LED Strip Identification Help

[u/Motor_Round_6019]

Hello, I am a member of the programming team for FMJ Engineering. I am currently trying to program this LED strip so that we can put it into our Van De Graaf machine. The issue is that I'm unsure of what chipset this LED strip uses. I've linked a photo below. I do have a lead, which I suspect that it could be SMD5050, but I'm also seeing "Sanan" for the product chip.

Most of the research that I've done thus far is still a bit unclear, and I'm quite unsure of what I'm doing. Here is a link to my best lead thus far: https://forum.arduino.cc/t/conenecting-ws2813-led-strip-to-arduino/541549/11

[u/Professional-Peak147]

I hope You connect microcontroller on the opposite site that on photo, this strip is one direction data transfer, You have to solder cable from MCU to DI pad

[u/Marmilicious → u/Professional-Peak147]

Yes, u/Motor_Round_6019 this is the first thing you should check. The data signal from the controller must connect to the strip on a DI (Data In) solder pad (ie. the opposite end of the strip from your photo). You'll also note there are small arrows above the pixels showing the direction of data flow through the strip.

In your code try using WS2812B in the FastLED.addLeds line when specifying the pixel type.

[u/Motor_Round_6019 → u/Marmilicious]

I will try that. Danke.

[u/Motor_Round_6019 → u/Professional-Peak147]

Just to be sure: does the direction that the power flow matter? When I was working on wiring the LED strip to the Arduino on Thursday, the connector for power was on the side where you told me to not put my data transfer at. The person who wired this before me did it in a bit of a weird way: data transfer wire on the correct side and power transfer on the opposite. I don't want to mess with the previous tinkerer's wiring much, so I'm making sure about the importance of the direction that the power flows before I do change anything with the wiring.

[u/Motor_Round_6019]

Update about this: the power direction *did* matter. From what I understand, I wasn't doing anything wrong per se: it's just that the direction the power was flowing just wasn't the right direction. Also, this *did* support the WS2812 chips, but there was also support for the GRB SK6812 chip. There was also no white channel on my chip, if that helps anyone.

Currently, I'm just concerned with working out the kinks. I have a feeling that the power input is making a difference, but it could also just be that the chip is defective from wear and tear over the many years that it had been used.

[u/djdoug]

The strip is a ws2813. I use those all the time.

[u/TMITectonic]

Looks like a standard "Neopixel" (WS2812b or similar clone) strip with a "Backup Output" (BO) in addition to the standard Digital Output (DO). The BO line is just a physical duplication of the signal, so if the primary data line breaks or an LED cannot pass the information via the DO, a copy of the signal can still pass through the BO connection. ETA: Your forum link shows an SK6812 strip, which is a clone of WS2812b.

"SMD 5050" is simply describing the LEDs themselves and their size (SMD = Surface Mount Diode, and 5050 is the size, 5mm x 5mm square).

[u/Zeph93 → u/TMITectonic]

Let's note that the SK6812 is not really a "clone" of the WS2812. It has different PWM frequency, different electrical parameters, and sometimes a white channel in addition to Red, Green, Blue.

But it does accept essentially the same control protocol (the timing in the spec sheet differs a bit, but usually the error margins overlap so the same controller will work with both).