ey there!
I have just bought 5mts of ws2811 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/281261795832?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)
And I am wondering, is there any chance to connect and feed this strip straight from Arduino?
This are the specs that appear at ebay:
Specification:
30 RGB LEDs per 1M
150 RGB LEDS Per 5M
1 WS2811 IC control 3 LED Chip
IP65 Tube waterproof,
Work Voltage: DC12V
Work Current: 3A
Width:10MM
Length: 5M
You can control the strip from an Arduino but not power it. You'll need power supply for the strip.
camilozk:
ey there!I have just bought 5mts of ws2811 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/281261795832?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649)
And I am wondering, is there any chance to connect and feed this strip straight from Arduino?
Yes, you can, as long as you never have more than two dozen or so LEDs on at full WHITE at any given time. The power needs are based on the LEDs. The max power required would be every LED on at full WHITE (so the RED, GREEN, and BLUE LED would all be on). I modified my code to disallow setting more LEDs than the power I have available through an Arduino. It means I can't do everything, but it was fine for doing simple testing without an external power supply.
Also, if you are using the Adafruit NeoPixel library, you can use setBrightness(2) to make the LEDs be very dim -- enough to see and test, but take a fraction of the power.
It's best to have a big power supply, but if you can specifically control the situation, you can power off the Arduino just fine.
Look at any cheap lamp or light -- they often say "max 30w bulb" or similar. Sure, you can screw in a 120 watt bulb but you might melt the cord... That's the same situation here. As long as you don't draw more than what the power supply (or wires!) can handle, it's fine. Electricity is cool.