Hey Guys,
I love smart homes and home automation in general and happened to come across this amazing project. been coding for other open source systems for years, no idea how I missed Wled .
Since it’s my first time wiring LEDs I just wanted to confirm I’m doing it right
I need around 20M for my bedroom
I have
1 * 5V 60A PSU
4 * 5M WS2812B (300 pixels per strip) [probably gonna use less]
I am using power injecting between every 2 strips and have calculated that I have enough Amps to go around
I guess I have a couple of questions.
can the data be transferred on one line for 20 meters? if not can I send data backward from a different GPIO?
the end of the strip is right next to the controller
based on this info and the diagram, is there anything I’m missing?
I have seen certain designs have included a resistor and capacitor and others not, not really sure when and why I would need one
The only potential issue with data is the initial distance from the MCU to the 1st pixel (or single long distances between later pixels/strips). Up to 1m is usually not an issue.
You might need a level shifter to bring the 3.3V MCU output up to the 5V level required by the LEDs.
You can play with an inline resistor on data but the guaranteed method of sending TTL data over a long (5-150m) distance is with a differential pair.
Watch out for voltage drop over your injection lines depending on the current you’ll require at max brightness.
Thanks @ALDIY , I read the the article , I guess trying to understand how the capacitor and resistor help the circuit. I wired everything on the bench and all seems to work great just wanted to make sure I do it right
@Jinx thanks , i guess if I wanna add a separate data line I’ll need to run a dedicated line back to the beginning of the strip , i wish i would have know that before i stick it on the wall
@divsys thanks for responding , In what case would i need a level shifter? It currently works with 5v output .
I don’t think I need a differential since the strip is really close to the MCU but depending on how it works with the amount of leds on the same data line(900) I might add a second data line and then use a differential
If it’s working, without a level shifter don’t worry about it.
I have many setups that work just fine on a direct connect, it can be very LED specific.
The number of LEDs won’t be an issue unless you’re really particular about the fps you can get on some effects. Then splitting the strip data into 2 strings of 450 might be beneficial. You would just need to add a secondary data line from the MCU to the split point on the strip, power stays the same.
Wled allows 4 gpios for 4 different strips. They can be configured as 1 single strip or different segments. Each segment can have different configuration.
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