WiFi RGB Controller
An alternate approach to building a MySensors RGB Controller is to now purchase a WiFi RGB Controller. These are available in Bluetooth too, but proximity issues meant the WiFi works better for me. And they are available in RGBW.
These little controllers are fantastic. Capable of supplying 144w – that’s over 15 meters of RGB. The results below are from some experimenting. Needless to say, I’ll be buying more of these instead of the DIY approach in the future.
Current Draw from 5m of RGB strip
Documenting current draw on a 5m strip as I never managed to find this information anywhere. Strip was standard 60 LEDs / Meter
| COLOUR | AMPS WITH VOLTAGE ONLY APPLIED AT ONE END | AMPS WITH VOLTAGE AT BOTH ENDS |
|---|---|---|
| Red only | xx | 0.99 |
| Green only | xx | 1.57 |
| Blue only | xx | 1.38 |
| RGB | xx4 | 3.02 |
Applying Voltage at both ends avoids dimmer lights due to voltage drop. And I don’t yet know why the RGB current draw wasn’t the sum of all parts.
Last modified April 10, 2023: more content (59f5057)