Hi,
I have really long wires from controller to 1st led strip ~26m. And yes, I’m aware of data issues over long data lines.
One of the solution to avoid using really thick wires is to use higher voltage and step down buck converter on receiving end.
But I’m curious if can use setup–up converter on power supply end to increase voltage and get desired voltage on receiving end? I rather have all electronic components in one place.
That would be a bad idea. If some of your LEDs were to stop working the voltage would likely spike and either kill the others or cause a fire. It may work but is not a very good solution. Over volting the system and hoping to use the resistance of the power wire to drop the voltage back to the correct voltage is a poor solution.
Didn’t think about that, agree bad idea, change in a current will affect the voltage
you can use a levelshifter on BOTH sides and work with lets say 24V for 50meter
CPU 3.3V → Levelshifter 24V – 50meter --Levelshifter 5V → Ws2812b
this is very cheep and easy to use
You could use a voltage boost followed by a long range buck converter, but what’s the point?
You might as well just buy a 24V supply and use the buck converter at the LED end.
There’s no point in paying for the losses in boosting the original voltage when you can just use a higher voltage supply bus.
I do this for a number of my longer installs.
It lets me keep the power bus wire in the 18-14AWG range and still supply 500-750W over a good distance.
For a longer run like you’re describing, think in terms of 4 or more injection points (plus one more for the ESP32) using 24V->5V buck converters.