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    Led strip problem

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    • A Offline
      Anthony Project Sponsor @sdetweil
      last edited by

      @sdetweil Thank you for your reply. I have a power hub (I am sorry for my English but I am Greek so some words are difficult ro translate so I have the link to see the picture of it) where everything is plugged in. I don’t know if that is what you mean.

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      • S Do not disturb
        sdetweil @Anthony
        last edited by

        @Anthony on the output of the power supplies is a +5 or +12 and a ground…

        are all the grounds connected together at some point or are they all separate… usually to stop interference like this you need to bind the grounds…

        the input side has them grounded together… but not the output side

        Sam

        How to add modules

        learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

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        • A Offline
          Anthony Project Sponsor @sdetweil
          last edited by Anthony

          @sdetweil oh sorry. on the power supply which powers the arduino I have also connect 2 small 12v fans. So the grounds of the fans and the ground of arduino yes they are common. Do you think this is the problem? So if disconnect the fans the leds should work? but why this is not happening from the beggining and it happens only when the screen turns on?

          BKeyportB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • BKeyportB Offline
            BKeyport Module Developer @Anthony
            last edited by

            @Anthony I suspect the driver for the TV is emitting radio noise, which the leads for the WS2812 is picking up as data.

            Did you power both ends of the LED strip? It’s good practice unless the strip is very short. This will do two things, first, ensure level LED color throughout the strip, and second, help the data line recognize it’s data over the noise.

            There may be other things you can do to improve the data control. If you know anyone in the amateur (ham) radio community, you may be able to ask them about Radio Frequency Interference. They have the knowledge to help you isolate the issue and solve it.

            The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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            • A Offline
              Anthony Project Sponsor @BKeyport
              last edited by

              @BKeyport No. The led strip has 30 leds per meter and I use 59 leds so it is 2 meter long and I have powered it only from one side with a 5v power supply. I read somewhere that a common problem is if HDMI cable is too close to power plug this happens and that they should be at least 30cm away from each other. My TV’s hdmi is just below from the power hub. I think I will disconnect everything and reconnect-test one by one and I hope I will locate the problem.

              BKeyportB bheplerB 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • BKeyportB Offline
                BKeyport Module Developer @Anthony
                last edited by

                @Anthony You might consider somehow powering both ends. You’ll find better performance of the string because it’s that long.

                The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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                • bheplerB Offline
                  bhepler Module Developer @Anthony
                  last edited by

                  @Anthony - In my CNC work I have run into a lot of electromagnetic interference. One thing that has helped a bit is to add ferrite cores to most of my input wires at both ends. Especially any USB wires.
                  Your friendly electronics shop should have something like these.

                  BKeyportB A 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • BKeyportB Offline
                    BKeyport Module Developer @bhepler
                    last edited by

                    @bhepler a lot of times in longer runs, the data line on the strip itself is the antenna.

                    The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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                    • A Offline
                      Anthony Project Sponsor @bhepler
                      last edited by

                      @bhepler That is a very good idea I will definetly try it. I hope I will find those ferrite cores in one of my local electronic stores. Thank you for your reply.

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                      • A Offline
                        Anthony Project Sponsor @BKeyport
                        last edited by

                        @BKeyport thank you for your reply. I don’t know how to power both ends of led strip. Can it be done from the same power supply? For example I should have 2 wires for 5v, 2 wires for ground and 2 wires for data and one of each must be connected to each end? If not please advice how can it be done.

                        BKeyportB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • BKeyportB Offline
                          BKeyport Module Developer @Anthony
                          last edited by

                          @Anthony It can be done with the same power supply. just the power and ground to be hooked up. 2 power - one to each end, 2 ground - one to each end.

                          The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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                          • S Do not disturb
                            sdetweil @BKeyport
                            last edited by sdetweil

                            @BKeyport unrelated to his problem, I have led strip under my kitchen cabinets. the long one has a problem of burning out the connector , but it’s only powered from one side.

                            so you are saying I could connect power to the other end as well? never seen this shown before.

                            LEDwholesalers 16.4 Feet (5 Meter) Flexible LED Light Strip with 300xSMD3528 and Adhesive Back, 12 Volt, Warm White 2700K, 2026WW-27K https://a.co/d/g8l12v2

                            these are my light strips

                            Sam

                            How to add modules

                            learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

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                            • BKeyportB Offline
                              BKeyport Module Developer @sdetweil
                              last edited by BKeyport

                              @sdetweil Short answer: Likely.

                              Long answer:

                              wiring.png

                              Here’s a simplified drawing of how most LED strips are “wired” up. Data line is included for Anthony’s issue.

                              Power is distributed equally across each LED, each LED drains their current accordingly, and it returns via ground.

                              As the strip you showed is cuttable, it would appear that it’s wired in the same way, although it’s unclear from the pictures on the website. A few LED strips are wired in series, and then it wouldn’t work backwards.

                              By powering both ends you get two results - less current (heat!) on the connectors as they’re sharing the load, and more consistent lighting along the strip (in extremely long runs, you’d lose some brightness in the middle still, but)

                              If you want to test, it’s easy to do. Hook up the power supply to the output end, just making sure the power is on power and the ground is on ground. (if there’s a data line, leave it on the input end, as the data line can’t travel backwards. (Technical reasons I won’t get into here)

                              The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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                                sdetweil @BKeyport
                                last edited by

                                @BKeyport thx. no data line, just power & ground. right now I just soldered the leads on to one end. got to find another clip on to try the other. there is power over there, for the third strip, so can add leads to the back of the long strip. less heat would be a good outcome

                                Sam

                                How to add modules

                                learning how to use browser developers window for css changes

                                BKeyportB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • BKeyportB Offline
                                  BKeyport Module Developer @sdetweil
                                  last edited by

                                  @sdetweil for the test, don’t have the input end connected, FWIW. Forgot that part. If it lights with just the output end connected, you’ve got the standard setup.

                                  The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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                                  • A Offline
                                    Anthony Project Sponsor @BKeyport
                                    last edited by

                                    @BKeyport , @sdetweil I found the answer to my problem. By moving places to the components I found out the arduino board was too close to a coil from TV’s power circuit board and that was the one which caused the problem. I screwed arduino at the opposite side which a decent distance from the coil and everything worked fine. But I will also try what @BKeyport suggested by ppowering the strip from both ends. So @BKeyport only power and ground on both ends and data only on one end right?

                                    BKeyportB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • BKeyportB Offline
                                      BKeyport Module Developer @Anthony
                                      last edited by

                                      @Anthony correct. leave the data disconnected on the far end.

                                      The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"

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                                      • A Offline
                                        Anthony Project Sponsor @BKeyport
                                        last edited by

                                        @BKeyport Thank you very much.

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