WS2812b LED Pixels Strip

Hey,
Does anyone have experience with WS2812b LEDs ?
I’ve just upgraded from WS2801 and am so far unable to light up my strip.

Doing some troubleshooting here:


but not getting very far.

Wondered if someone would be able to give some assistance in getting this strip lit up?
Confused by Level Shifters and Resistors

Hey!

Yeah, I’ve used them a lot, basically all my projects involve those (or similar strips) at some point :slight_smile:
I’ve also used WLED.
I see you’ve already gotten some pointers over in the github forum.

I’d try it without a level-shifter first, often they’re not necessary. Just put the data line of your strip directly on the pin you’re using as LED output, and wire GND and 5V to the power supply. Make sure you connect ground of the power supply and ground of the NodeMCU.

If you’re in the space next week, we can also debug it together!

Cheers, would really appreciate a meet up if i haven’t got it going by then.
I’ve done everything suggested already, and im at the point of wondering if i have a dead strip of pixels.

I’ve got a few spare strips as well, so we can test! I’m at the Makerspace pretty much every day in the next 9 days

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I’d also suggest you add a resistor (maybe 1k ohm) to the data line and see if that helps - often it does.

Also connect your grounds together - I can’t tell if the level shifter has shared ground but I wouldn’t rely on it.

Also I think your level shifter might be in backwards but not 100% on that without more details on the model. I suspect RXO = Recieve Output and RXI = Recieve Input. Try using TXI and TXO.

Also - turn on your 5V power supply then the 3.3V afterwards - or just remove the 3.3V supply and use the 3.3V output from the MCU to power the level shifter.

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Apologies for the radio silence since posting, i am hoping to head up to the space tonight (think its electronics night) so if anyone is around - hope to see you later!