WifiLights

Web app and companion Arduino firmware for controlling addressable RGB LED strips. It was designed with Christmas lights in mind, but you can use it for all kinds of fun projects.

Warning

Use of this project is at your own risk. Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience.

Hardware setup

⚡ Important ⚡

Powering an LED strip with less than 10A is not recommended. Unless you just have a handful of LED pixels, you cannot power it directly from a microcontroller. If you're using more than couple hundred LEDs, you will likely need more advanced power supply than the one in the exampleparts list. Projects of this scale are potentially very dangerous without proper parts and experience in high-power, low-voltage systems. Always do the math. Always provide adequate power. Always take measurements to confirm operating values are as expected.

Example Parts List

Here's some suggested parts to get you started: http://a.co/6A6ZOjq Note this project has been updated for the ESP32, a dual-core variant of the ESP8266. You can find legacy code for the ESP8266 in the esp8266 branch. The ESP32 variant offers a number of advantages over the ESP8266, most importantly that WIFI operates on a separate core such that LED animations are not interupted by WiFi operations.

Example Circuit

Tips for better results:

• Connecting a 1000uF capacitor between 5V and GND is recommended and can protect against power fluctuations
• Connecting a 300-500 Ohm resistor between your microcontroller's data pin and the data input pin of the strip is recommended to prevent voltage spikes from damaging your LED strips
• The microcontroller recommended in this project (ESP32) operates at 3.3V while most LED strips operate at either 5V or 12V. You'll need to use a logic level shifter to step up the data voltage the the correct value for your strip.

Software setup

Web app

1. npm install
2. npm start

This starts the web app. By default, it starts on port 3000 (e.g. http://localhost:3000). Setting a PORT env variable can override this.

ESP32 Firmware

⚡ Important! ⚡

Always ensure the power supply is connected to the circuit before plugging in the USB cable. The USB cable will supply power from your USB port - but not enough to power your LEDs. Plugging in the USB cable without the power supply connected could overload your USB port and damage it (though per spec, these ports should provide recoverable over current protection).

1. Install the Arduino IDE (recommended): https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
2. Install the CP2104 USB Driver for the ESP32: http://www.silabs.com/products/development-tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers
3. Edit WifiLightsConfig.h with your setup (SSID, Password, Server Hostname, LED protocol, etc.)
4. In the Arduino IDE, configure:

• File > Preferences -- add the ESP32 board manager URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json
• Tools > Board > Board Manager -- install the esp32 package
• Tools > Board -- select Adafruit HUZZAH ESP32
• Sketch > Include Library > Manage Libraries -- install the latest FastLED, ArduinoJSON, Wifi, QList, and Adafruit SSD1306 libraries

5. Attach the USB cable
6. Click Upload

Debugging

You can get basic debug info from the ESP32 by connecting the USB cable and opening the Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE. Set the baud rate to 115200. The firmware will output basic logs about connecting to your WiFi network, polling the node app's API, and parsing the results of the node API. Additional status is displayed on the connected OLED display. If you experience exceptions, you can decode the stack using ESPExceptionDecoder.