Running xLights Sequence on Raspberry Pi (And maybe an ESP device?)
- Thread starter GR9
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #17
So I found this, and while most of it is over my head, it sounds like having a capacitor there might be a good idea.
These look like they could work, could someone confirm
I don’t trust it at all, but ChatGPT says that will work.
Thanks!
These look like they could work, could someone confirm
I don’t trust it at all, but ChatGPT says that will work.
Thanks!
Please do NOT look at the WT32-ETH01 ESP32. It is the most UNstable ESP32 platform I have ever seen.
FYI: Using ESPixelStick and running it in "FPP Remote" mode works fine over most WiFi networks. Most of the lag issues came from trying to use the inefficient E1.31 protocol over WiFi. Things get a bit better with DDP. If you dump E1.31/DDP and use FPP remote mode then the sequence data is stored on an SD card on the controller and the data on the network is negligible, no matter how many devices are connected.
ESPixelStick software runs on over thirty platforms. ESP8266 is limited to about 1000 pixels. ESP32 implementation Supports about 3000 pixels.
All of the QuinLed controller variants are supported by the ESPixelstick V4 software. IMO, the sweet spot from QuinLed is the Dig-Quad with AE+ Daughter card. This gives you 8 ports to drive pixels with an SD card slot to support FPP Remote operation.
QuinLed also has the Dig-Octo which adds an Ethernet port to all of this.
The Original ESPixelStick V3 hardware has a single output and an SD card. V4 software runs on it giving you an inexpensive (~USD 20) solution to get started with.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #19
Hello!
---
Also, I saw this post here: https://forum.arduino.cc/5/641103/2 that mentions a resistor that should be placed in the data line at the LED strip. Is this something that is needed?
Here are the updated schematics:
WT32-ETH:
Raspberry Pi 4b:
Thanks again for all your help everyone!
I am assuming you have a typo here somewhere, because if something is stable, wouldn't I want to use it?
Please correct me if I am wrong here, but that sounds pretty good, right? And the WT32-ETH01 is a ESP32 device, right?
I think I stated it before, but not 100% certain. I don't want to buy hardware that is specific to only this, I want to have the option to repurpose it for later if I decide to quit.
---
Also, I saw this post here: https://forum.arduino.cc/5/641103/2 that mentions a resistor that should be placed in the data line at the LED strip. Is this something that is needed?
GPIO13 does not appear to exist, am I reading this incorrectly?
Here are the updated schematics:
WT32-ETH:
Raspberry Pi 4b:
Thanks again for all your help everyone!
Yes I had a typo. It should read UNstable (edited my post).
Not sure where you got the QuinLed ESP32 Brainboard pin assignments, But it very much DOES have a GPIO13 (See picture).
The ESP32 Brainboard from Quinled is a generic ESP32 implementation and can be purchased separately from other parts. There is an Ethernet adapter and a Relay / Sensor card (SE+) that also has the SD card socket and a microphone. There are a variety of base cards to perform non blinky operations. The brainboard makes a good starting point for many projects. It is very similar to the ESP32 D1 Mini Pro (better built IMO).
Not sure where you got the QuinLed ESP32 Brainboard pin assignments, But it very much DOES have a GPIO13 (See picture).
The ESP32 Brainboard from Quinled is a generic ESP32 implementation and can be purchased separately from other parts. There is an Ethernet adapter and a Relay / Sensor card (SE+) that also has the SD card socket and a microphone. There are a variety of base cards to perform non blinky operations. The brainboard makes a good starting point for many projects. It is very similar to the ESP32 D1 Mini Pro (better built IMO).
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #21
I was looking at the URL provided by Skymaster, and I think he was talking about the WT32 board. That's the board that I was talking about when I said I cannot find pin 13 (Also the board that the images are for).
Changing topics to the board that you mentioned (The Quinled ESP32), how is it different from the ESP32 you could buy on AliExpress / Amazon and add an Ethernet HAT too? The Quinled website is horrible to navigate, and few prices I could find seem pretty high ($40 compared to the ESP's $10).
Reliability of the design. Higher number of GPIOs brought out to the pins.
At this point I have tested over thirty such boards.
Brainboard top of the list (Most liked at the top):
LoLin ESP32 Pro
QuinLed ESP 32 Brainboard
DevkitC (needs a lot of additional HW to get what you want but is stable)
TTGO T8
TwilightLord BrainBoard
lots more
Bottom of the list (aka Avoid)
ESPCam
WT32 Eth Board
At this point I have tested over thirty such boards.
Brainboard top of the list (Most liked at the top):
LoLin ESP32 Pro
QuinLed ESP 32 Brainboard
DevkitC (needs a lot of additional HW to get what you want but is stable)
TTGO T8
TwilightLord BrainBoard
lots more
Bottom of the list (aka Avoid)
ESPCam
WT32 Eth Board
WorldWide you should be going to this site for QuinLed gear:
www.drzzs.com
Shop – DrZzs
QuinLED-Dig-Uno v3 is an ESP32 based, addressable LED controller. Because of the ESP32 and WLED 0.12.0 you can now have two independent LED channels! Comes with a QuinLED-ESP32 Pre-Flashed, Pre-Soldered, and Tested! Choose one of 3 versions On-Board Antenna External...
www.drzzs.com
- Thread starter
- #24
Ok, I managed to find both the LoLin ESP32 Pro and the TGO T8 online.
Just comparing those two, how many pins / pixels can they control with your experience? I am assuming they can both run WLED / ESPixelStick and connect with the FPP player, right? Also, since I am planning on running these in the front yard, I don't get the best WiFi signal out there, and I only want to load the show onto the primary FPP instance on the RPI4b and have it manage everything else.
--
The QuinLed link is pretty much out of stock, except for the pretty expensive ethernet board (I have to pay more expensive shipping there too)
Just comparing those two, how many pins / pixels can they control with your experience? I am assuming they can both run WLED / ESPixelStick and connect with the FPP player, right? Also, since I am planning on running these in the front yard, I don't get the best WiFi signal out there, and I only want to load the show onto the primary FPP instance on the RPI4b and have it manage everything else.
--
The QuinLed link is pretty much out of stock, except for the pretty expensive ethernet board (I have to pay more expensive shipping there too)
An additional bit of information. For the ESP32 based controllers, if you decide to control relays for other things than lights, these work very nicely. Look at the Dig-Octo board, It is an 8 channel digital output board with a built in ESP32, Ethernet Port and SD Card. Put custom Software on it and you have a digital control board for whatever you want to make.
You are correct, the Falcon and AlphaPix (among others) controllers are purpose built systems and are difficult to repurpose. The ESP based solutions are all VERY easy to repurpose since they have an open interface for reprogramming them with whatever code you want to create.
To be honest, there is a lot of the ESPixelStick Software in my Greenhouse controller. It drives the growing lights (RGB), the fan motors (pwm servos), the vents (relays) etc. to control the growing environment and simulate nature (Daylight cycles for the simulated growing season etc.). Will be adding humidity and heating capabilities soon.
You are correct, the Falcon and AlphaPix (among others) controllers are purpose built systems and are difficult to repurpose. The ESP based solutions are all VERY easy to repurpose since they have an open interface for reprogramming them with whatever code you want to create.
To be honest, there is a lot of the ESPixelStick Software in my Greenhouse controller. It drives the growing lights (RGB), the fan motors (pwm servos), the vents (relays) etc. to control the growing environment and simulate nature (Daylight cycles for the simulated growing season etc.). Will be adding humidity and heating capabilities soon.
- Thread starter
- #26
Question - Since both the WT32-ETH01 and the LoLin ESP32 Pro are both ESP32 devices, why is the latter superior?
The Dig-octa at $40 is a bit more then I want to spend on a device that is doing less then the Pi. Might as well buy another Pi at that price.
For the QuinLED-ESP32 with the Ethernet HAT, what makes it better / worse over the LoLin with a Ethernet HAT? Can both control the same number of pixels?
First a correction to your understanding: WLED does not support FPP Remote mode (aka connect to FPP). If you use WLED with an FPP you will need to flood your network with DDP traffic (dont even start on the E1.31 road). ESPixelStick V4 DOES support FPP Remote Mode. FPP Show player does not know how to send data to the ESPv4 SD Card. xLIghts does. Vixen can create the fseq files, but you need to manually upload the files to the ESPv4 board using the web browser.
TTGO T8 vs LoLin D32 Pro is a pretty even comparison. Reliability of the LoLin product is slightly higher (as long as you dont buy the cheap knockoffs). The pinouts are different making them NOT socket compatible. They have about the same number of exposed GPIOs, both have built in SD Card interfaces and display interfaces. I have not tried to connect an Ethernet adapter to either one so I do not know if they support those pins. I do know that once you hook up the Ethernet connector, your GPIO choices become very limited. That is where the QuinLed boards shine. After the SD Card and Ethernet interface are installed, they still have 8 GPIOs to drive outputs. The others do not.
Most of the Brainboards we have discussed come in an external antenna variant. My outside ESP32 is 200' and four walls away from my AP and gets a 50% signal with a 4" external antenna and 5% signal with an onboard antenna (not usable).
TTGO T8 vs LoLin D32 Pro is a pretty even comparison. Reliability of the LoLin product is slightly higher (as long as you dont buy the cheap knockoffs). The pinouts are different making them NOT socket compatible. They have about the same number of exposed GPIOs, both have built in SD Card interfaces and display interfaces. I have not tried to connect an Ethernet adapter to either one so I do not know if they support those pins. I do know that once you hook up the Ethernet connector, your GPIO choices become very limited. That is where the QuinLed boards shine. After the SD Card and Ethernet interface are installed, they still have 8 GPIOs to drive outputs. The others do not.
Most of the Brainboards we have discussed come in an external antenna variant. My outside ESP32 is 200' and four walls away from my AP and gets a 50% signal with a 4" external antenna and 5% signal with an onboard antenna (not usable).
QuinLed Brainboard was designed to provide max GPIOs when Ethernet and SD card ar connected. You WILL need at least SD card. Eth card is not so interesting once the SD card is present.
Dig Octa at $40 is $5 per digital output port which is very reasonable. An RPI + Hat == $100 for two ports (but has Audio and video capabilities) makes it $50/port. Both are general purpose implementations that can be repurposed.
There is no right answer here. There are a lot of options and what works for you depends how you plan to move forward.
- Thread starter
- #29
Oh, your previous comment about not needing an Ethernet cable is making a bit more sense now.
So if I go with the LoLin, can I add an external antenna by soldering something to the board / a pin? Assuming I use the PixelStick firmware, I should be fine running over LAN without an Ethernet cable?
I am confused what you mean by this. xLights does not get used after setting up the show, right? I don’t want my PC on when the show is going …
The port comparison makes sense I suppose. I am thinking both this project and future projects (Including projects that can be run in the summer when the board is not in use).
During setup of your show, if using xLights you will create your sequences, define your controllers and run FPP Connect. FPP Connect will send a configuration to the ESPixelStickV4 based controller and then it will create special versions of your sequences and send those to the ESP. Those files get saved on the SD card. Now, turn off xLights. Once FPP starts playing a sequence, FPP sends out tiny little sync messages. The FPP Remotes (ESP et al) receive those messages and play the same frame as the FPP, only the Remotes read the data from their local SD cards. Network traffic is minimal and everything is peachy.
External Antennas require a special connectors. Some ESPs have the connector on them, others have solder pads, others support dual antennas with an onboard jumper. It is NOT practical to take a board designed exclusively for internal antenna use and try to add an external antenna. You need an ESP that was designed for use with an external antenna.