ESP32 Forum

Hi,
I bought the esp32 controller and I would like to connect WS2812B leds (5V 5050 150 LEDs IP30).
The red wire of the led is connected to the 5v pin, the white to the Gnd pin and the green to the G16 pin.
Then simultaneously I connect the micro usb cable to the pc on the usb 2.0/3.0 port. Everything works, but I would like to be sure that the connections are correct and not to break the controller or pc.

I attach Pinout Diagram of my controller esp32: There are 2 Gnd pins, I'm using the first one on the top right. All right?

Sorry for the question but i'm trying to learn, it's my first esp32 controller.

thank you !

Hi,

All GNDs are supposed to be only one (connected together).

Two concerns:

• WS2812B expects 5V logic on the data line, but the ESP32 GPIOs only provide 3.3V. Since 3.3V is around the WS2812B high value cutoff, sending 3.3V signals to the WS2812B will sometimes work and sometimes not work, and it can go between working and not working with little warning. You should use a logic level converter to bump up the ESP32 3.3V signals to 5V signals.
• The current drawn by a 150 LED strip is far more than a USB port should be able to provide, and probably more than you should be trying to pass through that single 5V pin. It would be better to have a separate 5V power supply if you want to drive that many LEDs.
  If you do use a separate power supply, connect the LED strip ground and power lines to the power supply, and the LED strip ground and signal lines to the ESP32. You can also connect the 5V power supply power line to the ESP32 5V pin to power the board, but you should not do that if you are connected to the USB at the same time (one and only one power source should be used to drive the ESP32).