How To Set Up LED Strips

[Zyhru]

Hello guys,

I'm a software guy and I'm new to buying single boards. I recently bought the XU4 and was looking for beginner projects and I saw on how to connect LEDs via the GPIO port. Reading the manual it says that the GPIO pins are 1.8V and the LED strips that I'm looking at supports 5V. A friend has told me that I will need a breadboard.

I've been looking online and still don't understand how to set up the LED strips. What is the easiest way to simply connect the LED strips to the XU4? I'm just a little confused.

[odroid]

You might need a level-shifter board based on BSS138 something like this to drive 5Volt devices.
We tested and confirmed it worked fine with 3.3V to 5V, 1.8V to 3.3V and 1.8V to 5V conditions.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802970732328.html
https://www.adafruit.com/product/757

But the configuration seems to be quite complicated for beginners.
XU4 - 2.0mm pitch GPIO header - 2.54mm pitch adapter - a level shifter on a bread board - LED strips with an optional LED power source.

I think a USB type LED strip control board seems to be simpler and more economical solution.
For example, https://www.blinkstick.com/products/blinkstick-flex

[Zyhru]

Thanks. I think I might go with the USB-type LED strip control board because it looks much more straightforward. Do you recommend I use a shifter shield down the line I do want to know to control a LED strip that way? Also, is it as simple as programming it with the WiringPI API when plugging in the USB LED strip?

Thanks once again.

[odroid]

I have no experience of using LED strings and I can't recommend anything.

But the USB LED string control board seems to support various language APIs at least.
https://www.blinkstick.com/help/api-implementations

[rooted]

For LED control I suggest esp8266 or esp32 running WLED, super versatile and the least expensive option.

https://github.com/Aircoookie/WLED

What are you wanting to achieve with the LED strip? Colors, patterns, etc or something more advanced?

[Zyhru]

For LED control I suggest esp8266 or esp32 running WLED, super versatile and the least expensive option.

https://github.com/Aircoookie/WLED

What are you wanting to achieve with the LED strip? Colors, patterns, etc or something more advanced?

For LED control I suggest esp8266 or esp32 running WLED, super versatile and the least expensive option.

https://github.com/Aircoookie/WLED

What are you wanting to achieve with the LED strip? Colors, patterns, etc or something more advanced?

I'm just trying to program a LED strips color, change the patterns and eventually change the LEDs based on the song that is playing in the background.
With the suggestions such as the esp8266 and esp22, would I have to buy a breadboard to hook it up to my ODROID? How would electronics par work?

[rooted]

No you just need a separate power supply, the esp, and an LED strip.

[Zyhru]

Ok thanks. Can I also buy a shifter shield and connect the jumper cables like so?

[rooted]

I've never used an Odroid in conjunction with the esp8266 except to run Hyperion (ambilight), running WLED it's standalone using the webui or app over the built in wireless of the esp8266/esp32.

I didn't think you still wanted to use the gpio of the XU4 given another option, I thought you were just looking for any way to control LEDs.

You still use gpio, just directly from the ESP to the LED strip.

[odroid]

As far as I know, the LED Strip protocol timing needs less than 500usec(or 1msec) delay to avoid the self-reset.
But it seemed to be very hard to guarantee the timing since the GPIO control method is quite different from the RaspberryPi one.

Therefore, we had to use an Arduino like MCU board via USB interface something like the following links.
https://magazine.odroid.com/wp-content/ ... df#page=23
viewtopic.php?f=144&t=29334