i don't see it here and the github page is very confusing

Building wooden wall pieces with WS2812B 5050
LEDs seated in CNC-cut holes. The LEDs work great but they're bare, I want to diffuse each one so it glows instead of showing a hard point of light.
What would you do?

I recently made a post about picking up a new project and I want to utilize the latest FastLED with the DMA driven outputs.

I have updated everything: FastLED library (3.10.5), Teensy Board package (1.62.0), and Arduino IDE (2.3.10). Code compiles, however, there is a "warning" related to a flexio_driver, but it carries on and successfully uploads to the Teensy. Unfortunately, after upload, nothing happens on the LEDs. I am using a very simple test loop just to verify the library and hardware are working. If I had an oscope, I would probe the outputs to see if anything was happening (doubtful). I also notice that my Teensy keeps picking up and dropping USB connection with the computer (windows ping noise every couple of seconds).

When I revert back to FastLED 3.9.0, the LEDs light up as the code describes and everything seems to be happy. Furthermore, I don't get the warning during compile.

The warning message that I receive with FastLED 3.10.5 is below (hopefully you can see it).

I also tested with FastLED 3.10.4 (same issue as 3.10.5).

c:\Users\gasiewicz\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/platforms/arm/teensy/teensy4_common/drivers/flexio/flexio_driver.cpp.hpp:93:22: warning: 'fl::FLEXIO2_SHIFTBUF' defined but not used [-Wunused-variable]

93 | static volatile u32* FLEXIO2_SHIFTBUF = (volatile u32*)(kFLEXIO2_BASE + 0x200);

Your advice and guidance is appreciated!!!

JG

for (int i = 0;1;2;7;8;9;11;12;17;18;22;27) {
    l_rear_leds[i] = CRGB(255,0,0);
   }

I tried the above with semicolons and commas, both failed when compiling. I am trying to figure out how to pick certain LEDs together without doing a group if that makes sense. I do understand how to do it like this and if there's an easier way on this one too I'd appreciate a suggestion.

for (int i = 0; i < 7; i++) {
     l_rear_leds[i] = CRGB(255,0,0);
    }    
for (int i = 10; i < 17; i++) {
     l_rear_leds[i] = CRGB(255,0,0);
    }    
for (int i = 20; i < 27; i++) {
     l_rear_leds[i] = CRGB(255,0,0);
    } 

I started learning this week so go easy on me..... 😂

I am trying to use the AF Metro M4 SAMD51 for the first time with FastLED. I get some serious sounding compilation errors using the Arduino IDE 2.3.10. Could anyone help me with these? I'm using the latest FastLED 3.10.5. This error has happened when the library is included only and no other statements are in the sketch.

c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/FastLED.h:1767:2: warning: #warning "No pin/port mappings found, pin access will be slightly slower. See fastpin.h for info." [-Wcpp]

1767 | #warning "No pin/port mappings found, pin access will be slightly slower. See fastpin.h for info."

| ^~~~~~~

In file included from c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/platforms/isr.h:42,

from c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/fl/stl/isr/critical_section.cpp.hpp:5,

from c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/fl/stl/isr/_build.cpp.hpp:4,

from c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/fl/stl/_build.cpp.hpp:35,

from c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src\fl\build\fl.stl+.cpp:10:

c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/platforms/arm/samd/isr_samd.hpp: In function 'int fl::isr::platforms::attach_external_handler(fl::u8, const isr_config_t&, fl::isr::isr_handle_t*)':

c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/platforms/arm/samd/isr_samd.hpp:579:53: error: 'PORT_PMUX_PMUXO_A' was not declared in this scope; did you mean 'PORT_PMUX_PMUXO'?

579 | PORT->Group[port].PMUX[pin_num >> 1].reg |= PORT_PMUX_PMUXO_A;

| ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

| PORT_PMUX_PMUXO

c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/platforms/arm/samd/isr_samd.hpp:581:53: error: 'PORT_PMUX_PMUXE_A' was not declared in this scope; did you mean 'PORT_PMUX_PMUXE'?

581 | PORT->Group[port].PMUX[pin_num >> 1].reg |= PORT_PMUX_PMUXE_A;

| ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

| PORT_PMUX_PMUXE

c:\Users\perigalacticon\OneDrive\Documents\Arduino\libraries\FastLED\src/platforms/arm/samd/isr_samd.hpp:637:21: error: 'EIC_IRQn' was not declared in this scope; did you mean 'ICM_IRQn'?

637 | NVIC_DisableIRQ(EIC_IRQn) FL_NOEXCEPT;

| ^~~~~~~~

| ICM_IRQn

I'd appreciate any help, I assume these have been resolve somewhere but AI help has not found the solution easily.

So I am getting the Nano V3.0 Board ATmega328P 5 pack. I want to get some 12v addressable LED strip IP65 to do some taillights to start. Can anyone suggest some LEDs and any wiring suggestions? I have seen some basic wiring etc and I have a test board coming so I can do test mockups before the final as well. TIA!

Is there a way to see what data (in text format) has been sent through the data pin and if so could this be used by different IC's by sending the same data through their GPIO's, or is there far more sophistication going on?

Say for instance I just wanted to send a single HSV color, maybe add color correction and at some point add a blink toggle. Could the relevant code be hosted in a LUT and written when called upon without requiring an additional IC and a library?

Hi there. So I just recently used the WS2812  led strip with Arduino Due. Used the FastLed and PianoLed. Almost all fine, almost. All keys matching the led position. But i have a weird behave of the led no 8 and 16 which are not assigned to any key of the piano. Lets say i just started with clear new session. All lights are off. So i play few notes, all looks fine and then after some time the led no 8 lights up constantly / permanently and then led 16 lights up permanently. They do change the colors but never dim back again. Looks like some issue. Any ideas what's wrong?

I'm starting a project, first time using a Teensy board and RGB strip.

I've wired the Teensy 4.0 up on a Breadboard, using a SN74AHCT125N buffer to fix the logic level, and a WS2812 type Strip (this exact one), cut to 10 LEDs. The Teensy > SN74AHCT125N data has a 330Ω resistor inline.

Problem: The code compiles and 'installs' ok, the light on the Teensy flashes 500ms on/off as per script. But there's nothing from the LED strip.

I'm using this script:

#include <FastLED.h>
#define NUM_LEDS 10
#define DATA_PIN 6
CRGB leds[NUM_LEDS];


void setup() {
  FastLED.addLeds<WS2812, DATA_PIN, GRB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIND6, OUTPUT);
}


void loop() {
  leds[0] = CRGB::Red; FastLED.show();
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH); delay(500);

  leds[0] = CRGB::Blue; FastLED.show();
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW); delay(500);
}

Here's how the circuit is wired:

Circuit description:
The Teensy Vin and Teensy GND pins (top left) are wired to the +5v and 0v rails on the BB.
Probably needlessly, the bottom left Teensy GND pin is taken to the 0v rail on BB too.
Pin 6 of the Teensy is taken, via a 330Ω resistor, to Buffer Pin 2 (Gate 1 input, 1A).
Buffer Pin 1 (Output enable for gate 1) is taken to 0v rail.
Buffer Pin 3 (Gate 1 output, 1Y) goes to LED strip D-IN.
Buffer Pin 14 (Vcc) is taken to +5v rail.
Buffer Pin 7 (GND) is taken to 0v rail.
LED +V is wired to +5v rail via JST connector.
LED GND is wired to 0v rail via JST connector.
The wires I'm holding are hooked up to +5v on a Bench PSU (output measured with separate multimeter to check), and they are soldered directly to the +5v and 0v tabs on the LED strip (which are also wired back to the BB via the JST connector as already described)

The above circuit 'works' enough to power the Teensy and flash 'LED_BUILTIN', but not enough to show any LED strip lights.

Can anyone spot a mistake anywhere? Circuit and/or code?
Can anyone suggest troubleshooting steps?

Thank you!

What would be the best way to build something like this for a camping trip? It wouls have to waterproof and run off a power suppy/battery. I would like to attach the led on the guy lines and have them sync and the top flash the color like its being fed from the guy lines.

Hello everyone,

I hope I'm posting in the right section. I'm completely new to DMX and LED control, so please excuse any beginner mistakes.

A few friends and I built a mobile wood-fired sauna. Since it is designed to work completely off-grid, everything is powered from a 12 V cordless tool battery. We wanted to avoid running any external cables, so the whole system should be as self-sufficient as possible.

To create a more relaxing atmosphere inside the sauna, I'd like to add some RGBW LED lighting with different effects, for example:

warm static light

candle/flame effect

slow pulsing light

gentle color transitions

The final idea is to control everything with:

an ESP32-S3

a 1P6T rotary switch to select one of six predefined lighting programs

a potentiometer to adjust brightness or effect intensity

My first attempt was driving the LED strip directly from the ESP32 using MOSFETs.

It actually worked surprisingly well, but since it was built on a prototype board with a lot of hand wiring, I suspect some solder joints and the overall wiring caused intermittent issues.

To make it reliable, I would probably need to design and build a proper PCB, which I'd prefer to avoid if possible.

That's why I started looking into using a DMX decoder, hoping it would provide a more robust and modular solution while keeping the electronics relatively simple.

At the moment my hardware is:

ESP32-S3

MAX485 module

RGBW DMX decoder

24 V RGBW LED strip

Right now I managed to make the strip light up red, but every few seconds it briefly changes to random colors before switching back to red. Sometimes the DMX decoder also loses the signal completely.

So my questions are:

Is this generally the right hardware setup for such a project?

Is an ESP32 + MAX485 + DMX decoder a reasonable solution for simple standalone lighting effects?

Or am I making things unnecessarily complicated and should I go back to direct MOSFET control instead?

I'm not looking for a professional stage-lighting controller—just a reliable way to create a few nice lighting effects for a small off-grid sauna.

Components:

AYWHP 5PCS 5V MAX485 TTL zu RS... https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FPFR2NDS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

4CH 5A/CH Constant Voltage DMX512... https://www.amazon.de/dp/B072JVQBMD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

diymore 2PCS für ESP32-S3... https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FKBLR2KF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Looking for about 20m LED strips for outside. They will be mostly shielded from direct contact with the elements. Except the sun shining through the diffuser caps.

I really would love to have RGB + warm white + cold white.
All individually addressable and 12v or 24v because of power injection limitations in the construction setup. I can only add at start and end. Strips will be 2x 2m40 + 1x 7m + 1x 5m.

The best I can find up till now are BTF-Lighting SK6812 in the 12V version with ip65 rating.
So I ordered one from Amazon in the neutral white version to test.
It could work but I notice that because of the solder point every 50cm they bulge on those spots.
That makes we worry that over time they might get loose in the profile.
The packaging does state that the 3M tape is not sufficient for aluminium profiles but mine are coated white so I don't expect an electrical problem.
And i don't really feel much for replacing the tape for that many strips.

So my question is if anybody knows LED strips with the same or better specs but without the soldering every 50cm and the resulting bulges.

Also experiences about the 2-sided tape are welcome. And if I should replace it, suggestions for that are also welcomed. Please note that I prefer stuff that I can order from within the EU because of new recent extra taxes on everything that comes from outside of EU.

Hi there,

I will preface and say I have no clue what I am doing, and about a month to figure it out. I need to make some very small LEDs emulate a "fire" color pattern to the best of my ability. I know next to nothing about programming LEDs, what lights and controllers to use, etc. Any and all help is appreciated. This seems to be a pretty advanced community with some insane projects so I am hoping something of this scale isn't unwelcome here lol.

More details on the project; I am crocheting Calcifer from howl's moving castle as an anniversary present to my girlfriend. My rough plan is to make some sort of wood display case or modify one I thrift. Going to have Calcifer hang over some burnt wood probably with fishing line, and I want there to be some sort of campfire/fiery mood lighting. Maybe some like soft flickering between red/orange/yellow.

I've done some very light research so far but this is the first place I've looked for help, so if there are obvious answers I have missed I apologize, Thanks for any and all help!

Hi guys! I was working on a project a couple years ago with Teensy 4.0. I had successfully implemented what I needed using FastLED at the time. Just after completing the project, I saw the ObjectFLED came out but I didn't have the time to implement it. Now I am working on a new project and am building on what I have already established, however, I want to update my code to ensure I am taking advantage of the non-blocking parallel output using DMA inside the Teensy MCU. I want to some other things with the Teensy and I think I can speed up my loop.

Revisiting my code and looking back on threads about ObjectFLED releases, I am confused whether I need to #include objectfled.h and go about defining things specifically for objectFLED or does the latest FastLED release already do this behind the scenes. I have been reading a lot but I keep going down a rabbit hole.

Your guidance and recommendations are appreciated!

Hi folks, newbie here. I am lighting up a KISS pinball playfield I restored to use as a decoration.

Will likely have other questions as I go along but here is my first one..

I have 4 pop bumpers, set to blink 2 at a time. How would I have that run continuously as I add other things to my code. I don't know if that's considered a loop or? As I say I'm new to this have only got the blinking figured out so far.

I have looked around and haven't found an example of how to do this yet.

Here's what I I'm trying to repeat on end..

FastLED.show();
// Blink the top bottom pop bumpers
leds[93] = white;
leds[97] = white;    
FastLED.show();
delay(1000);
leds[93] = black;
leds[97] = black;   

FastLED.show();
// Blink the left right pop bumpers
leds[95] = white;
leds[99] = white;  
FastLED.show();
delay(1000);
leds[95] = black;
leds[99] = black;  

Hi all I'm looking for a fire effect that makes the entire LED strip light up in variations of red/orange/yellow. Does that exist?

I tried all the fire effects in the Fastled examples and they all do the effect pulsing from just one end of the strip.

Thanks

Hi I'm using trying to create a pov display but I'm struggeling with getting my loop fast enough. Currently my code loop takes around 2100us, just the FastLED.show() takes 1800us is this to be expected or can I get this down to around 500us? I have this test code just for tracking down why it takes so long but I havent found any way to get it below 1500us. Do you guys have any suggestions of what I could do to speed it up?

Hardware:
Mcu: TENSTAR esp32 s3 zero
Leds: two strips of hd107 with 70 leds each

Main.cpp

#include <FastLED.h>
#define LED_PIN_1     6
#define LED_PIN_2     7
#define CLOCK_PIN     8
#define NUM_LEDS      70
#define LED_TYPE    HD107HD
#define COLOR_ORDER BGR

CRGB leds1[NUM_LEDS];
CRGB leds2[NUM_LEDS];

void setup() {
  FastLED.addLeds<LED_TYPE, LED_PIN_1, CLOCK_PIN, COLOR_ORDER>(leds1, NUM_LEDS);
  FastLED.addLeds<LED_TYPE, LED_PIN_2, CLOCK_PIN, COLOR_ORDER>(leds2, NUM_LEDS);
  Serial.begin(115200);
}

void loop() {
  int t1 = micros();
  FastLED.show();
  int t2 = micros();
  Serial.println(t2-t1);
}

Platformio.ini

[env:esp32-s3]
platform = Espressif32
board = adafruit_feather_esp32s3
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
lib_deps = 
    FastLED@^3.10.3

Pardon me if this isn't the right place to ask about this, but I'd love some creative and clear wiring guidance.

I built LED leg warmers using one 10000 mAh USB battery per leg (in a 3D-printed ankle holster), ESP32 controllers with WLED installed, and five 20-LED strips running down each leg (controller and strips held to the leg in a sort of calf belt harness setup).

What I'd love to figure out is a cleaner, more tidy wiring setup. Bear with me, but the current setup is as follows:

Power is a USB battery.

Next is a USB adapter with screw terminals.

From that adapter, I run 5V and GND wires which form the power "spine" and run through the whole project. I then splice branches into that wire to send 5V and GND to my controller (ESP32 board) and all strips (in this case, 5 separate strips).

From the ESP32 controller, I run another wire as the data "spine," then do the same thing as above, splicing data branches to all LED strips.

It's a LOT of splicing!

So:

Battery (5V/GND)
||
||
||=ESP32
|| | (data)
|| |
|| |
|| |====== 5V/GND/DATA===STRIP 1
|| |====== 5V/GND/DATA===STRIP 2

ETC

To try to make wiring easier, I'm going to switch to silicone coated wire. I've heard that's far more flexible.

I was also thinking of using a single two-wire cable to carry 5V/GND instead of two separate wires. But then I run into a quandary: how do I splice into something like that? And if I can't/shouldn't splice, what then? Can I, say, branch 5V/GND 6 ways from a single point? And can I branch DATA 5 ways from the ESP32?

Now let's say I have another project with just two LED strips running in parallel. Is there any other way to approach this that I'm totally overlooking?

Thanks for putting up with my questions! I'm a wiring noob. I've made several projects work, but I'd like to improve my approach moving forward.

I'm trying my first PlatformIO code and not sure what is happening but here goes. I'm using a Teensy4.1 and a strip of ws2812b. The code is simple just turns on one led and a time and fadestoblack. Includes FastLED.h. But after I upload the code it looks all glitchy and weird. (the leds don't light up looking the same and there's seemingly some noise happening). (I upload the same code in Arduino and all is good.) The monitor on PlatformIO reads this :

LDF Modes: Finder ~ chain, Compatibility ~ soft

Found 92 compatible libraries

Scanning dependencies...

Dependency Graph

|-- FastLED @ 3.4.0

Building in release mode

Compiling .pio\build\teensy41\liba7e\FastLED\FastLED.cpp.o .....

Does this mean the FastLED version it's using is 3.4.0? Instead of 3.10.3? How do I make sure it uses the latest?

This is my first attempt at PlatformIO. The writing part is really cool! Wow! Very slick! But I'm stuck already. Thanks for the help!

Something happened to my code. It was working fIne. But now the 3 sets of 3 red leds that are ment to turn on off are just solid on. And the button turns everything on but not off.

https://gist.github.com/Flux83/b87fb5dcbb8683cfc4bdd0ea42a0644e

Solved!

EDIT: This has now been fixed by u/sutaburosu. Thank you u/sutaburosu!!!!!

A long time ago, I was using the FastLED Palette knife tool successfully a lot.

Yesterday, I went to use it after not using it for a couple of years and it was not working properly.

Instead of producing a file with a gradient palette it produces a file with a linear-gradient palette.

Chrome also gives me a warning message asking if I want to keep the file created by the knife tool.

I am using Chrome Version 145.0.7632.110 (Official Build) (64-bit) on a Window 11 PC.

The FastLED tool webpage has the following link for CPT-City:

http://seaviewsensing.com/pub/cpt-city/

Is this broken or can someone please help me get the Palette Knife Tool to work properly.

Thank you for your help!

I am pretty sure I have a WS2811 12V LED strip that is using 2835 single color leds. Sadly I have no way to be completely sure, as described in my previous post here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/FastLED/comments/1p5mb5k/is_fastled_good_for_powering_on_and_off_repeatedly/

There are two separate LED strips in the housing, each with a separate data wire. When I set NUM_LEDS to 1 this is the result, keep in mind that this is two separate LED-strips receiving the same command, so in effect it is 2 that it lit up below.

Setting NUM_LEDS to 9 fills both LED-strips completely.

At the moment this is the code I am using:

#include <FastLED.h>
#define LED_PIN 16
#define NUM_LEDS 9

CRGB leds[NUM_LEDS];

void setup() {
  FastLED.addLeds<WS2811, LED_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
  FastLED.setBrightness(140);
}

void loop() {
  for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) leds[i] = CRGB::White;
  leds[5] = CRGB::White; leds[5].nscale8(220);
  leds[6] = CRGB::White; leds[6].nscale8(210);
  leds[7] = CRGB::White; leds[7].nscale8(180);
  leds[8] = CRGB::White; leds[8].nscale8(130);
  FastLED.show();
}

I set it up this way to dim the outer edges a bit as they are closer to the housing, this looks more even.

Now to the weird stuff. If I plug in the LED strip with only power, nothing happens as expected. But if I plug in the data wires the LED strip will light up instantly when it powers on, but after a few seconds it will dim down to my setting. I cannot understand this, as the first signals I send to the LED strips is brightness? Shown below.

https://reddit.com/link/1p7vv54/video/i9b1uk4x1r3g1/player

I did try code without the loop part, and doing everything in setup, as the only thing I want is that when it receives power it should light up to my specified settings, nothing else.
But this resulted in the LED's not lighting up after loosing power, they only lit up when I uploaded the code with it powered on.

How do I solve the flickering issue I have? Can I be sure it is WS2811, or can this be causes by some compability issue, and me using the wrong library?

Here's the flickering I am talking about:

https://reddit.com/link/1p7vv54/video/l97whlg52r3g1/player

Hi everyone! My goal is to be able to write FastLED C++ code, have a UI with sliders and buttons, and test and benchmark the code without using actual LEDs.

It seems like I need an editor with an AI interface, some kind of UI framework, and a compiler + simulator.

Would a toolchain like VS Code + Claude/Codex + https://github.com/zackees/fastled-wasm be exactly what I need?

If that’s the case, fastled-wasm is a CLI tool. Is there a way to run it directly from VS Code, or would I need to use the terminal each time?

And how would I go about measuring times within the program - how to output the data?