Help Me with My LED Strip WS2812B and 5V 10A Power Supply - Ambilight & Arduino

ulun-lpg on 18/02/2015 - 21:34

Hi All

I am scratching my head since this afternoon trying to figure out why my LED is not coming on using the switching power supply. PSU should have enough power to light up the whole reel of LEDs.

Switching Power Supply
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5V-10A-50W-Mini-size-LED-Swit…

Addressable LED Strip
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5M-30Pixel-M-150-5050-RGB-SMD…

I cut up the PC power (the female end) leaving the other prong only and wire up the 3 (L)ive (N)eutral (G)round cables to the power supply http://i.imgur.com/hrgpO1T.jpg

3 leads connected and also the V+ and V- of the LED strip http://imgur.com/ptokWnE

I powered it on and my house is still standing and not on fire (Amen!) but my LED strip is nowhere near lighting up.

Any clues?

Thanks in advance

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • ulun-lpg on 18/02/2015 - 21:37

    I actually tried with battery pack containing 8x AA and the LED emitted a split second Red color light and then it went away never coming back :(

    It got me thinking whether because it wont light up until there's a digital signal coming from arduino for example. so I hooked up the DIN cable of the LED to arduino Digital port. Still no luck!

    Im following this guide by the way to create my ambilight - http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/make-ambilight-60/

  • pjetson on 18/02/2015 - 22:03

    The product page for the led strip has a section that points out that you have to do more than just apply power.

    • ulun-lpg on 18/02/2015 - 22:49

      hi, yes i used arduino nano/uno to drive the led but no success.
      there's not enough hours in a day, gonna try again tomorrow

  • wretchd on 19/02/2015 - 09:38

    Kwetiaw, what is the voltage on the 5Volt output of your PSU? Have you got a multimeter? Some PSU's won't output a stable output until they have a 'load' on them.

    On a safety note, put the clear plastic guard back on the PSU input/output terminals (240 V can kill). Make sure that your house has a working RCD on the power you are using.

    The LED strip has a 5V input (6V max). Giving it 12V (8 x 1.5V AA) may have killed it. Try not to sacrifice the whole strip in one go - just try one module first. (Don't feel too bad pretty much anyone who has dabbled in electronics has fried components) I think that you are doing great for trying. Is there anyone that you know that lives near you that can give some guidance?

    Pjetson is right too, find and read the datasheet for the strip.

    • ulun-lpg on 19/02/2015 - 11:55

      Thanks for the info. I have managed to find this page quite useful and it seems to align well with the symptoms that I am experiencing. http://www.tweaking4all.com/hardware/arduino/arduino-ws2812-…

      Note : Simply connecting +5V and GND will at best flash up your strip for a fraction of a second.
      The LEDs need to be “told” to be ON, so without data feed your LEDs will remain OFF.

      the PSU I bought has 5v 10A 50W, should supply correct power to the LED strip.

      It seems I need to take a look at the programming on my arduino again.

      Thanks for the warning and I have been really really careful with this PSU, I am even afraid touching the protective grills. Once it is up and running, i will enclose them in a safe project box.

  • ulun-lpg on 19/02/2015 - 21:31

    it's alive…..
    http://i.imgur.com/N5qusDc.jpg

  • ulun-lpg on 19/02/2015 - 21:32

    i just need to hook it up to the HTPC to sync it with the video.

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