WLED for $3.26!!

[@razthelizardking86]

Mister you just saved me from dealing with a pain in the @$$ every time the power goes out, I have around 6 wled proyects in my house each one running with an esp8266 and every time the power goes out or I disconnect the power cord when the power comes back my strings only turn the first 2 leds on, one white and one green (I don't know why this happens) and I have to unplug the data wire from the D4 pin, push the reset button and plug it again to the D4 pin then the string turns yellow in order to finally change to my favorite preset in the WLED app and all of this process I do it with each one of them!!! Like I said a huge pain in the @$$ but now with that simple tip you gave about the apply preset at boot option in the wled app you saved me sir, thank you very much new subscriber

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for subscribing! Welcome to the family!

[@copperthedergy]

These D1 Mini-style microcontrollers are by far my favorite way to control these LEDs, they are all based on the ESP-8266 wifi chip. I encourage you to look at ESP-32s as well, its like the jacked-up cousin of the 8266, with way more usable pins (you can only use about 2 or 3 pins on the 8266 to control pixels directly - where the ESP-32 is not limited in that way)

[@handydadtv]

If I need more than one pin, I’d use a Dig Uno (or Quad). The D1 is perfect to drive a single strip.

[@CubbyTech]

Always a good idea to use a power supply that can supply the full string wattage. The USB phone chargers often max out at ~1.5A or 7 watts. A computer USB port usually maxes out at 1A or 5 watts. In this example, a Raspberry Pi power supply is ~2.5A or about 13 watts which is perfect. You need a little extra to run the ESP-32 :)

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for the tip

[@mikentx57]

Thanks a lot You make jumping into working with LEDs much easier.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@abdultairu]

Thanks for sharing your work. I have been using D1 Mini (Wemos) ESP8266 for my entire for more than five years using a custom PCB with a level shifter that makes connection between 3.3v and 5.0v ESP8266 pins easier so the ESP8266 is not bricked.

[@handydadtv]

Good idea

[@74357175]

Very helpful! You know you can increase the max power in wled. 50 chips at full brightness is easy more than the default 850 mA

[@handydadtv]

Yes, that’s why the white didn’t get brighter when I turned up the brightness. I should have explained that. Thanks.

[@m3rdpwr]

Nice little project.

[@handydadtv]

And so easy to do

[@joetek]

I've been using Wemos D1 Mini's (NodeMCU) for a few years now, and find myself buying them by the dozen! They are great little processors with built in Wi-Fi for all kinds of projects, including WLED stuff. I'm experimenting with the fairy lights this year for the first time as house lights on the roof gutter, really just to see if they last the winter. They seem a bit fragile.

[@handydadtv]

I’m not sure if they’re rated for outdoor use. The insulation on the wires is just a thin coating of varnish. And the pixels themselves may get brittle from the sun. Let me know if you try it.

[@joetek]

@@handydadtv The ones I got off of Aliexpress say that they are IP67 and rated for -20 to 50°C, but yeah, the thin coating doesn't look too durable. I'm skeptical, but they were cheap, so I figured I'd try it. They've been on the roof for a couple of weeks now, and so far so good, but we'll see what happens as we get further into the winter. I doubt they'll last more than one season.

[@joetek]

@@handydadtv Update: Yeah, they didn't even last till Christmas! After 4 weeks, they started flickering and not getting the signal through to the end of the strip, and after 5 weeks, they won't even turn on.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I was considering the same thing next year.

[@michaelweston8569]

Take a look at WS2811 pixels. They work in the same way as the ones in this video but are perfect for outdoor use. You can find plenty of demo videos on KZbin. Some home installations are insane, using thousands of these lamps.

[@harasson0914]

This was an awesome video. Thanks so much.

[@handydadtv]

My pleasure

[@notsurt]

AFAIK the D1 Mini has nothing in particular to do with NodeMCU. They just share the same brain in the ESP8266 based ESP-12 module.

[@handydadtv]

True. Any ESP8266 or ESP32 will do.

[@WooderBoyProductions]

Great idea. Again wled is amazing.

[@handydadtv]

👍🏻

[@ybz-bi5dj]

Nice, a very good tutorial thx

[@handydadtv]

Glad it was helpful 👍🏻

[@JulietsDiner]

Could you make a video on how to connected RGBCCT 5050 RGBWW led strips with ESP8266 and WLED? I can’t find directions anywhere.

[@handydadtv]

No sorry

[@marcocecchini5516]

Buongiorno, si possono collegare insieme due file di led? Come vanno fatti i collegamenti? GRAZIE

[@handydadtv]

👍🏻

[@richardcdldriver]

Great information

[@handydadtv]

Thanks

[@ceb515rulez]

Is there a new link for these? The one in the description is no longer available.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for letting me know. I fixed it. handydad.tv/rgbf

[@christophehumblet9342]

merci from france

[@handydadtv]

Mon plaisir

[@VjSky]

You could go with esp01 even cheaper

[@handydadtv]

Good point. But you need to tack on the cost of the USB transceiver to program it.

[@bulletdancestorm554]

Nice, i suppose a 5v power bank would work on this?

[@handydadtv]

Yes indeed it does!

[@Sudzlada]

Just ordered the controllers and a BTF string of 20 pixels. With the controller outputting 3.3v, is there any reason that the 20 pixel string would need to have power injection or is the power output of the board enough to drive them? Thanks!

[@handydadtv]

The strings will get 5V; the data pin outputs 3.3V. No power injection needed for a single string.

[@Sudzlada]

@@handydadtv Excellent! I appreciate the reply. Looking at making a little lamp for my daughter using WLED to drive a schedule to help her get ready for school in the morning. This seems like a pretty solid solution.

[@sahildave2464]

can we set brightness for each led in the array?

[@handydadtv]

Yes, by reducing the RGB colors closer to zero (black).

[@hiimbob8858]

What if you have 5 pin leds

[@handydadtv]

I’ve never seen 5 pins.

[@redhytech]

WLED sucks. it is very limited on colors and EFFECTS. I did find a few tid-bits of your video helpful. the saving the preset and setting it to default on boot is very useful. but since WLED has updated to 15.X most of the menu has changed.

[@handydadtv]

Millions of people wouldn’t use anything else.

[@redhytech]

@@handydadtv most people don't explore what things can do or not do. they are simply satisfied with what it does. Wled does somethings just fine, sure it has a range of color combos you can use. sure it has a selection of patterns you can choose from. but it does NOT allow the user to pick the colors or patterns that are NOT on it's list. NO CREATIVITY allowed. take ARUA for instance nice effect but I don't like the colors... it wont allow the user to change the colors. it would look good with a blend of Oranges and purple colors, but it only shows a blend of blueish green. I'm not even going to get into the whole ESPXX chips.... took forever to get one connected to my Galaxy S22,,, they finally updated the phone and now it works but DUDE, that was frustrating as ,,, you know the thing.

[@handydadtv]

@redhytech What are you suggesting as a better alternative?

[@redhytech]

@@handydadtv yeah,,there is the problem.. FastLED can do some things but it's hard to learn. I have not figured out how to use NeoPixel, and there is VTeck or Vortec or something but it looks hard as Hell to learn. I have messed around with FastLED on a few Arduino Nanos... it works but it is set at one option... meaning you can't change the number of pixels or the RGB value or even the pattern without rewriting the code each time.. what a pain.

[@handydadtv]

@redhytech Sounds like you haven’t found a better solution than WLED.

[@vipalsharma4120]

FAIL WLED ,WHEN SUPPLY 5V DISCONNECT AND AGING GIVE 5V DISPLY WS2812 IS PLAIN ALL LED GLOW

[@handydadtv]

🤨