Ah... thanks! I knew there had to be a way, but hadn't looked into it. As I said in the video, I actually was filming the matrix for another video and just opted to upgrade WLED to see what the new matrix support looked like. What I filmed was really my own "first look" as well. But I will go back and try using the segment name to modify the text.
Just confirmed that this works! So thanks again! I'm going to pin this comment in hopes that others can see it if they have the same question (or answer). And just for reference for others, if you want to return to the default date/time, you can just remove the segment name.
@@ResinChemTech You can also POST a json request to ip/json with payload {"seg":{"id":0,"n":"Your text up to 32 characters"}} to change the scrolling text.
You are welcome! The WLED developers continue to make improvements and additional effects and control for matrices, so it there is even more than I showed in this video with the original matrix-supported release. Thanks for watching and taking time to leave a comment!
Ok, I have to tell you, I have seen your matrix and understand your use cases but never have I wanted on. This might have changed! Thanks, I better put one in the 2023 budget now! Happy New Year and thanks for all the effort you make for us your subscribers!
Ok so now I have commented on changing the text and I see you know how. This seems important to me. Maybe a follow up video as I would like WLED to be able to receive the text I want from Home Assistant I could be wrong and have no life and watch RU-vid videos last morning of the year but I think you might even have the make of a video short. Make a quick short to cover how to change the text and then maybe in the future you can show us how to send text strings or a variable from HA. Perhaps with MQTT 😊
I hope they expand on the 2D matrix designs as they aren't all squares and rectangles with LEDs all at 90 degrees to each other. I've just made some hexagon matrixes and this would help expand their use.
hi my learned friend. I pulled another all nighter on this problem. 3rd night. I have absolutely No clue what I'm doing. I remember basic programming back in the long lost day... But after subscribing to what I call "bumble bee logic" I actually managed to compile a wled.bin wuhooo.. Now this may not be an achievement to the majority as I don't talk code fortran c++ or anything like that. I'm still on English 101. Anyways.. Truley if I can do it.. Many of those who think they can't.. really can.. (that makes sense right..?) Now flashed my resulting hard work lol onto 4 esp32s..with wled 14 with sound reaction. That's all I wanted and that what I got. And yes in the end it was relatively easy.
Congrats! I think you've found out the same thing that a lot of us have. You don't have to be an electrical engineer (or advanced programmer) to do a lot of these DIY projects. You just need to be able to follow some instructions, be prepared to make some mistakes along the way... but more importantly, be willing to just try it! That's pretty much how I've learned everything regarding DIY electronics, home automation... and heck, even how to make RU-vid videos! It's just by watching or reading how other do it... then be willing to try it myself. Congrats again... you've now done something that I haven't... compiled your own WLED .bin file!
@@ResinChemTech thanks for the pat on the back. Its was very frustrating.. Looking at many vids and txt on many a page and no single one led me the way. I had to collate it all and take 2 step back 1 step forward etc.. Then after I stopped hitting myself with the stupid stick suddenly made progress with no debug errors. And in the end all I had to do was literally add 2 short lines for sound reactive usermod. (it was then I realised I'd wasted 2 other nights filling my ashtray and spinning the top of a Captain Morgan bottle. Maybe the captain was in my way.. Lol) We live.. We learn.. We share.. So if anybody wants to know how Ill do my best to level up anybody who asks..
I was playing with this over the holidays and found that if the 2d is set up in WLED and you connect to XLights and run a show it gets confused and reverses half the image displayed to get it to work I had to change WLED setting to single strand (turn off 2d matrix) hopefully this is corrected by WLED or XLights as it’s a pain changing the settings reset controller depending on program used
Yeah... I think you'll see a lot of updates to WLED and the matrix support down the road. As I mentioned, this version is still technically in beta. I suspect substantial updates to both the number and type of effects, but also in terms of how you interact with some of those features (such as updating the scrolling text). I know matrix support has been requested, and in the works, for quite some time. And I suspect it will just continue to improve from here on. It's a great start, but there is still some work to do. Thanks for taking the time to watch and post a comment!
Same here: I have a 32x22 matrix, controlled by XLights. Changing the WLED settings back to "1D strip" has fixed the issue, so all fine. I'm super happy seeing WLED developing such way, text scorlling is a massive advantage for me. Even if it does not reach the complexity of XLights, it makes possible for me to create a portable, mobile-controlled text scrolling board with ease, not requiring a PC (I'm not an expert of programming) and also making it possible to run it from a power bank (3A@5V gives me enough brightness with my current board for an indoor / moderately light outdoor setup, especially at night, when I typically use it). If I could ask 1 thing from WLED developers, that would be the live preview function (at least on PC): configuring scrolling text is a bit difficult by changing back-to-back after each amendment (my LED matrix is on the other floor, hence I can't see it from my PC). Hope we can have it soon :)
Nice job as usual. It seems the scrolling text thing is important and it is probably the only reason I would want a matrix. You acknowledged it was widely asked for. I watched and thought there has to be a way to change the text. I see in the comments because I looked (not sure the pinning did anything for me) but I see you know how to do this. Honestly, I think I would edit the video putting a note over the area in video saying “you since learned you can change text. See video comments” and then edit the comments to reflect your discovery. I know you and you will probably reply to this before I can send you message other way. I think you might find your devotion to your subscribers a bit taxing with questions on text. Like my next question and not a comment…
This particular matrix has 2 separate controllers that are switched with a toggle. Both are ESP8266, but one is the WLED controller that I show in this particular video. The other is the controller that runs the matrix clock, scoreboard, counter, etc. I have videos on the builds of both... and each video has a link in the video description to a blog article that has all the wiring diagrams and step-by-step instructions: WLED - Build your own WLED controller: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ifv6wV3Rm6A.html Matrix Clock, Scoreboard and More: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uV_HQpqIp2I.html Again, you can check the video description for links to the related blog articles. The blog article for the second listed video also has instructions on how to build the matrix itself. Let me know if you have follow up questions!
@@ResinChemTech I have the: D1 Mini ESP32 ESP-32 Am I allowed to connect only 3.3 volt voltage to this one ❓. But the stripe or LED matrix needs 5 volts. Do I need the "Logic Level Shifter" there ❓. And how would I have to connect all this then ❓
From a power/functional standpoint the ESP8266 and ESP32 dev boards (including the minis) are the same. Both require 5V to power and both output data signals at 3.3V. So, regardless of which you are using, you need 5V to power the board and I would recommend using the shifter to boost the data line from 3.3V to 5V before sending to the LEDs in either case. The ESP32 is simply more powerful/faster then the ESP8266. And the GPIO pins are in different/located in different spots. But otherwise, they are pretty much interchangeable when it comes to creating a WLED controller as far as power requirements and data signal voltage.
@@ResinChemTech Sorry if I have so many questions 😉 Ok could you possibly make a circuit diagram how to get shown e.g. with the "Fritzing Software" ❓How to connect the two would have to be ❓
As I mentioned in my other reply, I cannot post images or attach files in the RU-vid comments. Did you look at the blog articles from the videos I linked to above? Both of these blog articles have the wiring diagrams you are asking for. Wiring diagrams here: resinchemtech.blogspot.com/2021/01/building-your-own-led-light-strip.html and: resinchemtech.blogspot.com/2021/04/ws2812b-led-matrix-clock-scoreboard-and.html
Sorry... I don't know of a particular tutorial. But if you haven't already, you might check out the usermod folder in the WLED Github repo. There is information... and a lot of examples there... of how to modify and add your own mods to WLED: github.com/Aircoookie/WLED/tree/main/usermods
I can't say for sure, but I don't see the max7219 listed as officially supported on the WLED official site ( kno.wled.ge/basics/compatible-hardware/ ). WLED does support LED strips that use two pins (clock/data), but it looks like the max7219 uses 3 pins? I'm not familiar with that particular matrix (mine is simply a series of WS2812b strips), but you might want to check on one of the WLED forums or Discord channel. If it's not supported now, there is always a chance it might be in the future. I think we will see a lot more support for matrices added down the road with these latest changes. Thanks for watching!
The code for the clock can be found here: github.com/Resinchem/LED-Matrix-Clock_WS2812b There is also a separate video specifically on the matrix clock: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uV_HQpqIp2I.html
I've been trying to figure out how to handle a large matrix mainly for text and "sprite" with various effects to the text. I didn't want to use a 2nd controller or server to command the text live, perhaps defining a script file that would be read. WLED might now be the package I need, especially when it has multichannel support. My matrix after all is going to be 300 horizontal 16 vertical.
Yeah... that's why the other mode of my matrix (the clock/scoreboard/text mode) does have it's own controller. To display text and create some basic effects, I ended up having to write my own controller code. But since it uses MQTT, I can send text to it from pretty much any source (such as a weather service for the outdoor temp). Theoretically, the controller could also pull text from an external source as well. I don't think WLED will be able to duplicate those types of functions any time soon, but just being able to do scrolling text is a major upgrade to WLED in my opinion. Just out of curiosity, what LEDs are you using for your panel? 4,800 is a lot! Just curious about the type of LEDs and the resulting power requirements.
@@ResinChemTech I'm planning on using 16 of the BTF eco WS2812B 300 LED 5M strips. I haven't 100% figured out power but definitely will be feeding 5V from both sides of each strip, possibly even in the middle. For testing I'll be using the 5V output from an old PC power supply but probably will get a dedicated 30A 5V supply. I'll have WLED set with a power limit. My plan is mostly text on black My dad currently has three 15ft canvas banners with fixed strip LEDs for letters, one has Merry Christmas, one Happy New Year and a third I think says Thank You for Memorial Day. I wanted to make one that is universal and could be more animated and include a bit of sprite graphics.
Oh yes, I'll have to use multi channel to bring down latency but I understand WLED can combine the channels into one virtual strip. Not sure yet how many channels with combined rows. I'm still trying to figure out the physics of mounting the strips since the length is over 16ft. Might need my dad to make a canvas 12 inches by 17ft.
Sounds like a cool project, but be sure you are calculating both your power needs properly. While I always use 60 mA/pixel as a safe estimate for full bright white, even if you drop that down to 45 mA for the eco version, you would be looking at something like 216A for lighting all the pixels on full brightness! Now, granted, you probably won't have all the pixels on simultaneously on full white, but I fear that 30A may be way underpowered and force you to run the matrix on a significantly lower brightness (or risk overtaxing the power supply, leading to a shorter life). I'm not using the eco version of WS2812b, but I'm using a 40A power supply just for my 25x16 (400 pixel) matrix. I always try to 'oversize' my power supplies so I don't have to fear about either lack of power or overtaxing the power supply. You might want to check out Quindor's site on power calculations ( quinled.info/2020/03/12/digital-led-power-usage/ ) . He's the creator of the DigUno and DigQuad boards, and I generally consider him one of the experts on LEDs. Of course, you are free to do as you like, but I'm just providing some suggestions based on my own experiences and to try to help avoid any potential problems you might see after the build.
@@ResinChemTech with just text and sprites where only a percentage of the LEDs are lit, mostly run at night, it might make it. But granted I do have to also consider the all LED off current draw. We'll see.
Hello can you help me with this little problem. I have make my own wled controller and I have connected 150 led WS2812B first two days working properly. After two days say the first 30 to 50 led is turn on by itself even if the switch is off. What can be the probable cause.
It could be numerous things and it is hard to say for sure. If you are seeing 30 LEDs come on... and they are orange, it sounds like the controller is rebooting/resetting. Since WLED defaults to 30 orange pixels, this is often an indication that the controller is randomly rebooting. This could be due to an issue with the power supply or a problem with either the flash or the board itself. You could try reflashing WLED and setting it up again, but if the problem continues to occur... and you've checked that all your wiring and the power supply are good, then the NodeMCU (or whatever board you used) is likely faulty. I've had this situation occur with an installation in the past, and replacing the board solved the issue. It is hard to remotely diagnose the problem. If you were only seeing 1-5 pixels come on, I'd say it is a problem with your data line (did you use a logic level shifter?)...but since you are seeing more than that, it is likely either the power supply fluctuating causing the reset, or the board is likely faulty. That's about all I'm able to offer at this point.
hello. Do you know how or can you explain how to add sound reactive through the user mods in this newest version? also thank you for your previous videos I built my first ESP 32 board and install wled with the help of your content 👍 I'd prefer to use this newer version with sound reactive instead of using the older sound reactive version of wled. thank you
Well, as I mentioned, I had only installed the new WLED just a few minutes before I shot this video, so I haven't spent a lot of time with it yet. And while I can certainly look into how to add SR via user-mod, I don't believe I can do it with this matrix, as I believe the SR requires the ESP32... and I am using an ESP8266 in my matrix and currently do not have a microphone connected, so I'd have to build a whole new controller before I could try the audio effects. I can certainly consider doing a video on how to do this, but in the interim, you can find information on how to install the audio reactive user mod here: github.com/Aircoookie/WLED/tree/main/usermods/audioreactive
I did this the other day. I know absolutely nothing about coding but managed to compile Sound reactive... And autosave. Into wled 14. Ball ache but has now become familiar enough to flash 5 esp32 the resulting bin. The thing with asking people on RU-vid they just point you somewhere else. Via links. Everybody learns in different ways. Signposting isn't always the best option. Having a platform to demonstrate this and then don't is beyond me...
also do you know how to make pixel images and have them stay on the matrix? i wanna make a few of these for the kids but if they find an image they like i want them to be able to save it and either keep in on or atleast save it so they can find it in edits
I don't think that is currently possible with WLED (WLED is obviously not my firmware and I didn't develop it). You can check the official WLED website here: kno.wled.ge/ Unless you modify the WLED firmware, you get whatever effects are included. As of the current version, I don't believe there is any option to display a custom static image without making a custom mod. As far as to your first question, I suppose it would work for a cube, but I have not attempted it. All the panels, or sides of the cube, would need to be wired to each other in series, although there is support for multiple data pins and segments. Refer to the above link for details on this. I do know that the matrix effects are currently labeled as "2D" effects... so I don't know how well they might render on something like a 3D cube. I suspect they would run.. they may just not give the desired effect. There are also some limits on how many LEDs you can run off a single controller. The recommended limits are also published on the WLED site. My current largest install to date is just over 800 LEDs.
It will work with either, but the sound-reactive version only works with the ESP32. And I'd recommend considering the ESP32 if you have a lot of pixels in your install (more than about 500), but the ESP8266 will work as well, and that is what I am using in this video.
You couldn't at the time this video was made, but you can now with the latest version of WLED. But it does require a web utility. You can see how it works towards the end of this video, where I use it to upload images: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9DqVpScO-xQ.html
You are correct that when you disconnect the power and reapply it, by default, WLED will default to solid orange for all LEDs. But this can be changed in the LED preferences. You can tell WLED what effect or preset to apply when it first boots up or receives power... and whether you want it to turn on automatically when power is applied or remain off. You might want to fully check out the options and settings before making a generalized statement that is only true if you don't change any of the preconfigured settings.
You make each one a segment and then you can set different colors, effects, etc. for each segment. You can find full details on the WLED web site here: kno.wled.ge/features/segments/