I think I've damaged my neopixel 60 strip

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Azam
 
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I think I've damaged my neopixel 60 strip

Post by Azam »

Hi,

I'm a beginner with arduino, Neopixels made me want to get started but at this point I'm about ready to give up.
Please bear with me if I miss some details out but I've got an arduino leonardo, the neopixel strip with 60 LED's. I'm using a 5V 1A power supply and had my setup with capacitor and resistor wired up as in the neopixel guide.
Everything worked beautifully until I decided to translate the capacitor/resistor/wiring to a prototyping shield to keep everything neat. I neglected to include the ground wire between the arduino and the power supply.

The strip didn't light up and I later realised my mistake and included the ground cable, but not before I tried powering it up again a few times.
I can't get the neopixel strip to light up properly now. Sometimes only the first LED will light up, sometimes a few more further down the strip. When I turn the strip off, it seems that the first 5 or so leds flash briefly before the strip turns off.

Does it sound like I have fried the strip?
Do you think I can salvage any of it?
Also can you recommend a better way for me to try again? Maybe there is a shield that already exists for what I was trying to do on my own.

This setback has put a huge dent in my confidence as a beginner. Once I pick myself up, I am definitely going to try again and would appreciate any advice that you can give me.

Thanks in advance,
Azam

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: I think I've damaged my neopixel 60 strip

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

A common ground reference is important whenever making connections between devices. Without it, signal voltages can float relative to one another. In some cases, the effective signal voltage can be high enough to damage a component.

Fortunately for neopixels, the damage is often confined to the first pixel in the strip. Try cutting off the first pixel and connecting your signal wire to the input of the second pixel. (if that doesn't work, you can try the next few down the line.) You may find that most of the strip is still functional.
translate the capacitor/resistor/wiring to a prototyping shield to keep everything neat.
To be effective, the resistor really should be at the strip end of the signal wire. You can solder one lead of the resistor directly to the strip, and connect your signal wire to the other. A little bit of shrink-wrap tubing over the whole thing will help protect against shorts.

Azam
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:14 pm

Re: I think I've damaged my neopixel 60 strip

Post by Azam »

Alright. That sounds promising. Ill try it and report back. Thank you for the advice.

Azam
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:14 pm

Re: I think I've damaged my neopixel 60 strip

Post by Azam »

Hello Support/ Bill,

I'm pleased to report that the strip is alive once more!! I unsoldered the two halves and the second half worked fine. Then I figured I would cut off pixels from the first half one by one until I found the dud but I only had to take off one!
I'm glad I've only lost one of the pixels. A small price to pay for the experience I gained I spose. Plus I can try and pry it away to see if I can spot the driver underneath.

I think I need to get myself another power supply tho. The one I am currently using is from a USB hub and is rated at 5v and 1A but I'm unsure of the quality. When I had it connected, I noticed that it was causing the first pixel to be discoloured.

I stopped using it and used the 5v pin from the arduino instead and found the discolouration went away.

It seems that my lack of diligence with the power supply caused me to almost lose the strip.

So now I'm going to order myself another power supply and hope it comes in time for the weekend :)

Many thanks for your help on this and bearing with my noob questions.

Thanks,
Azam

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: I think I've damaged my neopixel 60 strip

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I'm pleased to report that the strip is alive once more!!
Great! :D
I stopped using it and used the 5v pin from the arduino
Be careful with that. The 5v pin from the Arduino is not designed for that much of a load. Depending on how you are powering your Arduino, you could overload the on-board voltage regulator.

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