Seeking advice about component selection for WS2812B WLED strip

1

Hi, I’m looking at this strip:

And need help finding a suitable controller and possible power supply (trying to keep overall cost low though so if there’s a PSU that comes close but might not run the whole thing on bright white that’s ok).

Which controller would be best?

Is it possible to supply the necessary current via USB-C on the first option? If not what’s the best PSU option?

Thanks in advance!

2

Hey Mark,
Welcome to the Forums!

We have a great guide about WLED here to help you get this project up and running, the board being used in that guide is the FireBeetle ESP32 IOT Microcontroller which is a cheaper variant of a WLED capable board you might want to have a look at.
As for the power requirements, there are definite issues, from what I can tell with a LED strip 5 meters long with 30 LEDs per strip, you would require 9A to run it to its full potential, which is a crazy amount of power, from what I have been reading from others even USB-C PD isn’t going to reach quite that requirement. Sorry, I can’t give a solid answer, but I hope that information helps a little bit.

Cheers,
Blayden

3

Thanks for that! The firebeetle looks good. Not sure where you get 9A from - your own website lists the current for that strips as “Current requirement: ~1.1 A/metre (Full-brightness white)”…

We can always start smaller and extend later, that’s the beauty of these strips anyway. I think I have enough to go on. Cheers!

4

Actually - another quick point that needs clarification - in the article it states:

“As a first note, the max current you want to be pulling through an ESP32 Development Board Chip is ~1200mA.”

If I have an external PSU that just directly wires to the + and - on the LED strip right, with the ESP sending the control signal? Or does that current somehow get regulated through the chip?

5

For suggested wiring configuration and electrical characteristics of the LED chips, see: WS2182B

The FireBeetle ESP32 IOT Microcontroller can easily supply the required current for the data input of the array. Your installation will require a separate supply for the power input of the array. Note that the grounds of the two supplies must be connected together.

6

Yep makes sense. Ok great thanks for the help!

7

Hi, I’ve received my kit but the firebeetle isn’t firing up the LEDs. Can you please let me know which pin to connect the control signal to? It’s not immediately obvious.

8

Any of the GPIO ports 2 to 12 are available for devices. The port you select will need to match the code you are using. What is the example project you are following?

9

Thanks.

I was following the example project Core posted on their site but it uses a different board. In the end I managed to figure it out using the wiki here: FireBeetle_ESP32_IOT_Microcontroller(V3.0)__Supports_Wi-Fi_&_Bluetooth__SKU__DFR0478-DFRobot

Cheers!