arduino code on a matrix... but that was for displaying text. But even then, I used an ESP8266 board.
FYI... I was thinking about what you said regarding the power supply and realized that I did miss some basic, beginner info. I just published a related blog article (resinchemtech.blogspot.com/2022/03/using-led-strips.html) that includes some additional details, including info on using the transformer-style power supply, connecting an AC cord, etc. Thanks for the suggestion and call-out on the missing info. I hope you might find the additional information helpful.
@ResinChem Tech , im not sure if everyone uses teensey but pretty sure. I think its able to connect to doflinx, and then when your playing say the AC/DC premium table on your virtualpinball table, the matrix puts on a amazing light show, as well as all the other tables. Im sorry if i didnt mention this was all for use inside a virtual pinball table. Thanks for the help. Like and a subscribe from me.
Ah... that makes sense now. I wasn't familiar with doflinx, so I went out and watched a couple of videos on virtual pinball cabinets (not familiar with them at all), but now I get it! That's not something that WLED could currently do! But now you've opened my eyes to the world of these virtual pinball machines, so may have to think about one of those in my future to go along with my retro arcade cabinet.
Thanks for the like and the sub! I greatly appreciate it. Good luck with your project. I'd be happy to help out, but at this point, know next-to-nothing about virtual pinball!
Is the controller board with the 5amp add-on needed or can you just run a ESP8266?
You can't run much current through the ESP board... maybe 500 mA or so (enough to power maybe 8-10 LED pixels at full brightness). If you attempt to power more LEDs than that, there is a high probability that it is going to fry your ESP board... maybe not immediately, but it will most likely burn out at some point due to the current draw.
So, the external 5V power supply is used to run one connection to the controller and a separate parallel connection to the LED strip. That avoids running the high current through the controller. The ElectroCookie board also cannot handle high current due to the small traces on the board, so you generally always want to power your LED strips directly from the power supply.
@@ResinChemTech I understand not running the LED’ power from the board but I thought if I connect the LED’s direct to the power supply, then Y’ed off to the controller I would not be pushing the LED power through the board itself only thing off the board would be the data. If that makes any sense at all.
Yeah.. that makes perfect sense... and how it should be wired. Sorry if I misunderstood what you meant by the 5 amp add-on. Maybe I should go back and watch my own video as I'm not 100% sure what you are referring to with that.
@@ResinChemTech I’ve seen them hooked up with and without the 5 amp add on. I’m trying to figure out why/when it is needed.
My plan is running 3 of the 5 meters RGBNW WS2812b (either 30 or 60 pixels per meter haven’t decided on that) for this projects. With two 200 watt power supplies splitting the power about half way though but sharing the ground.
Ok... I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you are referring to with the '5 amp add-on'. I did go back and watch the video in case I said something that I forgot, but I don't think I mentioned anything about adding a second power supply (if that's what you are referring to)... just about power injection. If your primary power supply is of adequate size and you power inject where necessary, I'm not sure why you would need to add additional power unless you were doing a massive display (like a whole-house Christmas display) or had extremely long wire runs between pixel strips.
Are you by chance referring to the logic level shifter that shifts the outgoing data line from 3.3V to 5V?
Does this mean that if the Wifi goes out the lights do too? Or can these strips be controlled via a physical point and shoot controller?
Somebody good lord please help me. It is 4AM & I should have been sleeping 3 hours ago.
The lights wouldn't go out or change if the wifi goes out, you would just lose the ability to control them using the app. And this does not mean that your Internet goes out (Internet connectivity is not required). Your Internet connection can go out, but as long as your local wifi router or access point(s) remain up (which should be the case unless your power goes out... in which case the lights won't work anyway!), you will still be able to control the lights using the app.
But I do usually also include at least one additional physical way to control the lights. This can be either a push button that is wired to the controller that can be used to toggle the lights, as well as select some different colors/effects, or I add an IR receiver to the controller and use a basic remote for control. I have a follow up video to this one that answers a lot of common LED questions and you might find that one helpful as well: czcams.com/video/GZv5Ztj6i6I/video.html
@@ResinChemTech That reply was so good I would love to send you money for it. I am not even kidding that response almost had me
crying tears of joy after the agony of trying to figure out the right keywords to search to get to somebody who might have an answer. Do you have Cashapp/Venmo/Apple Pay?? Please say yes, you deserve money.
Why don’t you use 12V strips?
I sometimes do... it depends upon the project and use case. But 12V strips are only addressable in groups of 3 pixels and that doesn't work for some projects, like my matrix clocks, where each individual pixel must be addressable. Plus, most ESP board that are used for the controller are 5V, meaning that I have to add a step-down converter from the 12V power supply. And, as a general rule, 5V LED strips are slightly cheaper for the same length/number of pixels.
However, in some cases, 12V are a better fit... like for my Christmas tree, where I could have more pixels with fewer power injection points. Again, it depends upon the particular project.
@@ResinChemTech I’m starting to understand better the various intricacies. Thanks. I want to run a 10ft strip under my new TV console that floats 8” above the floor. I can fish the wire in and hide components inside the cabinet (not sure if I need to use U channel or just glue it w/3M tape). And also possibly another strip behind my 85” TV, but because of the size I may need close to 5.5m strip. With 5V I’m worried about voltage drop and bulk of power supplies. And I don’t have much space behind the TV which is already fixed and and has
@@ResinChemTech not many mention this in their videos but I also learned that the reason 12V strips group 3 LEDs together is that the native voltage of an LED is 3.3V and by grouping them together they split the 12V by 3. 24V strips group 6 LED for the same reason.
@@ResinChemTech another thing I learned is Wattage and Amperage. You always mention that each pixel needs 0.06A and to multiply the number of LEDs by 0.06 to determine the size of the power supply. But that’s only for 5V strips. But strip specs usually say 0.3W per LED. Isn’t it better to take the wattage then divide by the voltage to arrive at Amps? This way you get different results for 5V and 12V no? Or do we need to account for the fact that 12V strips are grouped in 3s?
There are a lot of different ways to approach this, depending on your needs and/or wants for the project. In terms of the 10' strip, if you are using something like WS2812b 60 pixels/m LEDs, that's only going to be around 180 pixels, requiring something like 10 A (give or take). You can get the smaller (what I call) brick style 5V power supplies in 10A, as opposed to the larger "transformer" style. And at only around 180 LEDs, you probably won't need to worry about power injection. And of course, if you drop down to 30/pixels per meter strips, that cuts everything in half.
The longer 5.5 meter strip around the TV is an entirely different matter. If using 60/m strips, that's around 330 LEDs... and you will definitely need power injection... probably just at the end of the strip (as well as the incoming power at the beginning) and around a 20A power supply (meaning the larger transformer style). But if you are running the strip around the back side of the TV, then chances are the beginning and end of the strip are going to be right next to each other, which makes power injection pretty easy.. without the need to snake long wires from the power supply to some remote point. Again, if you drop down to only 30/m, you are only looking at somewhere around 15 A (which you can find a handful of these in the smaller "brick style"). And at around 160-170 LEDs, you may not even need power injection.
Or... again, you could simply use 12V and step down the voltage to 5V for the controller(s) using a step down buck converter (I have a sample wiring diagram for doing just that in one of my blog articles: resinchemtech.blogspot.com/2023/01/wiring-diagrams.html
And another option is to simply buy a prebuilt controller. The ones I recommend are from Quindor over at Intermittent Tech. These work with both 5V and 12V LEDs and power supplies, and come with an ESP32 preflashed with WLED: quinled.info/pre-assembled-quinled-dig-uno/ (this is what I used for my 12V Christmas tree).
So, you have a lot of options for either 5V or 12V. It just depends on your particular design, install location and desired effects. Hope that is helpful!
Wondering if I could get your professional advice on a bigger project on a more personal platform. Do you have an email or discord?
Could you provide a general idea of the project? I may or may not feel "qualified" to offer any real advice, professional or otherwise. And while I'm always happy to answer a few questions and try to help someone out with a project, please understand that my free time is somewhat limited due to my own projects and other responsibilities.
While I do have a Discord account and private server, for obvious reasons I do not want to publicly list them here in the comments. Let's see what we can accomplish here first, then if necessary we can find a way to continue the discussion on another platform.
@@ResinChemTech So my wife is turning 40 this year and I was thinking of making some marquee numbers or letters about 4 feet tall. The traditional way to do those is with light bulbs but I’m thinking of using LED to have some fun. I’d really love to light up the letters with effects like a sound equalizer bar moving top to bottom. However I think that would be way to costly, power hungry, and idk how to program so the lights will all reach the center of the letters at the same time having gaps. I thought about doing a single sound strip around the inside edge facing the inside to light up the letters and smooth out the glow to prevent a dotting look but I think it would also make the lights look very dim. I also would love to have a nice amount of LED lights but I understand it could be overwhelming. Any advice or tips on this would be greatly appreciated. If this might be too much for my brain I could always just rent finished marquees with the traditional white light bulbs but I feel this could be doable.
Sounds like a cool idea.. and probably not as difficult as you might think. You can do this without any real "programming" as the WLED firmware on the controller can provide well over 100+ effects, including reversing directions, dividing the strips into "segments", etc. There's also a sound-reactive version where the lights react to sound. Power requirements might be high, but depending upon the LED strips and density you select, you can estimate around a max of 18A per 16 1/2 feet of LEDs for the 60 LEDs/m variety.
I have a couple of other videos you might take a peek at that aren't exactly what you are wanting to do, but are both similar in concept:
Hexagon LED Panels: czcams.com/video/lNcsT5DZjAM/video.html
Magnetic Letters: czcams.com/video/JlK5LtIt_jQ/video.html
Another challenge would be if you are going to install this outside. That does add a lot of complexity and effort to assure all the strips and electronics are water tight. Tell you what... if you want to discuss further, you can find my email on the 'About' page of my channel (it says 'for business inquiries'). If you want to email me and provide your Discord ID (name + #xxxx ), then I can reach out to you on Discord and we can chat in more detail. Just mention this project in your email so I recognize it. As you can probably guess, I get a lot of email to that account!