Original creator of the WLED software here. There is unfortunately a DANGEROUS problem showing wiring like this to an audience of 400k+ people. This is a fire hazard. Dupont jumper cables are safe for maybe 500 mA, not 10 Amps! You'll want to use a lot thicker wiring. To make proper solderless wiring easy and safe, and prevent possible issues with intermittent LED flashing, I would highly recommend a dedicated controller like the QuinLED Dig line, or the controllers by Serg74 or Athom instead of a raw development board. It does raise the price of the project a bit, but makes it a lot safer! Other than that, thank you for the video, I highly appreciate that you chose to showcase WLED! It helps a lot of people realize how cool (and easy!) open-source lighting can be :)

FIRE HAZARD! Please don't do videos like this is you don't know anything about electrical safety! You're connecting a 10A PSU to a single strand from a Cat 5E cable, which could be as small as 22 AWG - THAT'S NOT SAFE! If you're unlucky this could easily start a fire. Please do a follow-up and tell people not to do this. You could instead use three strands for +5V and there strands for ground, that's good for about 15A. But to be really sure to not overload the cable you should have a 10A fuse between the PSU and the LEDs, a malfunctioning power supply could easily output a lot more than the rated current - and I would not take for granted that a cheap PSU have internal fuses I would also like to point out that 576 LEDs could actually draw up to 28A (all LED full white), so a 10A PSU will not give you full brightness. Also the voltage drop on the cable and the strips will be a problem

Like many are saying in the comments, you skipped over the most important thing which is understanding the power requirements, wire size, and fuses for safety. For any custom length LEDs you need to figure out the total power draw and amperage so you can size your cables properly and make sure your getting enough power. Not enough power is not a huge concern, it just means that the LEDs won't be bright or not get power at all. You only used a 50 watt power suppy which is far too low for four strips at 144 LEDs/m. Too much power and you can fry your wires. It's especially important when using the 144 LEDs/m because these things can get hot. If you had used a bigger power supply here you would have had problems, potentially a fire. I recommend people who want to try this go a find a tutorial about powering LEDs and learn all the basics first.

300 LEDs of that strip you have, at 5v running at 100% white is going to consume 65W. That works out to be 13A, you've got 500+ which is going to be more than 13A. Regardless, you're only running a 10A PSU, restricted to 8A. You've got a run of say at least 3m of CAT5, powering these. CAT5 is only 0.2mm2, and 8A at 5V for 3m requires 6.5mm2. Run this for any considerable amount of time and you're going to cause a fire. Go and check out the guides on quinled, buy one of their boards and ignore this video. You'll thank me when your house isn't in ashes

thx so much for this video - I jumped down the rabbit hole to purchase my first "fairy lights" & stumbled on BTF & WLED - what an adventure im embarked on - this is awesome! 🐰

Please do not attempt to draw more than 1 amp (1000 miliamps) - doing so will melt the copper wire inside the cat5 and jumper cables and cause a fire. do NOT do this! I suspect the app has a limiter below 1 amp, but just in case don't burn down your home, you absolutely insane person.

This is awesome. I just cutout a LED strip and soldered several sections for my truck so I'm ready for the next LED project and this is exactly what I was looking for.. thanks

I appreciate the warnings others have given. I wouldve delved into the safety precaution deep weeds anyways, but many wouldnt have. So as someone deathly concerned with house fire potential, I appreciate then none the less.

Please, use proper cables for these amounts of Amps that are going through the cables. The data cable is fine, but the actual power cables need to be much thicker to not cause any fire hazards.

This video started one hell of a rabbit hole for me

Great video. That chipset is exactly what I was looking for for my own project. Let the fun begin.

I’ve been meaning to do a WLED project for so long but it always seemed daunting especially when coming to power delivery. This vid made it stuuuuupid simple!

Great video, it really helped me get started with my setup. I initially had a problem where the board was unable to communicate with the led strip. After a lot of googling I realised I needed to use the D2 pin instead of the D4 pin and everything then worked perfectly. I later found out that you can change which pin is used for data in WLED settings (In the WLED app, go to Config > LED preferences > Scroll down to Hardware Setup > Set GPIO to whichever data pin you're using, in my case it was 2.)

Isn't it better to connect the thicker red and white lines of the LED strips directly to the power supply to not overpower the ESP - especially when connecting e.g. 20 m of strips in one line?

Great video, defo getting my hands on this kit

Simeon to me is already a stand up guy.. loved the episode.. listening and making wife breakfast on her birthday! Bless all.

Show us complete noobs the power cable splicing when adding the power supply! Are you required to have strips that are IC for those effects? Thanks for the video!

Put a 220 resistor on the data line. If you ramp up the length of your led strip it might fry it from the increase current draw. Also when you increase length you increase resistance so will need to have power injection lines running every 2 meters 🤙🏻

DUDE! I needed this video!

Great tutorial mate! Thanks!

Plz don’t run 8 Amps through cat5e wiring unless your next light show is a fire show

⚠Change the title to "You'll Never Need To Buy LEDs Again! Start A Fire With These!"⚠ Current is what causes fires, not voltage.

Nice. Seen WLED before, might setup a couple of strips now that you've reminded me!

Appreciate the video - great detail and easy to follow.

hey I would like to point out cat5e are only rated for some 600mA each strand, while the LED strip you are using is rated as 28W or 5.6A each. So using this is a solid fire hazard. generally there is no good way around this and, at 20A, the wire you should have used is at least 3mm core diameter which is a lot unless you really have a good reason, please just use 12/24V strips. I looked up the datasheet for WS2811 and its Vih is only 0.7V min so esp32 would be able to control them. btw if I remembered correct, esp32 IO high are 3v2 instead of 5v, so your strip probably also works with low IO voltages in the first place

Before watching the video, I saw some of these comments and thought "no way he'd try to put 8 amps through a patch cable, these people are just spitting gibberish" but then he said "10 amp power supply" and then I was like "ok, well it's probably limited somewhere else" but then he bumped up the limit to 8 AMPS!!! Lemme tell ya, that is NOT a good idea. Way, way, way too much current through a 24 AWG wire. A single 24 AWG wire in the CAT 5 cabling is rated for around 2 amps (3.5 if solid core, but most network cable is stranded, and will have less current carrying capacity) according to my quick Google search. So yeah, if you push 8 amps through there, you had better keep an eye on it because it's going to heat up. Sure it's only 5 volts, but that's completely irrelevant. Current is what causes fires, not voltage. The people in the comments saying this are not trolls - this is a legitimate fire hazard. I'm not paranoid or anything, this is just a really bad idea, especially if you leave this unattended. At MINIMUM the wire must be properly sized for the current. Understand that 8 amps is a lot of current for a hobbyist project. Ideally you'd have a fuse in line for extra protection, especially if your power supply is rated higher than your cabling.

This video is so easy to follow along to thank you for sharing

I've been toying with the idea of doing my own WLED project for some time now. This has hyped me up to go ahead and do it finally.

Great video! The only thing I would’ve made more clear is to not use the CAT5e cable for power. Some people might think it’d be okay to do so.

WLED in matrix mode is also excellent with some of the built-in effects supporting 2D arrays. I'm planning on using a small 8x8 matrix (like those tiny Adafruit ones) to illuminate a fibre optic bundle to make a programmable starfield ceiling.

Freaking awesome thanks for the easiest instructions to install these

Thank you Alix. Absolutely great video. I hope you can show us other projects with these LED..

one thing you must note is that the 2nd light strip at the start might work with wled but i believe it won't have the same effects the one with red green and blue. Because, that format requires 3 n channel mosfets for it to function so it won't have the multiple different color effects

It looks like you are using WS2812b LEDs there, I have done TONS of projects with those things. But when you cut the connector off the wires you made a BIG mistake: You left no lead-length on the connector to allow yourself to use that pigtail in the future. Granted you can buy new pigtails like that off Amazon for dirt cheap, but why not just keep a functional connector? I usually drive those LEDs with an Arduino Nano. The biggest trick is getting power to the string of LEDs, you don't want really long runs of LEDs without injecting power (5VDC) along the way. It is not just a brightness issue, it is also a functionality issue. Each LED has a tiny microprocessor, and out towards the end of a long run you could have a voltage drop big enough to make that processor crash. Also, calculate the power needed to run these LEDS at 60mA per LED (max current when full on white.) Make sure your power supply can do the job, and never take power from the Arduino (or whatever) for more than 10 of these LEDs. You should see the 12' outdoor Christmas tree we put up each year with waterproof strings of these LEDs, they are the brightest and prettiest decoration on the block, with moving and shifting colors. The power distribution is where all the strings come together at the top, easy-peasy. All the parts (except the 12' pole) come from Amazon, and there is only a little customization. You can actually get little modules from Amazon to drive the colors instead of using an Arduino.

Dude, this is sick! Thanks for the tutorial!

This was great! Thank you!

You should use the Dig Quad.

I'd recommend an esp32 for wi-fi connectivity and putting another power supply on the end of the last LED strip so you don't have any voltage drop at the end.

Amazing stuff...thanks bro!!!

Good job bro!! This stuff is gonna be dreamy once I get it all rolling!

This Video is very clumsy. Follow the Guide on WLED Page. They've been doing this for years.

For long runs, you need to calculate the gauge of the wire for the distance to avoid voltage drop. Also you need to think about the amount of wattage going through those wires. They will get hot and melt and become a fire hazard if you run 5 amps on a 20 gauge wire no matter how close you are.

Was a solid video, straight to the point. I’ve had a led strip but had no idea about ‘em but knew you could do stuff like this. Very no previous knowledge friendly information to understand

Thank you, this is great!

Why is Rami Malek teaching us led strips and WLED. Just kidding haha. Thank you so much for the informative video.

The title has a Typo I think... If it's meant to be "WLED", you put "WELD".

Great video Alex!

DingDong! Glad I came across this video! I’ll def be taking a closer look at this option as I expand the lighting throughout my house.

OMG people DONT connect the +5V and GND to your LEDs if longer than 2ft. Connect them directly to a 5V Power Supply! Only connect the data cable to the dev board

I think it wasn't clear from the video: Don't ever power your LEDs over the 5V pin of the ESP development board. A single WS2812B LED, which you are using here, draws up to 50 mA. For 144 LEDs per meter at half power draw (basically dimmed) this is about 3.6A. The board is not able to deliver this current continuously.

Mind meltingly awesome! Can't wait to build these for our studios :)

ding dong. this rocks. adding it to my fav when im getting my gaming setup ready

And using CAT5, per definition rated to max 1A current constant load at 25c, is a bad idea.

Hi Alex. The composition of components is shocking easy. This ist what all good stuff has in common. May be a disclaimer about "think before you wire 10A" could protect yourself. But No doubt about. A super cool Idea sold with a very motivating Video. Thanks a Lot!

Great Job mate! Very simple and well explained! Cheers!

What a great video, super presentation! You made it really easy for all of us to config such a system! Thx! I'd never would have done it without you!

I've used wled for years for my Christmas show it works great with xlights for controlling with radio frequency you should also use an quality external 5v powersupply and a level shifter if you are going to use super long runs of cable

10A to this little microchip :) the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!

Thanks for the very informative video. Loads of really useful information and a great tutorial. Nice one Alex. 👍

Thank you for this video!

Never knew Pete Davidson was such an expert on LEDs

Hey @TechFlow have you ever try with a pre lit christmas tree? To change the blinking settings at the leds comes with the tree?

Excellent content Alex!

Really Brilliant Alex. You Made my day. Keep up your Brilliant work! Thanks

I hope an edited version gets uploaded that addresses the credible electrical concerns mentioned in the comments.

I've been making my own for about 2 years and they have gotten easier and easier to make. You can also make the "ambi-light" strips for your tv where it's not just pre programed colors. They scan your tv really really fast and match the portion of your screen with the color that's in tv. So if you're watching a movie and there is an explosion you'll have behind your tv up top blue probably from the day sky on the side green from the vegetation in the scene and bottom red from the fire from the explosion. Philips and others charge you over 150 to 300 dollars for that. But with about 50 bucks you can make a simple one or for around 120 one that can process 4k and all sorts of other features.

I like your easy to understand approach. Well done. Ding Dong!

Cool video. Thanks for posting such tings. Keep up the good work!

Hey @TechFlow, great informative video, but I can't continue watching with your flashing transitions between shots! Try doing the onscreen side by side with the one-shot of you, or a smoother transition, or have no transition.

Who knew Nick from Big Mouth would know so much about lighting up your house.

Nice video!! Simple and straight to the point!!

Fantastic, I have been doing projects with ESP-8266 for last 1 year. And never thought it can do something like this 😂

It's a bit sad that it's been over a month ago now and there has been no update video, description update, pinned comment or even so much as a reply to speak of, very disappointing. It seems my lengthy technical explanation that I replied also never showed up (although it could be UKposts which killed that one). I get UKposts takes a lot of time (more then most realize) but still, this is kind of sad. :( Once again, if you want to learn, improve and do it right, always game to show you the resources to learn about doing it right and showing your audience! :)

U know that your 4x144 LED strips draw 32 Amps, right? Even basic Animations will use 11 Amps, which is more than your power supply delivers. In addition, the power limit of your Ethernet cable is about 2-3 Ampere... Also, please don't cut off your power supply, you can buy a barrel connector for the other side. These connectors have their reason beyond ease of connection, they are touch-proof. In my experience, the difficulty with the esp / wled / ws8212b starts when you try to remove all the "hacky" stuff like jumper cables and have a proper setup that does not fail after ripping at a cable or burn your house down..

Wow, this is cool! Thanks for making it. I’ve got 6 segments of s Lifx beam that stopped working, but I’m pretty sure the led strips still work, it’s a software or connector issue. You think I could control them with that little doodad? I believe Lifx uses 4 wires, not 3, would that present a problem?

Fantastic, I've got a spare roll of network cable and five of those controller boards! Happy days, thanks for the demo 👍

Just wondering didn't you had to change the GPIO pin in WLED settings to 4?

Thank you steph curry

You just earned a sub. Amazing tutorial. ☺

Absolutely fantastic!

Oof I don't know about using cat5e for the amount of power you are splicing in. Would use something lower guage to play it safe.

you left out a couple things for safety reasons buddy. when your lights suddenly start flickering and not working bc of a faulty connection for no reason you would have wished you knew anything about proper wires, voltage drop, and the amount of amps you are burning up those tiny wires at. Everybody needs to do a little bit of research and understand to not use white or high brightness especially in white. depedning on how diffused they are people will bump up the brightness. An inline fuse right at the power supply is a good idea as well. And you cant just make these wires as long as you want wherever. you can, but you have to power them properly. 1amp per 50 is a good rule if you run your strips not bright or white. but its really 3amp per 50. the LED count multiplied by .06 is your amps. Even thicker cables can be cheap with low Amp ratings. everybody take care be careful

Wow very nice Video Thank you so much for putting this together

Ding dong! That’s freaking awesome! Can’t wait to do this!

Why use CAT5E? The copper wire gauge is far too thin for the current you are trying to run through it.

sorry what 10A into a esp32?

Love the vid! And had fun watching you do it lol

Ding Dong! You just got me way stoked to try this!

I recommended Govee Lights they are super reliable and have amazing features

“I’m never buying LEDs again!” Buys different LEDS

If you could make a video on how to connect this to an Google Home system which could work with those scene's that would be amazing!

Ding dong…. Great Xmas project… thanks for the info.

How does the title "I’m Never Buying LEDs Again!" match up with the video?

Nice!!! Thanks for sharing...I Will try something similar in my home automation system ... I like ESP devices

I got a lot of respect for you Alex, but stripping wires with scissors? Great video though, I'm loving this and never knew anything about WLED, I'm hooked already.

8A is far too much for a standard ethernet cable. Also a tip when you cut connectors, don't cut at the end, leave a bit of cable, then you can still reuse the plug later for another project.

Love it, thanks for the vid

Ding dong Neat idea!! Might have to build this for next year’s Outside Christmas lights!! 😃😃

Please note to test power requirements set all leds to white and measure current draw 👍 You can also get 12v versions

at the install WLED, stage I get a "No compatible device found" and yet I bought the ESP Board from the above link...