# ESP 32: data wire legth **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672 "2023-10-29T20:03:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fatecasino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@fatecasino](https://wled.discourse.group/u/fatecasino)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672/1 "2023-10-29T20:03:41Z")
I have connected the data pin to the SK6812 leds with a 0.5m wire. At the beginning I have added a 470Ohms resistance and I get a lot of sparkles and glitches. I bypassed the resistance and I get just a glitch every a couple of minutes. Does the length of the data wire affect the performance? Should I skip the resistance altogether and use a sorter wire to improve the performance? ---
**Author:** ![Logdin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b487fb/32.png) [@Logdin](https://wled.discourse.group/u/Logdin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672/2 "2023-10-29T20:18:44Z")
You’d want a shielded wire for long lengths on a data wire. Also make sure it’s not twisted with any other wire as every wind introduces impedance. ---
**Author:** ![fatecasino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@fatecasino](https://wled.discourse.group/u/fatecasino)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672/3 "2023-10-29T20:23:49Z")
Thanks! I did not know that twisting the cable would increase the impedance! Hence the source of my problem could be mainly due to the noise I get in my data wire? If it’s that then should I leave the 470 Ohm resistance as is to protect the first led chip? ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://wled.discourse.group/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672/4 "2023-10-29T23:55:09Z")
Skip the resistor and think about adding a level shifter. ---
**Author:** ![bkflamer](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/wled.discourse.group/bkflamer/32/6166_2.png) [@bkflamer](https://wled.discourse.group/u/bkflamer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 7:22am UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672/5 "2023-11-01T07:22:38Z")
Sorry for the simple twisted wire cable question . If i used both twisted pair to send the same signal/power etc would you still add impedance? I’ve got lots of cattle cables around I was hoping to use up instead of having to buy new for various projects. ---
**Author:** ![divsys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@divsys](https://wled.discourse.group/u/divsys)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 11:22am UTC](https://wled.discourse.group/t/esp-32-data-wire-legth/9672/6 "2023-11-01T11:22:20Z")
As far as power for your strip is concerned, you only need to worry about the **resistance** of the wire being used - that translates to wire gauge - due to the voltage drop caused by current through that wire. As far the data line goes, twists and/or routing can have an affect on the data stream depending on how long the run is. Look at the KB: [Long data lines](https://kno.wled.ge/advanced/longdata/) for more info. Remember - data wiring is not the same as power wiring, that have different requirements.