I just wired up my new Pixelblaze v3 Pico to a 12v WS2815 neopixelstring and it’s working. But the processor chip is getting very hot. Any idea what could cause that?
I’m tapping the 12v supply to run a buck converter to get my 5v supply, and the DC at the Pixelblaze measures 5.02 volts.
Hi @Yonaguska
This is pretty normal. The esp32 pico chips run pretty hot. There’s quite a bit going on, dual 240MHz cpus and wifi, all in 7x7mm. Making sure the board can get some airflow can help.
Thanks, that’s good to know. I appreciate your help.
can they overheat? If the Pico is left with no airflow and is running hot will it malfunction at a certain point?
Not normally. At room temperature I packed one in foam, and it got very hot, but within the operating range for the chip. Far beyond what you would want to touch, but not damaging to the chip.
Of course it is possible to cause one to overheat with very good insulation and/or high enough ambient temperature. Laws of thermodynamics.
I put a tiny heatsink on my pico and it very easily heated up the heatsink! Since it is displaying a bone simple pattern I have underclocked it to 80MHz (on the settings page with the latest firmware!) and it is much cooler.
I am trying the 80 MHz speed on my V3 Pico+ now. It’s in a hat and I’m making a bunch of them as a gift to my camp, so the hot chip is noticeable and I have a concern that it could even burn somebody’s scalp. I’ll post with observations.
The heatsink is also a good idea. Did you fabricate or purchase the heat sink. I’d be interested in what you’re using.
Thanks for posting these tips!
I used a random little heatsink that came with a Raspberry Pi kit.