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Power
Harpo edited this page Oct 3, 2019
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This setup involves multiple separate (but interconnected) circuits, presumably plugged into other electrically separate and more complex circuits. Follow all electrical safety procedures and double check ALL CONNECTIONS, EVERY TIME!
- Power all pixels using adequately sized power supplies.
- Each pixel consumes 60mW of power at full brightness.
- e.g. a 300 pixel strand will draw at most 18A of power.
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Connect all grounds together - ensure every circuit has a clear path to ground, including all power suppl[y|ies] used for LEDs as well as the grounds of all Arduino power supplies.
- Use a separate, dedicated power supply for the Arduino[s] than for the LEDs to avoid instability of the microcontroller.
- Rapidly changing brightness for a large number of lights can create a substantial power supply dip, especially in lower quality power supplies which can cause unpredictable behaviors with the lights, or worse errors in the system.
- Always TEST all lights thoroughly BEFORE installing them!
The following are simplified schematics for connecting a series of lights together. Your circuit may differ with different installations.
- Connect the signal pin of the generator to the signal channel of the lights.
- Connect the + of the power supply to the + of the lights
- Connect the - of the power supply to the - of the lights
When using additional power supplies on the same circuit (for large numbers of lights, or separate microcontroller power), some additional steps are needed:
- Connect all grounds together! - The shared signal needs a common electrical baseline between all power supplies. Without this, any difference in voltage between the supplies will be equalized through the signal wire, causing the lights to flicker unpredictably.
- Do not connect the positive terminals together - Any difference in voltage between the supplies will be equalized through the power supply itself, which is extremely dangerous and can damage equipment, or start a fire.