Hello everyone,
First of all, I’d like to mention that I’m relatively new to the world of WLED and LEDs, so I’m not as technically experienced as others here.
My problem:
As shown in the video, the LED strips occasionally flicker, and I haven’t been able to fix it. For the power supply, I’m currently using a variable lab power supply, which I’ve connected directly to the LED strips. The ESP32 is powered via a separate USB power supply, and its ground is connected to the ground of the 24V power supply.
On the data line side, I’ve tested several setups:
A short cable directly connected to the LED strip
330 Ohm - 1k Ohm resistor in series
Level shifter from 3V to 5V
10k Ohm resistor between data and ground
A “sacrificial” LED in series with the data line
Nothing seems to help. Regular LED strips work without any issues. I really hope someone can assist me. If any additional information is needed that I haven’t included, please feel free to ask.
I’ve tried to keep the wiring as short and simple as possible.
Currently, I’m using the TXS0108E as a level shifter, but (if I understand the thread you posted correctly) it’s not recommended. Could this likely be the cause? The flickering doesn’t seem to change, regardless of whether I use the level shifter or not.
The setup in the video consists of a sacrificial LED and a 1k Ohm resistor directly at the LED strip. This has been the best result I’ve achieved so far.
I would suggest you drop the TXS0108E as your levelshifter - they have been problematic for many users.
A 74AHCTxxx based shifter has proven to be a simple and effective solution (as mentioned above). IMHO, they’re easier to wire up and more reliable.
The use of an inline resistor on the data line might become useful if the data line is more than 1m (but less than 5m). In that case, restrict the resistor to the 33-220Ohm range.
No pulldown/other resistor is needed or desired.