Imstevil
New elf
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2022
- Messages
- 10
Hi,
I'm not exactly "new" here. I was actually here about 5 or so years ago and managed, I think, one welcome post before disappearing! My situation has changed a bit since then, and I've finally got some time and money to get a bit further into things. I thought I'd come back, post what I'm planning, and make sure I'm on the right track before I get too far into it... although it might already be a bit late for that!
I'm based on the Central Coast and looking at putting together a display this year using WS2811 bullets / strips. I'm thinking of running multiple ESP32s with WLED installed. I'll probably have around 10 - 15 ESP32s, most running somewhere around 200–300 LEDs each.
From what I've read online, this should be doable, but I'd be keen to hear from people who've run a similar setup. I've seen figures suggesting you can run around 15,000 LEDs wirelessly at 40 FPS, or 30,000 at 20 FPS, but I'd love to hear how that works in practice.
I've got multiple 12V power supplies that I can distribute around the display to power the lights. I'm planning to use LM2596S buck converters to step the voltage down to power the ESP32s.
For the wiring, I'm thinking of putting a spacer between the buck converters and the ESP32 boards, then soldering wires directly between them for power. For the data connection to the lights, I was thinking of stripping one end of a jumper wire and soldering it directly to the ESP32.
I'm still trying to figure out suitable enclosures. I've found some clear plastic soup containers that seem reasonably waterproof. My current plan is to drill a hole for a cable gland to keep the cable entry sealed and throw in a few silica gel packets to help manage moisture. It feels a little hacky, but I haven't found anything suitable at a reasonable price yet!
As for the display itself, I'm thinking of following the edges of the house, putting some peace stakes through the garden, running arches across the front, framing the windows, doors and stairs, and adding a matrix to the front wall. You can ignore the tree on the right-hand side. There's absolutely no way I'll be ready to tackle that this year! Maybe next year if everything goes well. The rest of the props are made up and ready to go, though!
As I mentioned at the start, while I've technically been around here for a few years, I'm still pretty new to all this. I think I'm at the most dangerous stage of the learning process: I don't know much, but I know just enough to be dangerous!
So, if anyone has any advice on what I'm doing wrong, where I could improve, or anything else I should be considering, I'd really appreciate it. I'm keen to learn from people who've been doing this for a while before I get too far into things and make a mess of things.
Thanks!
I'm not exactly "new" here. I was actually here about 5 or so years ago and managed, I think, one welcome post before disappearing! My situation has changed a bit since then, and I've finally got some time and money to get a bit further into things. I thought I'd come back, post what I'm planning, and make sure I'm on the right track before I get too far into it... although it might already be a bit late for that!
I'm based on the Central Coast and looking at putting together a display this year using WS2811 bullets / strips. I'm thinking of running multiple ESP32s with WLED installed. I'll probably have around 10 - 15 ESP32s, most running somewhere around 200–300 LEDs each.
From what I've read online, this should be doable, but I'd be keen to hear from people who've run a similar setup. I've seen figures suggesting you can run around 15,000 LEDs wirelessly at 40 FPS, or 30,000 at 20 FPS, but I'd love to hear how that works in practice.
I've got multiple 12V power supplies that I can distribute around the display to power the lights. I'm planning to use LM2596S buck converters to step the voltage down to power the ESP32s.
For the wiring, I'm thinking of putting a spacer between the buck converters and the ESP32 boards, then soldering wires directly between them for power. For the data connection to the lights, I was thinking of stripping one end of a jumper wire and soldering it directly to the ESP32.
I'm still trying to figure out suitable enclosures. I've found some clear plastic soup containers that seem reasonably waterproof. My current plan is to drill a hole for a cable gland to keep the cable entry sealed and throw in a few silica gel packets to help manage moisture. It feels a little hacky, but I haven't found anything suitable at a reasonable price yet!
As for the display itself, I'm thinking of following the edges of the house, putting some peace stakes through the garden, running arches across the front, framing the windows, doors and stairs, and adding a matrix to the front wall. You can ignore the tree on the right-hand side. There's absolutely no way I'll be ready to tackle that this year! Maybe next year if everything goes well. The rest of the props are made up and ready to go, though!
As I mentioned at the start, while I've technically been around here for a few years, I'm still pretty new to all this. I think I'm at the most dangerous stage of the learning process: I don't know much, but I know just enough to be dangerous!
So, if anyone has any advice on what I'm doing wrong, where I could improve, or anything else I should be considering, I'd really appreciate it. I'm keen to learn from people who've been doing this for a while before I get too far into things and make a mess of things.
Thanks!
