So I want to use my Arduino nano 33 ble for an outdoor LED strip project. I would like to get at least a strip of LED's with 100 LED/m. Would just a 5v power supply be sufficient and should I use resistors and capacitors? Also, how would I correctly connect the power supply since the nano does not have a port for it? In the future I am looking to build a sound reactive LED setup in my room too, would I need a different Arduino and bigger power supply?
Would just a 5v power supply be sufficient
Well it’s a start. It needs to be capable of supplying he required current. Allow 50 to 60 mA per LED.
should I use resistors and capacitors
Yes.
Connect the 5V power supply to the 5V pin on the NANO and the 5V of the strip and also do the same with the ground connections of all three.
This applies to both indoor and outdoor lighting. The more LEDs the more current you need.
A problem might arise with the distance from the Arduino to the first LED, if this is too long then the signal might not reach the strip. In which case you will need a buffer between Arduino and strip.
You have not specified whether you expect individually addressable or uniform colour RGB LED strips.
Paul__B:
You have not specified whether you expect individually addressable or uniform colour RGB LED strips.
Oh yea, sorry! I plan on doing individually addressable LED strips.
Grumpy_Mike:
Well it’s a start. It needs to be capable of supplying he required current. Allow 50 to 60 mA per LED.
Yes.
Would a higher voltage be dangerous to the arduino?
Grumpy_Mike:
Connect the 5V power supply to the 5V pin on the NANO and the 5V of the strip and also do the same with the ground connections of all three.
Sorry if I sound like a noob, but this is all brand new to me. How could I connect the 5V supply to the pin? So I do not just use the usb to power the nano?
Right.
Well, WS2812 LEDs draw about 55 mA each at full white brightness, and 1 mA each when dark. So 100 makes 5.5 A on full and 100 mA when dark.
The Nano indeed has a port for supplying power - the pin is labelled "5V" and it goes without saying you have to connect the ground as well. So when you find your 8 or 10 A rated 5 V regulated supply, you connect it to the LED strip which is the main consumer of power (in fact, you connect 5 V and ground to both ends of the LED strip using reasonably heavy wire), and then you bring the 5 V, ground and data wires all together as a bundle, back from the start of the LED strip to connect to the Nano.
And since you have specified a 3.3 V processor version of the Nano, you need a level converter to develop the proper 5 V control signal drive for the LED strip - a 74HCT14 using two gates in tandem (inverting twice) is probably the simplest here. (Other gates must have inputs tied to ground.)
Would a higher voltage be dangerous to the arduino?
Why do you ask this? I said the power supply must be able to supply the correct amount of current. I said nothing about a higher voltage. Yes a higher voltage will damage both the Arduino and the LED strip.
For a power supply the current capability is what current it can supply if the load demands it. The current drawn depends on the impedance of the load. So you can run an Arduino off a power that supplies anything from 30mA to infinity amps.
Of course a very high current capability is unforgiving about short circuits, burning circuit tracks and the like.
How could I connect the 5V supply to the pin? So I do not just use the usb to power the nano?
If you wire the 5V to the Strip only, but you connect all the grounds together.
However you don’t want to use the USB to power your nano unless you always want to have your computer attached.
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