I have created a board called the QuinLED-Dig-Uno, a controller board with some interesting features above what most breadboard or “bare wire” setups using an ESP8266 or ESP32 have.
The most notable of these are:
Ability to use ESP8266 or ESP32
Reverse polarity input & output protection
Onboard car style fuse for extra safety
Run your power through the board and fuse (up to 15A with 1OZ copper) (up to 25A with 2OZ)
Onboard level-shifter to drive data signal at 5v
Onboard capacitors to limit in-rush current and provide stable power for quick changing effects and ESP
Two data outputs so compatible with APA102 (Next to ws2812b, sk6812, ws2815, etc.)
4x GPIO available using pin headers (Including Relay-Control and Infra Red)
Optional 12v compatibility (next to standard 5v)
Optional Dalles temperature sensor
Best about the board is that it’s designed for DIY from the ground-up so even the most novice to soldering will be able to build one themselves! It’s mostly built out of through-hole components except for some 0805 SMD capacitors and resistors which are easy with a little trick. I have detailed instructions such as a complete hardware guide, soldering guide (including video) and a pin-out&wiring guide for hooking it up available.
The basic reason I designed the board is to have something a bit more safe, easy to use and secure vs a breadboard or even a protoboard setup. Using a QuinLED-Dig-Uno you have everything in a small package with extra safety features and nice screw terminals so wires don’t come loose.
p.s. Although the QuinLED-Dig-Uno is mainly designed as a board you can build yourself, because of popular request I’m doing a run of pre-built boards, more information about this soon on my Discord, YouTube channel and Website!
Is the DigUno able to actually cut the power from the connected LED strip?
The v2.6 DigUno I have does not seem to do that in conjunction with WLED.
Even if the “Power off” button is clicked in the WLED UI and the LED strip is dark, the DigUno will still draw 4 to 5 Watts.
Is that the normal behavior?
Can this be changed in software, i.e. extending WLED?
Or would a power switch / relay functionality need a modification of the DigUno Board?
Hitting the off button turns off the LEDs but there is still more power being drawn then just what the board uses by itself. That’s because the LED controller per LED still uses a little bit of power, I have some tests of that over here.
The avoid that power draw when the LEDs are off, WLED has implemented the support of using a relay that can switch off a big power supply while keeping the board powered with a separate phone charger for instance. You can also do this on the QuinLED-Dig-Uno board, by adding this power on the 5v pin of the 5v/12v jumper position and connecting GND of both power supplies together.
For relay you can use one of those simple cheap boards and connect them using some dupont cables. There are 5v and GND pins located near Q3 to be able to connect everything easily.
There is also another way of doing it by connecting a relay in the DC path behind the QuinLED-Dig-Uno but that way you’d be limited to about 5A max.
Hopefully that explains everything well enough! I’ve written an article which explains it in a bit more detail what your options are.
Hi Quin, thanks for coming back so soon and completely!
I totally understand that Dig Uno is DIY. However - you opened it to people who don’t do DIY by selling assembled boards in China
For this line of Dig Uni I think it would be good to have a complete solution that comes with the relay already wired, or better, integrated on the board, even if the board becomes a bit longer by that.
What do you think?
In the meanwhile one can help oneself using a Shelly or a smart power plug that can cut off the power supply. that might be even more efficient, but slightly more expensive.
Well all solutions have down-sides. I chose to have the board be able to handle a lot of power safely through the board but do provide easy pins to attach a relay or button, extra sensors, extra 5v/GND points, etc…
Had I added a relay on the board itself (Like @srg74 mentions on his board) then you are limited to about 5A (maybe 10A) DC to keep it safe, and that’s not a lot at 5v. Using the external solution with 2 power supplies, you don’t have that issue basically.
So yes, although the QuinLED-Dig-Uno is now also available pre-assembled, I still expect the user to kind of understand how it works. Adding a relay like this is only connecting 3 pins with dupont cables, that’s something most people can do I think. Lots of people also play with breadboards, and it’s kind of the same thing, no soldering or anything like that needed.
I’m not against having a relay onboard, but it has to much concessions vs the easy you can add it externally at this point (and depending on connection way (AC path vs DC) not have the same limits as onboard in my opinion, but who knows in the future if I find a way around that.
Running some external plug which turns off the power is also an option of course, but then getting that setup inside of Home Assistant is going to require a little bit of extra work, triggering all the stuff when needed.
@Quindor You right about choices. As you see my board max is 10A because of relay is rated to 10A max. I will say to run safely your setup you have to think about fire hazard running more then 10A setup. That is a reason why I limit board by 10A. I recall you mentioned about your experience with high currents. All experience about my shield version is easy to assemble because of thru hole components. And people like to do something with their hands. If someone will be able to do more advanced setups they don’t need us. You can compare with a cars, different cars for different taste and some go to mechanic but some like to do with their hands.
Any way I like your board if it’s fully assembled
