HI
Can anyone please tell me the long time effects of powering Neopixel Ws2812b with 3.3 v instead of 5V?
Even though they are rated for 3.5 V and above , I am Powering them with 3.3v . I have got 12 pixel strip. They all are glowing just fine , and right not I am not seeing any problem of colour mismatching , or wrong colour showing .
Another example of similar circuit I could find was with Adafruit Circuit Playground Express. they are also using 3.3v for powering neopixels
Will there be any problem after 6 months of being under powered use ?
I also have 3 AAA battery in my circuit which can supply 4.5 V . Shall I connect the neopixels directly to it (Do mind this is unregulated voltage) or shall I use 3.3v regulated Voltage ?
manveen_singh:
HI
Can anyone please tell me the long time effects of powering Neopixel Ws2812b with 3.3 v instead of 5V?
Most likely an extremely long lifetime would be the primary effect.
Even though they are rated for 3.5 V and above , I am Powering them with 3.3v . I have got 12 pixel strip. They all are glowing just fine , and right not I am not seeing any problem of colour mismatching , or wrong colour showing .
I also have 3 AAA battery in my circuit which can supply 4.5 V . Shall I connect the neopixels directly to it (Do mind this is unregulated voltage) or shall I use 3.3v regulated Voltage ?
I've run 20 LEDs on 3 AAA cells with no problem. I've let them discharge down to 2.5V and the Uno and LEDs show no signs of suffering from low voltage.
and how long have you been using them like that continuously ?
I've only run on batteries three times. Each was for 24hr. I've thought about going below 2.5V but had no real interest.
As far as lifetime goes I have done no actual tests -- I'm just guessing. That's why the "most likely".
I guess one thing about low voltage I should mention is that the ATmega328P is not rated for 16MHz at 2.5V (if my memory serves). So I may have a chip that is better than spec.
If the Arduino is running at 5V then you are putting a signal into something that is greater than its supply voltage which is a bad thing.
If you have a seriese resistor in line with the data line from the Arduino this will mitigate matters a bit but you will still have current being dumped into the strip’s power rail through the ESD protection diode.
For maximum reliability level shift the data signal to the voltage you are driving the chip at. That is to the strip’s Vin rail.
Grumpy_Mike:
If the Arduino is running at 5V then you are putting a signal into something that is greater than its supply voltage which is a bad thing.
I failed to describe my hardware. It's a 328P chip, an oscillator circuit, and a string of WS2812-3535s. They share the same power source.