I have a question about how much load the H801 can carry. This is for my current project which is 4 x 5 meter strips of RGBW (5050 300 LEDs per strip total).
I plan to connect 2 strips directly to the H801 and then use a booster for each one of the remaining strips.
These lights will remain lit for long period of time.
I have tested the plan and it all works perfectly. All strips give out the exact same color at the same time.
So my only concern is if this is toward the limit of the H801, it could shorten it’s life span.
It is probably the edge of the limit for a single unit running for long hours, but you would need to share some more specs to be sure. Ideally for the led strip (as they can differ) and the booster device.
Will you have them on full brightness and what color? E.g. white mostly might put extra stain on that transistor, hence maybe split them so that one is on the cool white channel and one strip is on the warm white channel. Or perhaps get an extra h801 to be safe… They are hardly too expensive…
Adding another H801 would be difficult. Not in terms of price, but in terms of control.
I could however add another booster. So the H801 would only power one strip and each of the other 3 strips would be powered by a booster.
I am trying to flash the H801 and am getting the below error. Can someone please help me troubleshoot the issue? Not sure if I am doing something wrong. I have posted the steps I followed.
esptool v0.4.6 - (c) 2014 Ch. Klippel ck@atelier-klippel.de
setting board to nodemcu
setting baudrate from 115200 to 115200
setting port from COM1 to COM4
setting address from 0x00000000 to 0x00000000
espcomm_upload_file
stat SmartLifeRGBWController.ino.generic.bin success
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
opening bootloader
resetting board
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
resetting board
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
resetting board
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
trying to connect
flush start
setting serial port timeouts to 1 ms
setting serial port timeouts to 1000 ms
flush complete
espcomm_send_command: sending command header
espcomm_send_command: sending command payload
read 0, requested 1
warning: espcomm_sync failed
error: espcomm_open failed
I have followed the following steps.
extracted the ESPEasy_R120 folder and copied the file SmartLifeRGBWController.ino.generic.bin into the folder.
Connected Jumper J3.
Connected TX, RX and GND between FTDI and H801.
Identified the com port (COM4) from device manger.
Disconnected and reconnected the USB port and held on to the jumper on the H801 to have a solid connection.
Ran the following command from command prompt.
esptool.exe -vv -cd nodemcu -cb 115200 -cp COM4 -ca 0x00000 -cf SmartLifeRGBWController.ino.generic.bin
So rgbw 60 (60 led per m, and hence 150 rgb and 150 w), uses 1.2A per meter if you use all lights, or 0.3A per channel (roughly). Hence 1.5A per strip per channel. It looks like the booster uses very little current which is good.
It’s hard to know what is safe, but for me, if running continuously at high brightness then i would probably add an extra booster. There is just no reason to risk the faff of replacement and configuration when you don’t need to.
That said if you aren’t using all four channels (or three), at 100% duty cycle them you definitely could get away with less boosters…
since the white and RGB are mutually exclusive in that particular situation
and those will rarely be in full brightness, I now feel more confident.
I will add a third booster anyway as I agree with you. better safe than
sorry.
Hello, I’ve been researching the topics about the H801 and finally came across your “getting started” post. Sorry if you get asked this a lot, but I just wanted to see if this is the latest information about the required parts and flashing steps since I see it’s from Sept 16. I love what I read about this and can’t wait to get started, just wanted to make sure I’m starting in the right place :). Thanks so much!
Cheers @erocm1231 for all your hard work.
I flashed my 2 devices yesterday no problem.
One device gave out the ssid straight away and the other took a few reboots and finally shown up.
Just trying to get my head round how many amps I need now I’m only going to have maximum 2mtrs of 3528 rgb.
I haven’t been following closely lately but I think there was another version of this floating about now, might read the last few hundred posts or so, or maybe someone else will chime in.
Well I’ve had no luck trying to find another flash file to get this to work. I’m not sure if anyone is working on this because I posted this problem just about 2 weeks ago and your the first person who’s commented on it… I’m thinking of going to the H801 and forgetting the Mini controller…
Dont know what is going on or status, but Eric is a busy man doing everything voluntarily, so if you want to use the device then you will need to hold on a while. Further up the thread somebody was sending him a device to test with (I think it was an LC02 with WiFi problems), but debugging and tweaking takes time. For the coding I do, there are lots of projects going on simultaneously and I cant get to everything when I want, plus he has a lot more projects than me!
The H801 does work reliably so if you need a faster solution then I suggest that as a solution… even if it is interim.
Please don’t take my comment as if I need everybody to cater to my needs. Please believe me when I say this work that you guys do is great!!! And most likely voluntarily… I was just stating that I personally haven’t heard anything since I posted the problem 13 days ago. Your the first person to comment on the problem and the status so thank you for that. I understand when your the person with all the know how everybody wants there problem solved first. So thank all of you guys and gals who take your own time so us people with no skills in this department can enjoy all the tricks of the trade!
Sorry I haven’t posted back, I have been busy. I have been testing the devices that @jwosi has sent me (thanks!) and talking with him via PM.
Unfortunately, there is something very different with the esp8266 on the unit he sent me. The first thing to notice is that the metal shield has been removed. Why this is the case, I have no idea. I have a suspicion that the SPI flash chip was replaced, but I don’t know why they would do this.
I’ve tried several techniques to get it to work, but no luck. I can’t get any sketch to boot on it. Not mine or anyone else’s. It seems defective, but I am not going to rule it out yet. There are a few complaints across the internet regarding this device where people have similar issues. I’ll wait until there is more of a conversation about it and look into it again.
As of right now, I recommend that you don’t purchase this device. The H801 does not have this problem as far as I know. For those having the problem with the AriLux, where did you purchase them from? I wonder if there is anything in common between them.
No, worries I know your very busy so I get it, As far as where I bought my AriLux LC02 I got it from BangGood.com I was sharing with Drew from Taylor Tech the controller he was using vs. the one I had was different as far as number on the board itself. But (Twodaend) stated he had the same controller and he got his to work so that’s all the info I have… Hey Eric Thanks Again just in case you don’t here that enough!!!
So they’ve used a smaller flash chip have they? Strange that would stop it booting unless they also used some custom pins or something like that (in order to decrease PCB size). You get no errors when flashing though I guess?
The shielded chips cost a bit more as they come pre-fabricated and are easier to solder on, though otherwise should be the same. I guess as volumes have increased they have been able to do the PCB properly and hence did it with pure chips (or not properly as it would seem!!).
