Power Injection for Programmable LED Strips

[@bensessions3753]

So glad you're covering this. Love your way of showing ideas!

[@aubilenon]

Your tip to mount the LED strips to a removable frame that you can work on on a desk or workbench is a great idea. However, particularly for environmentally protected LED strips that are covered with silicone, the ability to dissipate heat can affect their lifespan. I have seen this happen in my escape room. After 4 years, a couple percent of the IP65 pixels, which were mounted to wood, have had one or more LED subpixel elements fail. So, when it's practical to do so, consider mounting them to metal instead of wood, as it will act as a heat sink

[@dave00011]

Clever idea to use the max485 boards when the esp32 is too far from the led strips, Must remember that one.

[@SmithyScotland]

My top tip when using the led strips is to not depend on the included adhesive strip. It'll only last a few months at most before bits will start pealing off.

[@alastairaitchison6787]

Yes! Very good point. I often 3d print little clips or conduit to run it through.

[@Flyguy-iy6qh]

Hi mate, I’m trying set up a small led display in the shape of a star (like an asterisk * shape). It would be 6 led strips of 20-25 leds each. I am thinking of wiring them in parallel such that split 5V power and GND 6 ways and each small strip gets its own power and ground. My question is, how do I wire the data line for this? Ideally I’d have 1 cable coming out which is then split 6 ways, but is this possible? I also read somewhere that the microcontroller and Led strip needs to share the same ground otherwise it doesn’t work. Does this mean I somehow have to share the ground between 6 strips and the microcontroller? Cheers

[@jimmacri5037]

I really like the you tube channel and all the great videos and how you explain and use diagram. I working on a project for a charity children’s elementary school haunted house it’s called pirates abyss. I’m making cannons for them. I’m using a spirit 400 W fog machine with the timer which I modified the timer with one end splitting off that has 110 V that only operates when the timer goes off with the duration around 5 to 10 seconds and then there is no active power. My issue is I want to activate a sound card, but I don’t know how to get the signal from the 110 voltage from the timer of the fog machine to trigger the sound card. I watched your video on SoundCloud and relays. I do have a sound card and I have a relay, but not sure where all the wires are supposed to go. Soundboard AITIAO 20W Voice Playback Module MP3 Music Player DC 6-35V 12V/24V Sound Board USB Downloadable Music Player 24-bit DAC Output MP3 WAV Support TF Card 32GB for Broadcast Device. And DC 5V Relay Module 1 Channel Relay Switch Relay Board with Optocoupler Isolation Support High or Low Level Trigger. So the fog timer will need to trigger the light for the cannon and activate the sound card at the same time ??? Lost and confused… Jim macri.

[@jaycee1980]

Another way to tackle it is to use a higher voltage for transmission, eg 12 or 24v, and have local DC-DC conversion down to 5v. This is in fact exactly how the National Grid works, and the reason is because power dissipated in a conductor is a function of the current flowing through it, not the voltage (P = I^2R). By increasing the voltage, you reduce the effect that the conductor's resistance has. Of course this is a bit more of a pain because now you've got DC-DC converters everywhere, but they are readily available as potted modules which are easy to use

[@alastairaitchison6787]

Yes, and that is why the 12V WS2811/WS2815 LED strips need less frequent power injection points than the 5V WS2812/13 (But also why they're less efficient, since they just waste the excess voltage as heat)

[@jaycee1980]

they probably just use resistors or linear regulators, which is where the efficiency drop is. Switching regulators can be had that are like 95% efficient, for example the Traco Power TSR 1-2450

[@PlayfulTechnology]

@@jaycee1980 Yeah, but they're hardly likely to bundle a £6 component inside every LED package! :)

[@jaycee1980]

@@PlayfulTechnology indeed though those modules cost that much, it doesnt mean they are *worth* that much ;) They are useful though, I'd recommend getting yourself some and having a play about

[@jimmacri5037]

Also do you have a Facebook page??

[@robertedlund6357]

LED strips are really useful!! Keep it up By the way…how do you mean …”do not connect the plus on both”? Then you have to sever the supply positive on the LED strip between the supplies?

[@PlayfulTechnology]

That's correct - if you have multple power supplies along the strip, DO NOT connect the positive line between them, only GND. You can just pull the red wire out from the connectors. If there is a slight difference in voltage between them, it will cause current to flow between the supplies, leading to damage, overheating, voltage instability, etc.

[@robertedlund6357]

@@PlayfulTechnology Roger that!

[@mfx1]

@@PlayfulTechnology If the supplies +Ve's are only connected together through the strip then the strip and associated wiring will effectively act as a ballast resistor so any small imbalance won't be an issue, connecting them together at source isn't a good idea though. unless the supplies are specifically designed for it. Separating the +Ve connections does mean a supply failure becomes obvious as you'll lose that section of strip but sometimes is may be more desirable to keep the installation running as normal (but maybe at reduced brightness) on a single supply until the faulty supply can be replaced. That also means you need some form of monitoring to make supply failure obvious.

[@alastairaitchison6787]

​@@mfx1If a PSU fails, I'd rather it be explicit than for another unit to silently be placed under greater strain. Also, by keeping sections completely isolated you can mix'n'match 5V and 12V LEDs (but still have them controlled by a single common data line, so seen as one strip as far as the controller is concerned)

[@dave00011]

@@mfx1 if the power supply positives are not seperate from each other then if one psu has a slightly higher output voltage this one will carry more of the load than the other. Probably better to split the load between power supplies as you want it by leaving only the negative and data wires connected together

[@LucasPace403]

Do you publish your email anywhere? Interested in a collaboration. Thanks