Control 20+ WS2013 LED Strips from Pi? Power + Data question

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mosaicrob
 
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Control 20+ WS2013 LED Strips from Pi? Power + Data question

Post by mosaicrob »

Hi there everyone,

I'm working on an art project that will use a large number of Adafruit WS2813 LED strips (5m each). I'm thinking about using a Pi for this which brings me to a few questions:

1) I see it estimated on the forums to factor in 2A per meter for power (so 10A per 5m).. I need to chain these together, so is it as simple as getting a 5v 40A supply for 4 strips? I'm wondering if anyone has experience putting 4 strips together? I know LED's get wonky if there are too many chained together w/ not enough power, so would this work? What about more than 4 strips if the power supply was beefier?

2) Is there any kind of expansion hat I can get for a Pi 3+ B that would allow me to connect more strips?

3) Is there any kind of hardware needed to help process the signal coming from the pi? Some kind of driver to make it easier for the pi to control 8000+ LED's? I'm not sure the RAM needed for something like this, and believe there are boards that make it more easy to do for the Pi, but am not sure the details or if needed.

4) Is there any kind of "quick plug" to connect the LED strip to the Pi and External power. Ideally, it would allow me to connect wires neatly w/o soldering. Any tips here for connectors that will make connecting/disconnecting all the wires is appreciated!

Thank you for any help on the above!

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oesterle
 
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Re: Control 20+ WS2013 LED Strips from Pi? Power + Data ques

Post by oesterle »

Hi, Rob!

I'd consider getting several FadeCandy - Dithering USB-Controlled Driver for RGB NeoPixels to help control tons of NeoPixels.

Shahid Memon recently posted a demo of 4,661 NeoPixels running on a single Raspberry Pi, using 10 Fadecandy NeoPixel driver boards.

The 1,500 NeoPixel LED Curtain with Raspberry Pi and Fadecandy project on the Adafruit Learning System would be a good starting point.

The Adafruit NeoPixel Überguide: Powering Neopixels is your goto reference for powering anything from a few NeoPixels off of a small LiPo battery, to large runs, using ATX power supplies.

I hope you'll share your progress here!

Cheers,

Eric

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