Wled randomly showing colours

1

I use a esp8266 with some ws2812b led strips with Less then a meter

Anyway when I try to control them it goes the right colour then each led changes random colours some are off some are dim

This is not a power issue because I unplug the esp board and the led strip remains the last colour

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2

Hi Jonas,

Welcome to the forum! Can you share some pictures of your setup and an overview of what you are trying to achieve?

Some sample code would also be nice. A bit more context will help us help you!

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3

I just installed Wled from the internet 🛜

And here are some photos

image
image4032Ă—3024 1.86 MB

(this is when it’s supposed to be green)
image
image4032Ă—3024 1.68 MB

4

How is everything being powered?

5

A usb split up into wires (from a old led power wires)

Plugged into a 5v 2amp usb brick

And the esp is powered the same way but with micro usb.

6

Not wanting to confuse the back and forth with @Jack
My initial thoughts would be around the 3.3v data run from the controller to the first pixel.
While 3.3v should be fine (the ws2812b are really 5v), I have seen bounce/reflection which can then lead to invalid data

What is the data cable length between controller and the 1st led?

I have seen and used a resistor inline on the run from the controller to led (to match the impedance and reduce reflections) can fix the issue. Actual value really would vary as its to match impendence, but for testing maybe 220-330 ohm to see if it helps. (Too low a value wont seem to make any difference, too high is likely to make it worse)

edit:
I assume the ground of the controller and led power have been joined?

7

So maybe it’s the code :man_shrugging:
Some unstable variable

8

This was where my questions were going. Without that common ground the signal doesn’t mean too much.

I haven’t heard of this before, Wikipedia has a nice short article explaining it.

@Jonas269239 it would be great if you could share what you are running.

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image
image4032Ă—3024 1.88 MB

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Here is what I am running

image
image4032Ă—3024 2.05 MB

11

Hi Jonas,

Can you please share your code?

12

Hi Jonas
Looks like you are another one who uses a power bank as a power supply.
There has been lots said about this.
In a nutshell they are not and never have been power supplies. They are designed to charge something else and as such they don’t have to be particularly “clean”.

I think the general consensus is that this practice is not recommended.
Cheers Bob

13

Hi Jonas,

Another option to look into is to add a 330Ω resistor on the signal line, or adding in a logic level shifter, as others have said though its likely going to be a power supply issue.

14

I just downloaded it from Wled as a installer

15

Do you mean a power bank or a power brick?

16

So do I put a resister on the data line?

17

Its is recommended as a NeoPixel Best Practice from Adafruit, while it may not be needed, it won’t hurt at all.

18

I’m sure the led strip is fine.

I think it’s the esp.

19

I thought they were the same thing.
Cheers Bob

20

All of you were right I accidentally installed the beta of wled

But now everything works!

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