First time using Pixelblaze. First project is just driving a single 24 led neopixel ring with a Pixelblaze pico. Can someone please confirm I’ve got the right plan for wiring?
The understanding from here is to power the Neopixel ring directly from the 5V power supply, and then back feed power to the Pixelblaze pico from the Neopixel ring. I would solder wires of the power supply directly to the Neopixel, and connect the pico to the Neopixel using 20 gauge stranded wires (although I do have some 12 gauge solid if needed).
Two things:
(1) the LED ring and Pixelblaze pico run hot to the touch - is that normal? Any way to reduce?
(2) I can connect to the pico via Wi-Fi but changing the LED pattern in the user interface doesn’t result in any change in the LEDs. The LEDs are on but just a constant white. What am I doing wrong?
Yes, the Pico strikes most people (myself included) as very hot at first. It shouldn’t be dangerous, but it’s hot to the touch. Because of how small the chip is, the heat is very concentrated. Since you’re driving a very small number of LEDs, you should be able to turn down the clock speed in settings and get it cooler. The UI might be a bit more sluggish as a result. You could also disable WiFi in settings to reduce heat, but you’ll need button access to re-enable it and obviously won’t have remote control.
The LED heat will be reduced a lot when you run something other than full blast white.
For that, I think we want to check the settings page for the LED type and number of LEDs. Do you have WS2812 selected with the right number of LEDs? Maybe also double check the pin wiring. Your diagram looked right.
Yes, number of pixels and number of LEDs in your situation – and in the case of 95% of all users – are the same.
(Technically, there are some types of addressable LED strips that “join” sets of 3 LEDs into 1 addressable “pixel”, but that’s a niche product and not relevant to your use case – for example, the “led neon rope light” products are usually set up the 3 LEDs per addressable pixel way).
The Pixelblaze V3 standard is 34.2 mm x 39.5 mm, including the antenna.
It subjectively feels a little less hot, but you still wouldn’t enjoy it directly on your skin for sustained periods, and the overall power dissipation is very similar.
They generate the same heat (same power consumption) but the pico doesn’t have a large area to spread it around with. Usually just about any kind of protective covering is enough to prevent uncomfortable direct skin contact.
