📦 AMAZON’s BEST DEALS (updated daily): bit.ly/3VWZKVS 📣 AliExpress’s BEST DEALS (updated daily): bit.ly/3VwoaDW ☑ Check out my sponsor to begin your FREE 14 day trial to Aura: aura.com/chrismaher ESP32 Board: amzn.to/3uDP1ln LED Strips Amazon: amzn.to/3W98u8C LED Strips AliExpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkSuOdl 18 Gauge Silicone Wires: amzn.to/3Keoel3 Wago Connectors: amzn.to/3vgFBeF Spotless Regular LED Diffuser Channel 1m Amazon: amzn.to/47aIujz Spotless Regular LED Diffuser Channel 2m Amazon: amzn.to/3QoHeDb 5% Discount Code: CHRISMAHER Spotless Regular LED Diffuser Channel 1m or 2m Company Site bit.ly/3NHG5Uw Spotless Corner Diffuser 1m Amazon: amzn.to/3DFhRpf Spotless Corner Diffuser 2m Amazon: amzn.to/3Krqw2q 5% Off Discount Code: CHRISMAHER Spotless Corner Diffuser 1m or 2m Company Site: bit.ly/3D3yI4R Micro USB cable: amzn.to/3KhQnus Big Power Supply: amzn.to/3uGPKSK Wall Plug for Big Power Supply: amzn.to/3jCaXae Medium Power Supply: amzn.to/3KKjAeV Wire Stripper: amzn.to/3uHP4g4 ============================= Support My Channel Directly: Become a monthly contributor on Patreon: www.patreon.com/ChrisMaherDIY Buy me a Coffee: paypal.me/ChrisMaherDIY ============================== How-To Solder Video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-apSz3NXYlx8.html How-To Video for the LED Pegboard Project: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K4EzLI1fFnQ.html Link to WLED Animation Guide: github.com/Aircoookie/WLED/wiki/List-of-effects-and-palettes Link to some of my full DIY LED how-to project videos: LED Board and Batten Accent Wall: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b13VLiK7AOU.html LED Baseboard Trim: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ik8HnGxfQq0.html RGB Lamp Hack: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UNPR_98xLQY.html Corner LED Light using Pex pipes: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rIbTzUD2E4k.html DIY Govee Glide using only paper: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n9LsiQARFas.html Simple Corner LED Project: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZB5HqWhMXNo.html DIY Customizable Light Up Images: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2q_zrEcbXHE.html LED Strip Diffuser Ideas: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-09-fiWjP42Y.html DIY Hexagon Project: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t9xGyB4ahyY.html DIY Edge Lit Designs: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0_TtHkBB3vA.html DIY Black Acrylic Floating Shelves: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6csSMtV_op0.html LED Tutorials: Soldering Tutorial: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-apSz3NXYlx8.html Installing WLED on esp8266: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l8OMi7SMpqs.html Power Options for LED Strips: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KFtjf5mD6tA.html Use WLED with Govee Lights: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l0sRG1WAbq0.html Re-Use Leftover LED Strips: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ASnuk-XDVbI.html Unboxing Videos: Best Diffuser Channels (same ones used in this video): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1SKo_HdKVYA.html Lytmi Neo 2.0: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sth-EdEfSis.html Govee Lyra Floor Lamp: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NFDYz37ZoXU.html Govee Glide Hexa Panels: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UDYUvfce4tM.html Govee Glide Light Bars: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-e3jJye-fYoM.html The best way to help support my channel is to like, comment, make sure your subscribed and share my videos with as many people as you can. The other way is to use my links above as I get a small % at no extra cost to you if you buy something. Thank you all for the support!
I cannot get WLED installed on the ESP32. I am not tech savvy at all. After I download the driver do I just hit install again? Or do I have to do something with the driver I just downloaded?
Damn, this video along with the soldering guide are so well made, you managed to convince me to give it a shot. Pre built LED kits cost insane money and don't offer the same versatility... Awesome tutorials
You have made my Christmas already!! Recommend the 220 ohm resistor folks - I was chasing a wiring fault but that wee resistor fixes the data line level somehow. Amazing - soooo much easier. Hero
I've watched a lot of WLED and ESP32 RU-vid's, many leaving me with more unanswered questions than interest, but your approach is very instructional in a "hands-on" sort of way that encouraged my interest into action! I ordered my own WS2812B's and a few ESP32's to tinker with, and after some initial head scratching and a little Googleization about pin-out assignments for the different versions of boards I was able to get my first instance of WLED up and running.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! Its funny because everything you just mentioned is exactly the experience I had when first trying to get started on this hobby. I remember watching a ton of videos and being more confused lol. And I also remember when I first got it to work I felt like such a genius too lol. Glad you liked the video and glad it helped give you the confidence to dive in! Its a fun hobby for sure!!
In the video you need to make it clear that both are 5v supplies and that you fed that into the 5v pin on the esp32. Otherwise people building this will blow up the esp at least and possibly the led strips! The app is very cool!
Thank you for the great video. I used this, and a few other videos of yours, as the basis for my first LED strip project and things went smoothly. I did get hung up for a little bit as I was getting no light, until I switched the GPIO to 2 in WLED. Keep up the helpful content.
Thanks so much for watching! Lol, I do love Govee and there is for sure a place for them but I also love the more DIY options you have going this rout with WLED.
Thank you so much for your videos, not only are they very informative but you're presentation, instructions and overall content is fantastic! Look forward to watching more of your videos!
Excellent voice and presentation. May I suggest that you present the flashing and wled phone app operation, a little slower? I have downloaded/flashed about 40 ESP32s and rarely can I get them to operate on the wled phone app, the same. Once in a while, I am able to change the name on the app, but rarely. I change the name in led preferences in two locations and most of the time I don't get a name change. I was hoping you were doing something different. I especially liked your presentation on using color palettes with different effects and segments. I haven't seen that in other similar how-to videos. I hope you do more.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment and thanks for the suggestion! I must just have good luck since the phone app (android) is pretty much all I use and everything seems to work really well and I don't feel like I'm doing anything special. I wish I had some other tips on some of the issues your having! If I do another video down the road, I'll for sure slow down a bit. Thanks again!
@@ChrisMaherDIY which version are you using... I have one I've been lucky with a Esp32S v3 Nodemcu I thought it was working coz I put on thicker power wires on the chip has been working ever since ... so bought a new of the same from start put thicker power cables (than jumper cables I first tried with on first one) but sadly have had problems with this one like problems I had at first.. but clearly not related to the cables then only... sometimes I can connect for like maybe 2 hours but it will disconnect at some point other times have to turn on/off alot before I can even connect to it... I have mo idea why it isn't working... (connected to WiFi with running 5V on same power supply as the leds are on)...I might try the holding down of "boot" button.... I'm sad about this coz here in Denmark it's very easy to get this chip Esp32S Nodemcu ... haven't seen so many other chips
A well done video, one thing I would have mentioned though is to power the ESP32 and the LED from the same power supply like that, its a 5v power supply. Someone that follows this using 12v LED and a power supply is in for a not so fun surprise! An option is to add a buck converter to step down the power for the ESP Board, I have done this and have videos on it, has worked very well for me, and I only use 12v LED's these days to help combat the voltage drop for long runs.
@@ChrisMaherDIY Like you I use BTF for just about everything. I am using pretty much exclusivity the WS2815's now pretty much just the 12v version of the WS2812s. For my under counter lights, if I re-do them in the future I would like to find a good 12v LED that has RGBW with a dedicated white channel for better lighting to use for illumination and not just ambience/decorative.
Are you finding any need to add a resister for noise issues to your ESP32/8266 data pin? Also are you guys finding any issues with power surge ? Like needing to add a capacitor to that LED strip as well? Ive watched a few videos now and i havent seen that they have been added. Maybe not a requirement with a good power supply 🤔
@@stevenmoriarty6909 Off the many projects I have done, only one of them has interference issues, it is also the only one that has long data wires spanning gaps where I am not running LED's. I only have ever seen it or noticed it when I have then turned off, sometimes a random LED might turn on, to combat this my "off" setting simply sets the LEDs to black instead of off so they constantly get a new data signal to be told "off" A fuse of some sort is always a good idea in the power side. Especially 12v. The best AIO unit is the QuinLED modules it has all this built in, but they are much more expensive than a $2 ESP32 chip or something, but for piece of mind, quality, or to avoid the DIY soldering and such its a great option.
Watched this tutorial multiple times but now its my time to try it, and I cant be more excited! One question tho: my esp32 has almost all GPIO pins and no DI4.... which pin do you recommend I use for the data cable? Great Video!
Thanks so much for watching and good luck! I would say see if there is any pin with a 2 or 3 and start there. In WLED under preferences, there is the ability to tell the program what data pin you are using so you would want to make sure that is the same as the pin you do end up trying first!
You're a brave man, sharing your Google algorithm suggestions and historical searches. I'd recommend using Incognito for your own safety. You don't want someone reading those 19,000 emails you've neglected :)
Lol yeah I'm a few days behind checking emails lol. You are right though. I do need to put it in incognito for recordings. Just looks cleaner as well! Thanks for the tip my friend and thanks for watching!
Hi men, i have a problem, appers that my serial port is occupied, i tried to flash my esp but nothing works, any suggestions? thanks for this contente, it is what i was looking for to do 3 years ago.
i am having a lot of trouble with my esp32 board, its a devkitv1. It will only connect to wifi while powered by micro-usb through my pc. When plugged in to external power source the red LED on the board lights up, but it never boots up a wled server. Ive tried downloading the drivers, reinstalling wled, ive held the boot button down. To me it seems to be a board/Wled problem, but idk what to try anymore.
Hi Chris! Should I select the WS281x for the WS2815 strips? I would love to see you do a video on this model strip. Thank you for another informational and well filmed video!
Thanks so much for watching! I believe you would select ws281x for the ws2815 led strips but I believe the ws2815 led strips are 12v so I'm not sure if there is different wiring or setup in the app. I do know under led preferences there is a spot where you can select WS2815 (12) for power so I'm sure that is one setting that would need to be selected.
Sorry if this is mentioned but I didn't hear it (watched the video twice), you are using 5v power supplies? 12v and 24v would require a buck converter to step down the power to the ESP32. Thanks for the tutorial
Hey Chris, I'm trying to do a setup similar to this using 55 feet (3.25 strips) WS2811 strips using a esp32 board. Everything is connected properly but the wled doesn't seem to be working, it connects to my internet, the lights turn on but the Wled app says they're offline. I am not sure why, because they've worked before I started to put them up, everything seems to be connected and installed properly. Any help is appreciated!
Another excellent tutorial Chris, really, you make it so much easier to understand, But, as always I have a couple of quick questions if that's ok, Firstly do you have a preferred Wi-Fi board and/or brand? Second one that segment section has guaranteed that WLED is the way I'm going, I was 90% before but that's definitely sealed it for me, the question is how many segments does it allow you to choose or can it literally be each segment be 1 LED and as many LEDs as you have? As always thank you for taking the time to help. That github link to WLED is really helping,
Thanks as always and great questions! I don't have a preferred brand but the ones I link to in the description have been the ones I'm using and have really had no issues with any of them so they get my stamp of approval! As far as the segments, you can literally make each segment 1 led but I honestly have no idea how many segments the program will allow you to make so my guess is there would be a limit as these little esp boads don't have a ton of memory. But that would for sure be a good experiment to test out! Might have to try it :)
@@ChrisMaherDIY Hi Chris, again thanks pal for taking the time to answer my questions, I had to ask about brands as I'm in the UK so when I click any link it takes me to amazon but nearly always their 'currently unavailable', but I have checked and their are similar brands in the UK amazon. I will probably be using a couple of your links especially for power supplies etc, and I'll probably use the BTF they seam to be a fairly decent company, Anyway I hope you have a Good Easter weekend.
@@-djs Yeah I always forget the products are not the same in different countries! BTF is a good choice for sure. Never had any issues with any of their products. Thanks and you too!
I bought some ESP32 dev boards with LoRa but haven’t made use of them much, they have all the standard headers to connect things but also have an oled display, hopefully it’ll still work. I currently have a string controlled via old laptop to a mini 8-bit arduino and GLEDIATOR which isn’t the most efficient.
Very nice explanation! How do you clean up the power supply and esp board though? Do you put them in a case or something? Any tips for giving the power supply and esp board a clean look? Also, does WLED work for COB/FOB strips? I just ordered ws2812b COB 320 leds per meter, they look awesome. Just not sure how soldering works on those since there is only positive and negative and if the esp board works for the strip.
Thanks for watching!! In all my projects I'm generally just hiding the power and esp boards behind something. (usually a plant or a stand of some sort. Nothing special at all but its out of sight and that's all I care about! I know some people put the esp boards in like a soap box to give it some protection: amzn.to/37UZZtG That's a great questions about the cob strips! I'm not 100% sure but I would imaging they would work the same as any other ws2812b strip. Are the cob ones individually addressable? They do look awesome from pictures so I'm gong to have to try ordering some and testing out myself one of these days!!
Thanks so much! I've seen a few other videos doing that and it definitely looks super cool and something that I would love to do in a future project! So its for sure on my to do list!
Hi Chris, great work man, your videos are awesome. I have a question, maybe you can help me. I have about 35ft of addressable LED RGB IC (one long strip) and i have have it connected to a 250w 10.4A power supply that was recommended by the company. But i am getting flickering every so often, more pronounced in higher brightness. What ideas? 😔
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! I actually just did a video on this! Hopefully this will help answer the question better then me explaining it! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zbhdH-qSANc.html
I would like to construct a similar panel but would like it to be X/Y addressable to display scaled images/photos. Can you please comment on how you wired the individual strips in the matrix. Specifically, do you just cut and connect the next strip with short pieces of wire OR do you need to reverse the next strip and connected it with wires that are as long as a strip back to the previous strip. Putting it another way, Can WLED be configured to know that every-other-strip in a matrix needs to be addressed in reverse-order?
Hey Chris, I used your vids to learn how to use WLED, thx, they are great. I made a short vid of my wled project and linked your vid as to how I did it, a viewer said I didn’t have your permission, sorry about that, I removed the link and just added your name
Thanks so much for watching and for the kind words! Lol it's totally cool if you link to my video and no permission is needed :) love how the flame animation turned out! Looks amazing! It's a fun hobby to get into for sure!
thanks for an excellent detailed video, though for what ever reason I can not get past the Install WLED "Preparing Installation", even after trying the boot button option, turning off AVG security etc but still nothing....after a bit of snooping around, it may be down to the ESP32 boards I have, possibly have less than 4MB and the Install WLED web installer requires boards with >4MB....
Thanks so much for watching! Bummer you are having issues. I have only ever ran into trouble when the usb cable I was using did not support data. I had to try like 6 different ones before I found one that worked. Other than that, one time I did have a bad esp device. Maybe if someone else is reading this and they have any ideas they can chime in!
@@ChrisMaherDIY Finally got one of the boards to work on installWLED none of the pack of 3 worked but the single board worked and tried about 3 USB leads before one got it would download..
Thanks for watching! If by dual channel you mean 2 strips at once then yet. You can connect different strips to different pins and then assign the pins in the WLED settings. Thanks so much for watching!
Hi there, great tutorial👍. Got one question, is there a reason you didn’t use micro USB for power connection? You prefer to connect power directly to pins? Thanks!
Thanks so much for watching and glad you liked the video! That's a good question and either option would be just fine! I think I just liked not having to take up a wall plug for the esp device and then another one for the main power.
You forgot to tell which pins of esp32 did you use? overall best tutorial on Wled , please make more videos on LED strip types , power supplies, power injection and LED projects , your way of explaining is very nice... Thanks for video! 17-JUL-2022
Ahh your right! I used the D2 pin on the board. Thanks so much for watching and the kind words! I appreciate the support buddy!! Glad you are liking the videos!
i am installing the Wled on my ESP32 30Pins. and i did all what you have mentioned ,and my led light doesn't lighted. and at the same time i install Wled on my ESP28866 and the led light woks fine. please advice me what i have did wrong on my esp32. but i have notice when i connect the power 5 v , and the data dD2 the light of D2 on my board it lighted?
Great videos! I want use this to wire up Strips for 16 stairs. Should each strip be wired in series back to the controller? Can I wire them individually back to the controller/power supply? Just worried about future replacement in the event of a strip failure and having no access once stairs are installed. Your insight would be very helpful. Thank you
Thanks buddy! Appreciate you watching and great question! I personally would probably try wiring them in parallel back to the controller vs in series but probably a personal preference on just how I think it would look best with all the lights doing the same thing at the same time. But i have never tried splitting the data that many times so I'm not sure if there would be any issues. But running them in series would obviously allow you to have all the leds act as 1 long strip if that is more the look your going for. I wish I had some first hand experience with this but I'm just guessing lol. I think both ways should work but probably just boils down to what you think will look best and provide the most flexibility down the road.
Hey Chris, love how accessible you make your led builds and even without the ability to replicate them they’re really therapeutic to watch 😅 Just a quick question though, have you ever run across issues where the ESP has 3.3V logic out but the LEDs require 5V data input? I notice you aren’t using logic shifters but also you don’t seem to have any issues in the videos at least!
Thanks so much for the kind words! That's a great question! For the most part, if the data line is reletively short going from the esp device to the first LED I have had no issues. If the data wire is somewhat long, I've ran into issues where the data signal is not strong enough to get to the lights and the lights just kinda do their own thing. For those instances, I either used the sacrificial pixel method or put in a resistor on the line which fixed it. You could certainly use a logic shifter and that would also work great!
There is another YT video, in which someone tried an 8212 tape with and without level shifters, so 3.3 or 5V. They found that if the first LED is more than a metre (IIRC) from the controller, then the control becomes unreliable on 3.3V. A level shifter allows a much longer run for the data line, or you can use a single 2812 LED near to the controller ("sacrificial LED") which will act as a shifter, but you have to allow for that in your planning.
That's a good idea for a video! I have never looked to see what's out there but if your like me, there are certain people in my family (i wont name names lol) that refuse to use an app so a physical controller would be ideal. I'll have to look around to see what I can find!
Noob question - How do you what type of led lights you have or if they're compatible with wled? I have some left overs from a project and an esp32. I'd love to hook them if possible. I doubt they are individually addressable either. Can I still use them?
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! That is a great question and one that I'm not even sure of myself. Most of the strips that are not individually addressable are I believe considered analog. I have really never worked with those type of led strips so I'm not exactly sure if they would work. My guess is they can but since I have not tried it myself I'm not sure on the process. Maybe someone else reading through the comments might know for sure and can chime in! If I do try this myself down the road, i'll for sure make a video since I'm sure there are a lot of people with the same question!
Good afternoon, congratulations for your videos, they are fabulous. I have a doubt and if you can clarify I would be grateful. I need to put WRGB leds in a case letter. I was thinking of using the ESP32. Once configured and programmed, the ESP32 can work Offline to make a certain sequence of colors and effects, it turns on (ON with a switch ) and the ESP32 starts working and carrying out the predefined routine. Or is there another better controller for this situation. Thanks
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! That is a great question and one that i'm not exactly sure on. I think you need a wifi connection but i'm not 100% sure. Maybe someone else on here might know more on this topic than I do and can chime in. Thanks!
Awesome video, thanks Chris! How would one go about doing this for a media cabinet display case style, with say 8 open shelves each with its own strip? Just use a couple 5 conductor wago connectors daisy chained?
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! I have never used a 4 pin connector so I'm not sure how that would get wired up! At some point I do want to learn but have not had the need yet to use something other than the 3 pin individually addressable strips I've been using. Let me know if you do find a good video or website out there explaining things as I'm curious myself!
Do u need working wifi connection just router will do the work? No Internet connection is required! ? Does it work on server or localy , does it also connect via blutooth?
Thanks again for the great question. As far as I know, you need wifi connection to make it work. I'm not 100% sure but I have not figured out a way to get it to work otherwise. Maybe if someone is reading the comments and knows for sure they could chime in!
Hey Chris, love the tutorials, very helpful. Maybe you can help me with my issue, once you've connected the wires and head to the WLED APP, you press "discover lights ' and it looked like the app saw your controller immediately. What do I do if the phone APP doesn't locate my esp32 controller? when I go to Wi-Fi on my phone I can see the controller in my "Other Networks" so I know it's working, but the APP just can't locate my ESP32.
Thanks so much for watching and thats a great question! Can you access the wled controls via your computer/web? If so, I would maybe do that and somewhere under settings find the IP address. then go back to your app and I believe there is an option to try adding a device via the ip if its not finding it automatically. But yeah, it always pops up right away when I've tried so i'm not sure why it would not on your device. I'm running android. Maybe if anyone else reading this has any other ideas they can chime in!
I got an esp32 board with different pin descrptions they are all labeled with G numbers. Can i use the G4 for data the 3v3 for positive and one of the four gnd pins to ground.
Thanks for watching! I'm not 100% sure. Maybe do some digging online to see if you can find a definitive answer. Otherwise just try it and see it it works. Trial and error is what I do best lol.
Great tutorial! Well done Chris. I was wondering which is better a BTF-LIGHTING 5in1 WB5 2.4GHz WiFi LED Controller or 5 xESP32 for a room project with more than 4 x WS2812b. How many strips can ESP32 can handle?
Thanks so much for watching! I would personally go with the esp32 but you could certainly order both, test them out and see what one you like best and return the one you dont use. I've never maxed out an esp32 but here is what the specs say on the WLED website: kno.wled.ge/features/multi-strip/ ESP32 There is a maximum of 10 strips supported Contrary to the ESP8266, the pin usage does not matter on ESP32, feel free to use any available pin For perfect performance, it is recommeded to use 512 LEDs/pin with 4 outputs for a total of 2048 LEDs. For very good performance, it is recommended to use 800 LEDs/pin with 4 outputs for a total of 3200 LEDs. For good performance, you can use 1000 LEDs/pin with 4 outputs for a total of 4000 LEDs. For okay performance, you can use 1000 LEDs/pin with 5 outputs for a total of 5000 LEDs. For okay performance, you can use 800 LEDs/pin with 6 outputs for a total of 4800 LEDs. ESP32 can calculate about 65k-85k LEDs per second (that means 1000 LEDs @~70fps, 2000 LEDs @~35fps, 4000 LEDs @~18fps) 4 outputs seem to be the sweet spot.
I am a little confused The 'big' poerwupply you link to is actually not the big one as in the video, and it's 12 V So you feed the ESP32 with 12V directly? p.s. Else very nice video
There is one little step at the end that's missing. What case are you using to house the board? I want to go this route with a halloween costume that will require some LED's, I want to use wLED on the ESP32, but I can't seem to find the right project box to spap it into. Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking to run around with this in my pocket.
Thanks so much for watching! I've personally never used anything to house the board but I have seen other people recommend using some type of travel soap container which I thought was brilliant! Something like this: amzn.to/3s6QVcc
Appreciate you Chris! I’m gonna be starting my project in my room, considering your tips for Soldering, Custom Diffuser Paper, Wood builds! Quick question: Is there a way to use Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi for the Wled app to connect to the led strips? 2. if we were to connect a ESP32 Board to a normal Rgb (Non IC) would that essentially make the Rgb led into a Rgbic? Since the ESP Board programs the LEDs to Change colors on the Led strip individually? Thanks very much!🎉
Thanks for watching and great questions! So as far as I know, WLED will only work via wifi and not Bluetooth. And the esp boards with WLED are made for digital led strips and not really as much for the basic ones (non ic) so it would not work to make a dumb led strip smart. The technology is just not there in those basic strips to make it do all the fancy colors and effects.
Do you have a video on how to add an in-line switch (like a physical power button on the wiring) to a WLED lighting setup? For example, I have a single LED strip that I want to be able to switch on and off with a physical button, but also want to control the brightness and colors with WLED.
The LED strip comes with a 3-pin connector and 2 wires attached. Basically, the power cable that is attached to the led is also going to be going to esp32 is this bad?
Question- Bought everything on your list, thank you for making it easy to learn this. I designed a lamp made from square steel tubing, and I think the steel caused a short while I was testing the circuit. Now the strip won’t light past ~50th led except for a couple at about the 75th LED that just shows a dim green light. Is it possible that, if one of the resistors sparked against the steel housing, it would kill a section permanently? I’ve seen LEDs that were actually burnt out and replaced all of those sections, but none of these LEDs look bad. Some details: using the big power supply, soldered all sections in series using 18 gauge wire, and I’ve tried swapping out the controller board. It’s only about 8ft of LEDs with wire in between each section of 2ft, maybe there’s a setting I’m missing in the config? I played with the strips before beginning the project and they worked with 2 strips in series. Anyway, thanks for any insight you can give 😅
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! Bummer your having issues! That seems like a strange issue! So one time something happened and my strip no longer did anything. I tried everything I could think of and nothing got it working. I eventually tried cutting off the first led of the strip and connected the rest of the strip back and everything worked perfectly. Im not sure if you have any extra strips of LEDs but that would be the first thing I would try. Connecting your current setup to a new led strip and see what happens. If that new strip works perfectly then more than likely something happened to an led or LEDs. On the strip that is no longer working, I would probably cut off the first led that's not working and reconnect the rest and see what happens. I'm honestly not smart enough in terms of all the electrical aspects to know if the steel could have caused a short but I'm sure it's possible! Troubleshooting is never fun but I do always seem to learn something new when I have to do it! Let me know if you figure it out because I'm curious myself what it might be!
@@ChrisMaherDIY Hey thanks for the quick reply Chris, I kinda figured I’d have to keep troubleshooting. Thanks again for the inspiration to try this, I’ll let you know how it ends up.
Thanks for the videos! I’ve been learning a lot from your tutorials. Do you recommend a separate power supply for each array of controllers / leds strips. For example I have 3 separate windows that I want to surround with leds. Where I can control each one individually. Is it best practice to have a separate power supply for each one of calculate the number of leds and find a suitable power supply for that. Also, in this scenario how would I give extra power to each one if they require it.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. Glad you are liking the videos and great question! So I would say that you certainly don't need to use a separate power supply for each set of lights/controller. Running a longer distance of wires from the power unit is perfectly acceptable. Now depending on your layout and how you want to hide everything, it may make sense from a logistical/concealing everything standpoint to have different power supply's but its certainly not necessary. And if you do need to give more power to the lights, you can run long power wires from the main power source to the led strips. Hope that helps a little!
Hello Chris, thanks for this tutorial! It is very helpful! One questions: I have seen many tutorials using different pins on different esp32 boards with different pin outs. Does it matter what pin I use? Thanks!
So the software allows you to change the pin. I used the default one, but it can easily be changed, as long as you know where the pin is, as it may have a different name that what your diagram may call it.
How do you get your ESP32 board to still connect to wifi when you plug in your power supply? I have a 5volt 10 am power supply. basically the one you have in your list, but it won't connect to wifi once I use the power supply. When I use the Micro USB it's fine.
Hmm that's interesting! It should work both ways! When you use the 5v 10am supply and hook everything up does the light on the esp board turn on? I would maybe check the wiring. Make sure the gnd on the esp device is connected to the gnd of the power supply. Let me know if you figure it out!
I have a problem with my board when I connect the green wire to the D2 pin on the esp board the light doesn’t come on, but I played around but the light works when it’s connected to then Rx pin. My question is, is it safe ?
Thanks so much for watching and that's a great question! I'm not entirely sure on this one. Maybe someone else reading might know for sure and can chime in!
If you use ESP32 or ESP8266 for other purposes, you need to know that WLED will replace your bootloader and you cannot then use that ESP for any other sketches/apps, though WLED can apparently be updated (via OTA, it seems). I have not seen this mentioned in the download page, most people just want to install WLED and have working LEDs. If you attempt to upload a sketch from the Arduino IDE, then the ESP will fail to install it and might be a brick thereafter, though it LOOKS like it's polling the Wifi as is normal for WLED (onboard LED flashing). You can guess how I know. Maybe it was my version of ESP and IDE, but that's what I found. (Using Arduino IDE version 2.10, with DOIT devkit V1.)
Thank you for great videos! I have adressable ledstrips 5V and esp32 with wled for kitchen. The same stuff from your videos. Is it possible to have a motion sensor to turn it on and off?
This is killer info. Why tf every time I change my location name it never finds it it times out? Also, does it always have to be plugged in? I still can't get lights to show anything.
Thanks so much for watching. Where is the location name that you are referring to? Also, the esp does have to have power at all times. That could be via the micro usb port or the pins.
Chris, you connected the ESP without a level Shifter on the Data Line? Does this work without any flaws? I allways use a level shifter. So I'm curious, cause the pin on the ESP delivers only 3.3V. BTW: Nice work with the LED Display.
Exactly what I was wondering. Looks like the logic voltage from the ESP32 is high enough for the first pixel to read then send down the line. 🤔 I am sure the data wire can't be more than 10 to 15 cm long or it will start dropping signal.
@@marksmanaz This may be the answer: Very short cables and a little bit luck :-) Due to the nature of an ESP short wires are very simple to realize. Maybe Chris can tell us somehing about his experiences.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! I'm more of a trial and error type of tinkerer and I will generally hook everything up and see how it looks. If it looks good and works, I'll then continue with the install. Great question! For the majority of all my projects, where the controller is pretty close to the first LED, ive never needed to use anything else and its always worked great. For some projects where the first LED was a good amount of distance away from the controller I have either used the sacrificial pixel method or in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b13VLiK7AOU.html I used a resistor near the controller which cleared up the issue of the data signal not reaching the first LED. Hope that helps! What level shifter do you usually use?!
@@ChrisMaherDIY Several. Sometimes a simple MOSFET cirquit with 2 Resistors or when I'm in hurry one of those cheap breakout PCBs with 2 or 4 Channels. They work bidirectional. They all work. And I also used the sacrifcail pixel method, which is a sort of a poor mans LevelShifter :-)
Man what a great video. I would have never found the section with the Number of LED per strip. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why i only got 32 LEDs lighting. I bought 2 power supplies and 2 higher end usb chargers.. Guess i have extra power supply's for my Triangle and HEX nano leafs now
Hi...Can the board store the chosen colour combination and start it as soon the power to the board is ON without tapping the power up button on the app? Thank you
Hi Chris, I was following your WLED series, however, when i was trying to connect my led to ESP32 module. it does not show the wifi connectivity on WLED, what could be the reason?
Thanks for watching and great question! With 12v led strips you need to make some slight modifications. I did make a video going over 1 way you could set things up using the ws2811 12v strips: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zbhdH-qSANc.html
Thanks so much for watching. Its still showing available in the US at least. I'm not sure about other regions. If its not available where you are, most eps32 boards are all relatively the same and should work! I always just make sure to order from a place that has free returns in case I cant get it to work!
did i miss the part about esp pin selection ? find myself trying to pause just right enlarge count pins,,, so often these tutorials seem to be for ppl who already know things like what pins to use and why, ,, pls be more tutorial like in the future thx.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment! In this video I go over more the actual project of the led strips and getting them connected to each other in case your interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K4EzLI1fFnQ.html But basically I just connected them together using wago clips to my own soldered on wires! Thanks!
Hello, Many thanks for the video. Please can you confirm that you put (esp32 side) the red+ on the pin 5v and the black one to a pin gnd (if yes any of the gnd pin?)? 🙏🏻
