DIY RGB LED Backlit Acoustic Panels You Can Control From Your Phone!

[@JonnyEsports]

Well, here's a project I want to do now

[@LilMikeysBigPlans]

Go for it! After having mine up for a while I'm still loving them. They're attention grabbers on Zoom meetings and my wife frequently uses the 'alert' feature I added recently. In hindsight, the battery operation probably wasn't necessary as I pretty much never unplug them. Maybe save yourself a few dollars and solders if you're so inclined.

[@laurabrown7201]

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[@guardgal006]

Aww man! Want!! 😍

[@LilMikeysBigPlans]

Let's make!

[@laurabrown1474]

One of the Best Ideas of SoundProofing is "SoundProof Curtains" That Stops Outside Noise by 80% (25 Db) Tested. Check Here: livesoundproof.com/best-soundproof-curtains/

[@LilMikeysBigPlans]

Another code update for these panels. Enabled OTA for the ESP8266 so you don't have to run a cable to update them. Added a 'forward' capability. If you put the IP address/hostname of another panel in the settings page it will relay the settings to the other panel. The timing on the panels is ms based so you'd think they'd stay pretty well in sync but my two panels fall out of sync pretty quickly. At least it will keep them doing close to the same thing though. There's no checks so don't do anything dumb like self-referencing or cyclical referencing between panels... Also, added a flashing 'alert'. If you hit /alert it will flash red/yellow for a few seconds. I did so my wife can get my attention when I don't have phone nearby.

[@guardgal006]

Both awesome and hilarious 🤣

[@LilMikeysBigPlans]

Hey folks. After running this thing 24/7 for a while I've made some improvements. First, the power draw was too darn high. Using the Adafruit math, at full white each pixel uses as estimated 20ma of current. That would be 3.3 amp for my 168 pixels. After blowing diodes on the WeMos I found that they suggest sticking under 1amp on the 5.5v regulator - this would be important when powering directly off the WeMos. In addition, the charge module is also rated for 1amp. I was seeing battery drain while powered as well as a blown battery module. Now, the sketch defaults to very dim (16/255 = ~6.25%) so just over 200ma with everything lit up white. The full brightness setting is now half power so just over 1.5 amp if you lit up everything full white - which should be rare so do it at your own risk. Finally I added a few new animations and a lot more color options. Enjoy!

[@aoriver8312]

How long does the battery last on average? I want to make something similar, but I'd rather not have any cables showing. Do you have suggestions for modding this build so that it can be 100% battery powered?

[@LilMikeysBigPlans]

It will largely depend on how many LEDs you have lit up and how bright they are. I mentioned in a previous comment that I had to reduce the default brightness as I was blowing the regulators on the WeMos as it only supports 1a. Since most 18650s store 2500 - 3000 mAh you'd be looking at 2.5 -3 hours if you managed to run your LEDs at at 1a max the whole time. It's pretty easy to save power though. In reality it'll be a bit less but that's the general idea. If you run any color besides white you're saving up to 2/3 total power, if you run a pattern in which not all LEDs are lite you save power, and of course you can reduce the brightness to save power as well. When I was running off battery they would run all night without dying. As for modding, it should be simple. Just remove the charger module altogether and wire the 18650 directly to the WeMos. The ones I've used have handled the 3.3v from the 18650 over the 5v pins pretty well. You lose drain protection though, so if you forget to remove the battery it will run it down to zero and destroy it. Otherwise, the charging module provides that protection so there's no reason you can't run the circuit exactly as it is.

[@aoriver8312]

@@LilMikeysBigPlans Thanks for the info! This is very helpful. :)

[@PepperWilliams_songcovers]

Well, guess I'm not getting these. Too much work! I need a degree in physics, electrodynamics, geometry and welding! I'll just stick to regular white LED's:)

[@LilMikeysBigPlans]

Naw! It's not as bad it seems. In fact, forget the battery and controller and just wire the LEDs to the WeMos and power it off of USB. After having them for a while I pretty much never unplug them. If there's interest I can put together some getting started videos to help folks familiarize themselves with Arduino development in-general.

[@laurabrown7201]

One of the Best Ideas of SoundProofing is "SoundProof Curtains" That Stops Outside Noise by 80% (25 Db) Tested. Check Here: livesoundproof.com/best-soundproof-curtains/