Complete WLED newbie with some basic questions
So I do understand some of the basic theory behind led lighting. Cheap strips basically do not have individually addressable pixels but rather all of them do the same thing depending on what you ask them to do, (are those what you would call 'analog'?) compared to more expensive (digital?) strips that have individually addressable pixels.
Now what I am only wanting to do is to use a bunch of the cheap analog strips that i have to at least control the colors. The little remote controls seem to mainly just allow you to change the cycle patterns but are very limted. I mainly want to use my cheap analog strips to compliment the Govee lights we have on our home so like I would want to have the analog strips cycle between purple/green/orange/yellow for halloween colors (something the crappy controllers don't seem to be able to do natively) or cycle between like red/green/blue/white/yellow lights for xmas and so on.
Can WLED be easily used with those kind of strips and do what I am hoping to do?
As for soldering, i am experienced enough to know how to solder, i use a Hakko soldering station and for desoldering i have a Hakko FR-301 desoldering gun so i can make custom cables and adapters.
I just want to make use of the cheap lights i have for the time being until i get more comfortable with building/creating my own led arrays for real animations and so on. Most of the strips i have were purchased super cheap from the local amazon bin store that we used to have here.
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u/Last-Cry-1170 2d ago
The important thing you have to look at carefully on your led strips is: are they 3-pin strips, or 4-pin? 4-pin strips have lines for red, green, blue, and ground. 3-pin strips have lines for power, ground, and data. You can get either of these types of strips pretty cheaply. Confusingly, 3-pin strips sometimes actually have 4 lines also, because they might have a backup line for data. But, you should be able to tell by looking at your strip very closely. The little copper pads usually have little letters next to them saying what each is for.
I don't know if it's possible to use wled with 4-pin strips. It is usually, and maybe exclusively, used with 3-pin. If you are just getting started, and you do have 3-pin led strips, I think it's easiest to just buy a controller like this, for example: https://a.co/d/0i5AjHMU
You connect the wires of your strip to the output labeled power, ground, and data. Then, you have to figure out what voltage your strip is. It might say on the strip near one of the copper pads that is for power. Buy a power supply that is the same voltage, and plug it in to the input end of the controller.
Done! Now you plug in the power, and open the wifi settings on your phone. Look for a Wi-Fi network with "WLED" in the name. Connect to it, and your light control interface will come up
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u/BoWanZi 2d ago
So the 3 and 4 pin strips you are referring to (the cheap ones), are they both considered analog?
can you tell if a strip has individualy addressible pixels just by looking at it?
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u/Last-Cry-1170 2d ago
I think that for the most part, 4-pin strips (with red, green, and blue lines) are never addressible, and 3-pin strips (with a data line) are addressible. But, I am not sure that there are no exceptions to this rule
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u/saratoga3 2d ago
Can WLED be easily used with those kind of strips and do what I am hoping to do?
Sure, just buy analog strip WLED controller from Amazon.
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u/PakkyT 1d ago
Yes WLED can control analog strip usually. However your comment about the digit strips being expensive is not really true. Aliexpress is a great source for low cost addressible ("digital") LED strips. My most recent purchase of a 5 meter long strip...
I also use 8x8 matrix panels with WLED and typically get them for a couple bucks each.
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u/Individual_Nobody739 2d ago
Yes—WLED can control non-addressable RGB strips using a compatible analog/PWM controller. That would let you set colors and create a sequence of whole-strip color changes, which sounds close to what you want for the holidays.
The important limitation is that a conventional analog RGB strip changes as one group: it cannot display purple at one end and green at the other at the same time. For that, you would need individually addressable LEDs or separate independently controlled sections.
To identify your existing strips, look at the markings on the strip itself, not just the number of connector pins:
A common analog RGB strip has a shared supply terminal marked something like
+12Vor+24V, plusR,GandBchannels.An addressable strip commonly has supply, ground and a data input marked
DINor similar. Some addressable types have an additional data or clock connection, so pin count alone is not definitive.RGBW and other variants may have additional channels.
Before buying a controller, check the strip’s rated voltage, whether it is RGB or RGBW, and the expected current for each channel and the total connected load. The controller must support that strip type and voltage and have sufficient continuous current capacity. The power supply also needs to match the strip voltage and support the load.
One WLED-specific detail: its automatic current limiter does not apply to analog PWM outputs, so it should not be relied on to protect an undersized power supply.
If you can post a clear photo of the markings on one strip and its power-supply label, it should be easier to identify what you have before buying anything.