Hey peeps, got an Arduino Pro Micro hooked up to 300*5050SMDs on WS2811's,

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Hey peeps, got an Arduino Pro Micro hooked up to 300*5050SMDs on WS2811’s, but nothings happening, the only life I’m getting out of it is when some parts briefly flash green when I plug it in

I soldered up a 12V/1A wall adapter to the connector, my multi meter confirms 12V is coming out the other end of the strip with the correct polarity, I have also connected the ground to the ground pin of my arduino. I have connected pin 9 of the pro micro to the DIN pin on the strip and am running the following code

#include <FastLED.h>
#define NUM_LEDS 300
#define DATA_PIN 9

 CRGB leds[NUM_LEDS];

void setup() 
{ 
   FastLED.addLeds<NEOPIXEL, DATA_PIN>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
}
void loop() 
{
    for(int dot = 0; dot < NUM_LEDS; dot++) 
    { 
        leds[dot] = CRGB::Blue;
        FastLED.show();
    }
}

Which compiles and uploads successfully, additionally I have continuity tested everything and found no breaks…

Any suggestions??

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Update: Tried same setup with 12V line from Molex from 300W desktop PSU (just jumped, not powering a desktop) and same results

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Could be related to the color order. Try sending WHITE. Can’t remember what the code is but you’ll need to give FastLED the color order. Maybe that helps. good luck.

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@Trey_Coursey Ahh, thanks for the tip Trey!! It’s 1AM where I am but will try in the morning, thanks again!!!

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Hi @David_Roth - you state you have WS2811 RGB LEDs. If that is so, then your code should read:

FastLED.addLeds<WS2811, DATA_PIN>(leds, NUM_LEDS);

Change the NEOPIXELS to WS2811.

Next, check with seller that three wires for power and data in are what you are using and that they are the correct end that you are using for power and data in. I just got a big order in from Ray Wu’s store and two of the four WS2811 products have the three wires for power and data as: Red end – V+, Green center – ground and Blue end – data in. Ray sent me an email back stating this when I asked to confirm what the power and data in wires order were since I could not get them to work and now they do when I use the different connections. Normally, the three wires are Red end – V+, Green center – data in and Blue end – ground as in the other two products that I got in that order.

Finally, what board do you have your Arduino IDE set to and what programmer do you have your Arduino IDE set to? Check to find out what board an Arduino Pro Micro should be set to and what the programmer should be set to. I do not own any so I am not sure what to use.

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Most WS2811s are 5 volt, are too sure yours are 12v?

Is the ground on the strip connected to ground on the controller?

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Are you sure your LEDs are 12V ? Usually they come as 5V. If this is the case your LEDs are gone… An Arduino Pro runs into memory restrictions. Start with defining less LEDs, lets say use 50 and see what happens.

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Thanks for the support guys, it is indeed a 12V strip, triple checked the wiring
The strip flashes on for a second when powered, so I think the power is ok
The Arduino ground is indeed connected to the strip ground directly.
I’ve also made the suggested code changes but no dice, additionally, I’ve successfully used this controller being programmed by this computer in other projects so I’m fairly certain that’s not it :’(
Any other tips?? Buy an oscilloscope??
missing/deleted image from Google+

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Cut off the first 3 leds… And remember that there are 3 leds for each WS2811. So only declare 100 leds in the sketch if there are 300 on the strip.

Just saw your photos, is it a 3.3V or 5V Pro Micro? If it’s 3.3V, you may need a level shifter.

Also solder those connections…

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could we see the schema of your wiring ? if you’re using WS2811 (you’ll need to use 5V power supply according to the data sheet :

unless u have them by three.
and i would change NEOPIXEL by ws2811 in your strip declaration as NEOPIXELis more ws2812
i hope that will help

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Thanks so much for the help everyone! In the end Jeremy’s solution fixed the problem, the first and last WS2811’s are cooked. Chopping off the first one re-soldering did the trick. Thanks again!!

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@Jeremy_Spencer Interestingly enough though, declaring 100 LEDs only covers the first third of the strip, I actually do need to declare 298 LEDs…

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Glad you got it sorted :slight_smile: