Power Injection for Programmable LED Strips

In this video, I'll be discussing "best practice" methods of how to supply power to 5V or 12V programmable LED strips (e.g. WS2811 / WS2812 / WS28xx) by injecting power at various points along the strip.
Doing so prevents voltage drop, and reduces the amount of current needing to be carried along the thin copper traces of the PCB, making your LEDs safer, more reilable, and increasing their lifespan.

[benjsessions]

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

[dave]

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.

[Flyguy-iyqh]

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

[jimmacri]

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.

[jaycee]

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

[robertedlund]

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?

[LucasPace]

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