RPiu running LightshowPi and WS2812B led strip

[janastas]

Hi All,

First time poster here.

I've taken the plunge and trying to make my first at a xmas light show that's not just flashing lights with no real control.
I've setup an RPi2 with LightshowPi and managed to get individual LED's connected via a breadboard and multiple GPIO's to dance to an mp3 file.
That all worked great and now my next step is to wire some dumb lights up to an 8 channel relay which I'll be doing over the weekend.
One thing I'm interested in is led strips and was wondering if the WS2812B can be connected to the Pi and sync to music via LightshowPI?
I had no issues connecting the WS2812B directly to the Pi and writing some python scripts to get some effects.
I can see looking in the LightshowPi config files that the WS2812B is supporting but only via serial?

Appreciate any help any of you can provide.



I've already posted on the LightshowPi reddit group but was wondering if anyone could provide some feedback here.

 

[OzAz]

sounds complicated. Why not get an rpi 28D+ from Hanson attach that to your Pi, load FPP onto the Pi and use xlights for programming the RGB LED lights?

 

[janastas]

Thanks! I had no idea something like that existed and will start looking into it.
The plan this year was to just do the relays to dumb lights but I bought the WS2812B anyway to play around with it.
Just looking at the link you sent, it looks like WS2811 and WS2801 string are the only two supported.

 

[darylc]

WS2812B/WS2811 use the same protocol so will work

 

[Pavle]

As mentioned by OzAz, the 28D+ from Hanson is a really practical way to get things started, particularly for your first attempt.
I only started on this about 3 weeks ago and this is how I am running my (albeit tiny) config mixed in with some off the shelf lights that aren't integrated.

For me personally, I found getting some exposure to the concept was made easier having something to play around with and that's why even though I started late, I still went ahead. I've only got 149 bullet pixels total so really small, but everything works and I will be able to reuse everything in a bigger display next year (well maybe not the hat as I've already got a Falcon controller).

 

[janastas]

Thanks for your help all and talk about quick feedback!

Just bought the pi28d+ from Hanson. Ill give it a go and see what happens

 

[janastas]

So the pi28d+ arrived.

Before I start plugging it up to power is the a recommendation as to which power input I should be using?

There's mention that you can use the rpi micro usb to power the hat or 12v / 5v via the rpi28d+ power input.

For now I just plan on hooking up x2 WS2812B led strips.

 

[Pavle]

I've got 5v pixels so for me it was simply a matter of using the same power supply to feed both the hat and the pixels.
After some advice amongst the group, I settled on keeping the pixels powered directly rather than through the hat and I only use the data out of the hat.

You don't need to power the pi separately, the hat takes care of it.

 

[janastas]

OK does that mean I could use the following setup? or do I need a another power supply to feed into CN9 that will supply power for CN3?

 

[Pavle]

So on your illustration, I've only got green (data) out of the pihat and another pair of red and black from the power supply directly to the strip (so bypass the hat for power for the strip only) - you continue to power the hat on the input side.

I've also got an inline fuse between power supply and pixels

added a picture of my box (will tidy up for next year)

 

[David_AVD]

added a picture of my box (will tidy up for next year)

I know it's not related to the OP's question, but I noticed you've used different coloured QC terminals for the mains active, neutral and earth. Please note that the QC terminal colours refer to the wire size they will accept while providing a good connection. Using larger sizes (blue instead of red, or yellow instead of blue / red) is not recommended.

I understand why people do it (as a colour coding method), but it's not a good thing. The wires are already coloured and using the correct size QC terminal is way more important. If you need to fold the wire ends over to make a snug fit in the crimp, the crimp is too large. You don't want wires pulling out or loose crimps that can cause arcing / burning over time.

 

[BAZMick]

I wrap a bit of coloured insulation tape around the wires to tell them apart. Red for +ve and black for -ve. But on the mains side yeah, the wires are already colour coded so for them I use bootlace ferrules, they crimp down on the wire much better and because they are in effect a wire sheath they fit into terminals very easily.

 

[Pavle]

I noticed you've used different coloured QC terminals for the mains active, neutral and earth. Please note that the QC terminal colours refer to the wire size they will accept while providing a good connection. Using larger sizes (blue instead of red, or yellow instead of blue / red) is not recommended.

Noted @David_AVD and I will take this on board for when I am building my control board in 2021, thanks

@BAZMick I've ordered and received a bootlace ferrule crimper and accessories so will be using this when I start on the new configuration.
I've also got a fused distro board to add in.

 

[David_AVD]

While we're talking about bootlace (ferrule) crimpers, I prefer the 4 sided ones (vs the 6 sized ones) as the resultant crimp fits better into most terminal blocks.

 

[janastas]

Ok I've made some progress.

So what I've done is:

• added a pixel controller hat onto the top of the pi (28d+) that allows you to run falcon xmas player and upload sequences directly from xlights on my pc.
• 5v 3A power supply powering the pi and pixel controller with a 2A fuse in sereies
• 5v 3A power supply powering a 1m strip of leds using one of the WS2811 channels

Next step is a longer led strip and more power.

So if I want to graduate from a 5v 3A power supply to somthing bigger to run say x2 5m led strips what would people recommened?

The rPi28d+ is rated at a maximum of 10A per channel and based on emails I've had with Alan that limits the number of pixesl to around 180 pixels per channel at 100% brightness.

I'm guessing if i wantd to run higher than 10A to power 5m of an led strip (60 pixels per meter) I'd need need at least a 20a power supply per 5m of led strip then I'd need a seperate fuse box with a higher rated fuse from power directly to the led strip?

Edit: Just uploaded the video to my YouTube account
View: https://youtu.be/fIOinXaZF98