Using WS2812b RGB Light Strips

This is a beginner's overview of how to cut, splice, wire, mount and power the popular WS2812b LED strips, including info on when power injection may be needed (and how to do it).

This video covers some of the questions I've been asked in my other LED videos and focuses on the LED strips themselves. Affiliate links to all products used are listed below.

Chapter Links:
00:00 Intro
01:52 WS2812b overview
03:34 Cutting strips to length
04:59 Data signal direction
05:44 Adding JST connectors
09:23 Joining two segments together
11:54 Dealing with corners
13:14 Connecting the LEDs to the controller and power
14:50 Mounting options
16:34 Voltage drop and power injection
20:20 Selecting the proper power supply
22:44 Can I power the LEDs from the controller?
23:49 Proper powering of LEDs and controller.
24:57 A couple of other questions from viewers
26:57 Outro

Amazon Affiliate links to products shown:
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As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you.

Other Links:

#ledstrips
#ws2812b
#rgbled

[mikewaters]

Best video I’ve watched on LEDs. So comprehensive and explained clearly. Thank you for putting this together.

[dannytjon]

So helpful. I’m getting started with my first DIY LED project and you’ve really cleared up so many of my questions. Many thanks!

[chrisgallagher]

A most excellent video good sir. Thank you!

[davidlacey]

A Good video on using the WS2812b RGB Light Strips, with the wago connectors .On your video at 24:12 would you recomend adding a fuse from the power supply to the + led lights. Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year.

[mel_tillis]

Thank you very much for the excellent video and THANK YOU for using easy-to-understand English (I’m an ex-laptop and wireless product trainer from Compaq & HP, so I always take note of good demos 😊👍)! About to start my first lighting project inside my computer I just built. I would like to also light up my game-room shelves - would you share where you got the aluminum 90 degree channel with the white cover? Hoping to hear from you - thanks again!

[Halsafar]

Thanks for this. Very handy. Removed some confusion about these topics.

[Theoriginal]

I’ve not managed to put together my first product yet, but keep coming back to these as a reference guide. If you didn’t live in another country I’d send you some beer money 👍🏻

[lenp]

Your videos are extremely helpful. I’m getting ready to install a 9-foot run going down the basement stairs using a WS2812B LED STRIP. I did not yet have the strip in hand so I’m not certain how many LEDs it will ultimately entail. Since the strips will be channel mounted I’m trying to avoid power injection. In your discussion about amp requirements you multiply the number of LEDs by 0.06 to determine the amp requirements. Assuming your 5v power brick is double or triple the amps required, is there still a need for power injection?
In addition, it would be interesting to see how you connect the aluminium channels and diffusers in order to minimise light leak from the butt joints.
Thanks for all you do to educate us! 👏

[mikecraft]

Thanks - great video, I was especially interested in how to run my Arduino Nano with the power supply so thanks for that.

[dukadeke]

Great video. Can you do a short video that takes it a step further and cover what the strip looks like installed? Specifically how you conceal the wires when injecting power and how close the controller is to the strip, etc?

[richardcdldriver]

Thanks for this some very interesting information 👍

[daniellewis]

What about using fuses? Especially when using power injection. I have been repeatedly told to use a fuse between power and board, then another between power and the LEDs

[PixelArtSound]

Excellent video! Would you consider using a capacitor for the power line and a resistance to the data line to account for spikes & drops?

[cristiancircota]

What about a old pc sourse... 5v. Wires of course ..???

[caomama]

i got full circle around my room about 15 m of led strip power injected only at beginning and end

[dukadeke]

My daughter would like LEDs along the top of her bedroom walls (approx 12 ft x 12 ft). I'd like to use BTF-Lighting WS2812B strips (5V 30L/M). I'd likely use a DIGUNO controller and would likely put the lights in an aluminum channel/defuser. I would think this is a typical use case for people watching your videos. Could you do a short video that focuses less on the tech stuff and more on what the logistical layout would look like? For example, what power supply type and does it sit on the floor; where should the controller be placed (on the floor or on the wall); best place to connect power injection, proper gauge wire, and where to run the power injection lines (in the aluminum channel or outside of it, and maybe 5V is not the way to go? I would love to have WLED to control the lights, but as I think about the logistical side of it starts to make me think I am better off just purchasing over the counter lights with less controlability. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[craigvergy]

Great video. Would like to ask if you could advise the best LED set up for a 20m (65ft) length. It’s for the inside perimeter of my backyard pergola. I would like to use an RGBW strip light with at least 60 leds per meter. Can I get away with just one power transformer, or would it be better to have two connected? Thanks, Craig

[ronhurtt]

So very helpful! I commented on your controller video as well. Wonderful videos! Wanting to confirm what I think I understand regarding power injection. Power injection only compensates for voltage drop over the length of the strip. So a given power supply may be able to supply enough total current for the total strip of lights, but not get enough volts all the way down, hence the need for injection, correct? In a concrete case, if I have a run around a tv that is 13.33 ft long (WS2812B 60/m), that’s ~14.63 amps. So I will likely need both power injection and a 20amp power supply, correct? If so, any luck finding a 20 amp brick style.? Then again, I suppose I could use two 10 amp bricks and run one at the start and the other from the end and kill two birds, i.e., power inject and split the draw between bricks - would that work, or would you recommend splitting the led strips in two and power them completely separately while using a single controller and data wire?

[Theoriginal]

What would I use instead of an electro cookie board? I started with the breadboard, but powering 172 LEDs, does make think what alternatives is there?

[abukhalique]

I bought 15m of ws2812b which are 270 pixels together, it is calculated to 20amps but will it be too much for the led lights to handle?