Sorry to keep asking questions here, but I’m almost done with this big build and I have one more question.
My build has 8 different LED strips connected to 8 different pins on the ESP board. Most of them are working fine, but 2 are flickering/flashing white every few seconds. (See video)
I originally had the ESP board inside the sphere, and thus had less connection points, then I ran into heat issues so I moved the ESP board outside the sphere and added about 3 feet of wire. I’m guessing I have a bad connection somewhere in there.
I don’t think cable length or gauge is an issue because most of the strips are fine. I must just have a bad connection point on those two. Currently it goes through 2 soldered connections as well as the header pin on the ESP and a JST connector at the strip. The 2 soldered connections were added when I moved the ESP board out of the sphere.
I’m assuming the 8 data connections from WLED go to A1-A8 and B1-B8 go to a resistor and then on to the LEDs, right? I would also send 5v to VB and ground to GND. Do I need to connect VA and OE?
Or you could buy one of the kits that come with several different values. Note: Many don’t include 33ohm so check specs if you decide to get a kit of resistors.
yes, but be mindful that breadboards very often make poor connections and you may still see problems. Just a little wiggle is enough to make things flicker when using them.
Is my diagram correct? Data comes in from the 8 data pins on the left and goes out through screw terminals on the right. The power is distributed around the edges of this board. Rows A-E and F-J are bridged on the back of the board but I would cut the traces where the resistors are. Is where I’m placing the capacitor correct?
Looks good. If you can keep your Esp close to the shifter that would be ideal. By that I mean within a few inches and not wires running like a foot or something lol.
The bypass cap is meant to bypass the ground and power traces on the PCB by connecting directly between VCC and GND pins on the chip. If you connect the ground end of the cap through the ground traces like that then it no longer bypasses them and is a lot less effective. A better way to put it would be between F10 and E10 and then run short jumper wires to the VCC/GND pins on the chip.
Oh ya the ESP will be right next to the level shifter. If I can find 8 outputs in a row I’ll just put a socket on the board and pop the ESP board right into that.
Does voltage and ground still connect to the perimeter of the board in the upper right? And does ground still and voltage still connect to connect to all the same places I have it on my diagram in addition to the capacitor jumpers?
I’m just not used to connecting ground and voltage, usually that results in
Yes, voltage and ground still connect to the power supply normally. The capacitor “bypasses” these at high frequencies by storing charge locally that can be provided near-instantly when the level shifter switches from low to high. Without it, additional charge must travel from the power supply and so voltage will dip during switching, distorting the output signal. The key part though is that the charge is stored locally, and ideally very locally, so you put the capacitor as directly between the chip VCC and GND as possible.
Addressable strips are fairly forgiving, so bad capacitor placement is usually well tolerated, but its not hard to do correctly so I always recommend doing it right.
Sorry to keep posting, I’m just on a trip and away from my project so all I can do is plan for when I get home. I think this updated drawing is correct based on what you recommended. Can you take a look @saratoga? Thank You!
