I’ve been trying to get these LEDs to work directly into the PWM slot on the RIO: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088BB8WTZ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A35UAT07QG3EC6&th=1. I have no idea why it’s not working. We’re thinking of just trying another strip but any advice would be much appreciated!
Day 1 (didn’t work): Tried, didn’t work. Setup: RIO PWM to LEDs (made sure the right PWM wires connected to the right spots on the LED strip), external power from PDH via 12V to 5V stepdown converter. The 1st LED receives voltage according to multimeter. Sometimes the other LEDs don’t receive power, but sometimes they do. Sometimes it’s under 1V but normally it’s 5V. Also, the first 2 LEDs were shorting out b/c there was some metal dust or something inside of them (manufacturing issue?), so we cut those LEDs off.
Day 2 (tested w/ Arduino; worked but weird): I tested it w/ Arduino Uno + it worked. It didn’t work until I tried connecting the signal wire with one of the other ones but now it works without needing to be shorted. The presence of a GND wire seems to be unnecessary as long as the signal wire is attached (but it kinda helps as a failsafe). Also there was a significant voltage drop between consecutive LEDs. W/o the Arduino, the lights only turn on by connecting + to VCC and - to signal. The wiring we tested w/ the RIO was correct so maybe there’s a coding issue or maybe we need to try shorting the signal wire.
Day 3 (still doesn’t work with RIO): Same setup as Day 1. Tried multiple PWM ports on the RIO. Tried different sections of the LED strip. Tried with additional voltage and without it. All wires were receiving voltage either way. Signal wire voltage was constant when it was receiving voltage. For a little bit, some LEDs after the first one were not receiving voltage. Sometimes, the none were receiving voltage somehow even though the wires leading up to the . For about a minute, the 5V and Signal wire had continuity even though no metal was touching other metal (100% sure). I powered a section of the LED strip from the 2nd LED onwards (alligator clips for GND and VCC, ammeter in multimeter for signal wire), then the 1st LED exploded but nothing happened to the other ones. I tried powering the LED strip segment from the other end but nothing happened.
Code based on this: Addressable LEDs — FIRST Robotics Competition documentation
Currently planning to buy new LEDs and see if those work; else maybe use an Arduino on the robot.