Flickering on bright colors.... odd..

TheCoolDave · Feb 27th 2021

Hey all !

In my last thread I, replaced the LEDs. I was using GPIO 18 but, found the delay too much and parts of the time, the lights would just stop working for like 2-3 seconds, and then "catch up". I rebuilt, added in the UNO as the controller and lag seems almost gone. The stop working problem is still there a little but, the flashing on bright images is just crazy.

A full screen of RED will make the whole room flashing because of this... White, yellow, does the same thing but, mixing darker colors seem fine, no flashing till a video with a very light background and flashing returns.

This was not happening when I was using GPIO-18 connection but, the LAG was unbearable.

Hardware for reference...

Raspberry PI 3B
255 W2812b LEDs attached to the TV
5v 30a power supply..
A 4K 60hz grabber ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DHRRV3G?tag=hyperioforum-21 )
UNO R3

Connectors and wires...
I used these for wires and the connectors to the end to avoid soldering wire to LEDs..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071VN9D6N?tag=hyperioforum-21&ie=UTF8&psc=1

Used these for corners but, soldered them on so they would not slip off (common with these connectors)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VCDWKZT?tag=hyperioforum-21&ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hook up
HDMI from Denon AVR 2nd(set to mirror tv) room out to HDMI grabber, that goes into the PI, USB out of the PI goes the UNO. The data connection is on PIN 6 on the UNO, The connections on the UNO are soldered in, this is ground and data.

The LEDS have power/ground going at the start and the end of the LEDs, so no low points in power in the LEDs. I did use the wire that came with the wire connectors, the start of the LEDs are connected with the factory connection.

Power for PI is run off the 30a power supply (but, also tried the original 2.5a power supply with no change). Ground from the 30a power supply is connected to the UNO and PI. Confirmed connection on ground from the UNO to the middle of the LEDs with no problem (voltmeter)

Hyperion settings are nothing too crazy, Adalight for type of controller, 255 LEDs, and GRB Order.

Capture settings are
Device Resolution: 1280 X 720
Frames per second: 60
Size decimation: 8

Here are the logs. Anyone see anything that could be causing this flashing ? Common fix for this is for a common ground, I did that.

Code

2021-02-27T16:37:48.159Z [hyperiond DAEMON] (INFO) CEC handler created
2021-02-27T16:37:48.183Z [hyperiond EFFECTFILES] (INFO) 39 effects loaded from directory :/effects/
2021-02-27T16:37:48.189Z [hyperiond EFFECTFILES] (INFO) 22 effect schemas loaded from directory :/effects/schema/
2021-02-27T16:37:48.192Z [hyperiond EFFECTFILES] (INFO) 0 effects loaded from directory /home/pi/.hyperion/custom-effects
2021-02-27T16:37:48.281Z [hyperiond SETTINGSMGR] (DEBUG) (SettingsManager.cpp:109:SettingsManager()) Settings database initialized
2021-02-27T16:37:48.287Z [hyperiond BLACKBORDER] (DEBUG) (BlackBorderProcessor.cpp:64:handleSettingsUpdate()) Set mode to: default
2021-02-27T16:37:48.288Z [hyperiond COMPONENTREG] (DEBUG) (ComponentRegister.cpp:36:setNewComponentState()) Blackborder detector: enabled
2021-02-27T16:37:48.321Z [hyperiond DAEMON] (INFO) set screen capture device to 'dispmanx'
2021-02-27T16:37:48.321Z [hyperiond DISPMANXGRABBER] (DEBUG) (Grabber.cpp:30:setVideoMode()) Set videomode to 0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.324Z [hyperiond DISPMANXGRABBER] (INFO) Display opened with resolution: 720x480
2021-02-27T16:37:48.324Z [hyperiond DISPMANXGRABBER] (DEBUG) (Grabber.cpp:90:setWidthHeight()) Set new width: 80, height: 45 for capture
2021-02-27T16:37:48.325Z [hyperiond DAEMON] (INFO) DISPMANX frame grabber created
2021-02-27T16:37:48.326Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (DEBUG) (Grabber.cpp:30:setVideoMode()) Set videomode to 0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.410Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (DEBUG) (Grabber.cpp:90:setWidthHeight()) Set new width: 1280, height: 720 for capture
2021-02-27T16:37:48.411Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) Signal threshold set to: {12, 12, 12}
2021-02-27T16:37:48.411Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) CEC detection is now disabled
2021-02-27T16:37:48.411Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) Signal detection area set to: 0.900000,0.900000 x 0.980000,0.980000
2021-02-27T16:37:48.412Z [hyperiond DAEMON] (DEBUG) (hyperiond.cpp:630:handleSettingsUpdate()) V4L2 grabber created
2021-02-27T16:37:48.413Z [hyperiond JSONSERVER] (DEBUG) (JsonServer.cpp:28:JsonServer()) Created instance
2021-02-27T16:37:48.413Z [hyperiond JSONSERVER] (INFO) Started on port 19444
2021-02-27T16:37:48.337Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (INFO) Start LedDevice 'adalight'.
2021-02-27T16:37:48.337Z [hyperiond COMPONENTREG] (DEBUG) (ComponentRegister.cpp:36:setNewComponentState()) Smoothing: enabled
2021-02-27T16:37:48.338Z [hyperiond SMOOTHING] (DEBUG) (LinearColorSmoothing.cpp:701:selectConfig()) cfg [0]:  Type: linear - Time: 200 ms, outputRate 25.000000 Hz, interpolationRate: 25.000000 Hz, timer: 40 ms, Dithering: 0, Decay: 1.000000 -> HalfTime: 100.000000 ms
2021-02-27T16:37:48.338Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (LedDevice.cpp:148:init()) deviceConfig: [{"colorOrder":"grb","currentLedCount":255,"delayAfterConnect":0,"hardwareLedCount":255,"latchTime":30,"lightberry_apa102_mode":false,"output":"/dev/ttyUSB0","rate":500000,"rewriteTime":1000,"type":"adalight"}]
2021-02-27T16:37:48.339Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (LedDevice.cpp:407:setLatchTime()) LatchTime updated to 30ms
2021-02-27T16:37:48.340Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (LedDevice.cpp:428:setRewriteTime()) Refresh interval = 1000ms
2021-02-27T16:37:48.340Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (LedDevice.cpp:434:setRewriteTime()) RewriteTime updated to 1000ms
2021-02-27T16:37:48.341Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:36:init()) DeviceType   : adalight
2021-02-27T16:37:48.341Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:37:init()) LedCount     : 255
2021-02-27T16:37:48.341Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:38:init()) ColorOrder   : grb
2021-02-27T16:37:48.342Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:39:init()) RefreshTime  : 1000
2021-02-27T16:37:48.342Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:40:init()) LatchTime    : 30
2021-02-27T16:37:48.342Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:52:init()) deviceName   : ttyUSB0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.342Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:53:init()) AutoDevice   : 0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.343Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:54:init()) baudRate_Hz  : 500000
2021-02-27T16:37:48.343Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:55:init()) delayAfCon ms: 0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.343Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (LedDeviceAdalight.cpp:59:init()) Adalight header for 255 leds: Ada 0x00 0xfe 0xab
2021-02-27T16:37:48.344Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (INFO) Opening UART: ttyUSB0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.344Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:141:tryOpen()) _rs232Port.open(QIODevice::ReadWrite): ttyUSB0, Baud rate [500000]bps
2021-02-27T16:37:48.351Z [hyperiond SMOOTHING] (DEBUG) (LinearColorSmoothing.cpp:701:selectConfig()) Previous line repeats 1 times
2021-02-27T16:37:48.351Z [hyperiond FLATBUFCONN] (INFO) Connecting to Hyperion: 127.0.0.1:19401
2021-02-27T16:37:48.363Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:161:registerInput()) Register new input 'System/COLOR' with priority 0 as inactive
2021-02-27T16:37:48.364Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:207:setInput()) Priority 0 is now active
2021-02-27T16:37:48.364Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:351:setCurrentTime()) Set visible priority to 0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.364Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:559:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) priority[0], previousPriority[255]
2021-02-27T16:37:48.364Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:569:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) new source available -> switch LED-Device on
2021-02-27T16:37:48.365Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (INFO) Initial foreground color set (1 1 11)
2021-02-27T16:37:48.366Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:161:registerInput()) Register new input 'System/V4L' with priority 200 as inactive
2021-02-27T16:37:48.366Z [hyperiond COMPONENTREG] (DEBUG) (ComponentRegister.cpp:36:setNewComponentState()) V4L capture device: enabled
2021-02-27T16:37:48.435Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) configured v4l device: /dev/video0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.435Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (DEBUG) (V4L2Grabber.cpp:582:init_device()) Set device input to: Camera 1
2021-02-27T16:37:48.437Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (DEBUG) (V4L2Grabber.cpp:696:init_device()) Set resolution to width=1280 height=720
2021-02-27T16:37:48.439Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (DEBUG) (V4L2Grabber.cpp:713:init_device()) Set framerate to 10 fps
2021-02-27T16:37:48.439Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (DEBUG) (V4L2Grabber.cpp:735:init_device()) Pixel format=YUYV
2021-02-27T16:37:48.450Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) Started
2021-02-27T16:37:48.451Z [hyperiond V4L2:/dev/video0] (DEBUG) (GrabberWrapper.cpp:48:start()) Grabber start()
2021-02-27T16:37:48.367Z [hyperiond BOBLIGHT] (DEBUG) (BoblightServer.cpp:28:BoblightServer()) Instance created
2021-02-27T16:37:48.452Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (INFO) Hyperion instance 'First LED Hardware instance' has been started
2021-02-27T16:37:48.401Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:146:tryOpen()) portName:          ttyUSB0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.402Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:147:tryOpen()) systemLocation:    /dev/ttyUSB0
2021-02-27T16:37:48.402Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:148:tryOpen()) description:       USB2.0-Serial
2021-02-27T16:37:48.403Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:149:tryOpen()) manufacturer:      1a86
2021-02-27T16:37:48.403Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:150:tryOpen()) productIdentifier: 0x7523
2021-02-27T16:37:48.403Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:151:tryOpen()) vendorIdentifier:  0x1a86
2021-02-27T16:37:48.404Z [hyperiond LEDDEVICE] (DEBUG) (ProviderRs232.cpp:152:tryOpen()) serialNumber:     
2021-02-27T16:37:48.407Z [hyperiond COMPONENTREG] (DEBUG) (ComponentRegister.cpp:36:setNewComponentState()) LED device: enabled
2021-02-27T16:37:48.424Z [hyperiond FLATBUFSERVER] (INFO) Started on port 19400
2021-02-27T16:37:48.426Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:33:initServer()) Initialize Webserver
2021-02-27T16:37:48.425Z [hyperiond PROTOSERVER] (INFO) Started on port 19445
2021-02-27T16:37:48.427Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:33:initServer()) Initialize Webserver
2021-02-27T16:37:48.555Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:91:handleSettingsUpdate()) Apply Webserver settings
2021-02-27T16:37:48.555Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:91:handleSettingsUpdate()) Apply Webserver settings
2021-02-27T16:37:48.556Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:109:handleSettingsUpdate()) Set document root to: :/webconfig
2021-02-27T16:37:48.556Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:109:handleSettingsUpdate()) Set document root to: :/webconfig
2021-02-27T16:37:48.557Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (INFO) Started on port 8090 name 'Hyperion Webserver'
2021-02-27T16:37:48.575Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:175:handleSettingsUpdate()) Setup SSL certificate
2021-02-27T16:37:48.576Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (DEBUG) (WebServer.cpp:191:handleSettingsUpdate()) Setup private SSL key
2021-02-27T16:37:48.577Z [hyperiond WEBSERVER] (INFO) Started on port 8092 name 'Hyperion Webserver'
2021-02-27T16:37:48.671Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:251:setInputImage()) Priority 200 is now active
2021-02-27T16:37:51.580Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:315:setCurrentTime()) Timeout clear for priority 0
2021-02-27T16:37:51.580Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:351:setCurrentTime()) Set visible priority to 0
2021-02-27T16:37:51.581Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:559:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) priority[0], previousPriority[0]
2021-02-27T16:37:51.830Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:351:setCurrentTime()) Set visible priority to 200
2021-02-27T16:37:51.833Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:559:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) priority[200], previousPriority[0]
2021-02-27T16:41:50.762Z [hyperiond WEBSOCKET] (DEBUG) (WebSocketClient.cpp:30:WebSocketClient()) New connection from ::ffff:192.168.0.37
2021-02-27T16:41:50.763Z [hyperiond WEBSOCKET] (DEBUG) (JsonAPI.cpp:81:handleInstanceSwitch()) Client '::ffff:192.168.0.37' switch to Hyperion instance 0
2021-02-27T16:42:14.640Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) Signal lost
2021-02-27T16:42:15.489Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:251:setInputImage()) Priority 200 is now inactive
2021-02-27T16:42:15.489Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:351:setCurrentTime()) Set visible priority to 255
2021-02-27T16:42:15.490Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:559:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) priority[255], previousPriority[200]
2021-02-27T16:42:15.490Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:562:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) No source left -> switch LED-Device off
2021-02-27T16:42:17.437Z [hyperiond V4L2:/DEV/VIDEO0] (INFO) Signal detected
2021-02-27T16:42:17.437Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:251:setInputImage()) Priority 200 is now active
2021-02-27T16:42:17.437Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (PriorityMuxer.cpp:351:setCurrentTime()) Set visible priority to 200
2021-02-27T16:42:17.438Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:559:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) priority[200], previousPriority[255]
2021-02-27T16:42:17.438Z [hyperiond HYPERION] (DEBUG) (Hyperion.cpp:569:handlePriorityChangedLedDevice()) new source available -> switch LED-Device on
2021-02-27T17:03:18.997Z [hyperiond WEBSOCKET] (DEBUG) (JsonAPI.cpp:1054:handleLoggingCommand()) log streaming activated for client ::ffff:192.168.0.37

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davieboy · Feb 27th 2021

congrats on the delay mate, Does tweaking the smoothing help any?

TPmodding · Feb 28th 2021

which sketch did you use for the arduino?

TheCoolDave · Feb 28th 2021

Quote from davieboy

congrats on the delay mate, Does tweaking the smoothing help any?

I tried a bunch of things, lowed the res, the little lag that is left it helped but, doing tests, a red screen leaves the whole room flashing, it's pretty bad.

Quote from TPmodding

which sketch did you use for the arduino?

I kind of loosely followed this video as he setup the same type of layout. I was reading that some changes needed to be there for 255+ LEDs... this was a updated script for it.

(4) DIY Hyperion Ambient TV Light Project (Raspberry Pi + Arduino) Complete Setup - YouTube

This is the exact code I used in my UNO...

C

// FastLED - Version: Latest
#include <FastLED.h>


#include "FastLED.h"
// How many leds in your strip?
#define NUM_LEDS 255
// For led chips like Neopixels, which have a data line, ground, and power, you just
// need to define DATA_PIN.  For led chipsets that are SPI based (four wires - data, clock,
// ground, and power), like the LPD8806 define both DATA_PIN and CLOCK_PIN
#define DATA_PIN 6
#define CLOCK_PIN 13
#define COLOR_ORDER GRB
// Adalight sends a "Magic Word" (defined in /etc/boblight.conf) before sending the pixel data
uint8_t prefix[] = {'A', 'd', 'a'}, hi, lo, chk, i;
// Baudrate, higher rate allows faster refresh rate and more LEDs (defined in /etc/boblight.conf)
#define serialRate 500000
// #define serialRate 460800
// Define the array of leds
CRGB leds[NUM_LEDS];
void setup() {
      // Uncomment/edit one of the following lines for your leds arrangement.
      // FastLED.addLeds<TM1803, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<TM1804, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<TM1809, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<WS2811, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<WS2812, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
         FastLED.addLeds<WS2812B, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<NEOPIXEL, DATA_PIN>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<UCS1903, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<UCS1903B, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<GW6205, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<GW6205_400, DATA_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);

      // FastLED.addLeds<WS2801, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<SM16716, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<LPD8806, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<WS2801, DATA_PIN, CLOCK_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<SM16716, DATA_PIN, CLOCK_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);
      // FastLED.addLeds<LPD8806, DATA_PIN, CLOCK_PIN, RGB>(leds, NUM_LEDS);

        // initial RGB flash
        LEDS.showColor(CRGB(255, 0, 0));
        delay(500);
        LEDS.showColor(CRGB(0, 255, 0));
        delay(500);
        LEDS.showColor(CRGB(0, 0, 255));
        delay(500);
        LEDS.showColor(CRGB(0, 0, 0));

        Serial.begin(serialRate);
        Serial.print("Ada\n"); // Send "Magic Word" string to host
}
void loop() {
  // wait for first byte of Magic Word
  for(i = 0; i < sizeof prefix; ++i) {
    waitLoop: while (!Serial.available()) ;;
    // Check next byte in Magic Word
    if(prefix[i] == Serial.read()) continue;
    // otherwise, start over
    i = 0;
    goto waitLoop;
  }
  // Hi, Lo, Checksum
  while (!Serial.available()) ;;
  hi=Serial.read();
  while (!Serial.available()) ;;
  lo=Serial.read();
  while (!Serial.available()) ;;
  chk=Serial.read();
  // if checksum does not match go back to wait
  if (chk != (hi ^ lo ^ 0x55))
  {
    i=0;
    goto waitLoop;
  }
  memset(leds, 0, NUM_LEDS * sizeof(struct CRGB));
  // read the transmission data and set LED values
  for (uint16_t i = 0; i < NUM_LEDS; i++) {
    byte r, g, b;  
    while(!Serial.available());
    r = Serial.read();
    while(!Serial.available());
    g = Serial.read();
    while(!Serial.available());
    b = Serial.read();
    leds[i].r = r;
    leds[i].g = g;
    leds[i].b = b;
  }
  // shows new values
FastLED.show();


    }

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As I am using 255 LEDs, no more, should go with a different code here ?

davieboy · Feb 28th 2021

try this one mate
https://github.com/hyperion-pr…ino/adalight/adalight.ino

Its the official sketch and @Lord-Grey tweaked it the other day - bonus

change line 21 & 24
comment out 34 and uncomment 35

leave the rest as it is and upload it to the mcu, make sure Hyperion baud is at 115200 in the dashboard, test it out, if all is good then increase the baud rate a stage at a time until your happy.

After i wrote this i noticed this, you originally posted you had WS2812B - 3 wire LEDS but your sketch is for 4 wire LEDS, I do remember you ordering another set but cant remember what you settled with, if you do have the 3 wire strip you only need to alter line 21 in the sketch, the rest should be fine and matches your setup.

TheCoolDave · Feb 28th 2021

Quote from davieboy

try this one mate
https://github.com/hyperion-pr…ino/adalight/adalight.ino

Its the official sketch and @Lord-Grey tweaked it the other day - bonus

change line 21 & 24
comment out 34 and uncomment 35

leave the rest as it is and upload it to the mcu, make sure Hyperion baud is at 115200 in the dashboard, test it out, if all is good then increase the baud rate a stage at a time until your happy.

After i wrote this i noticed this, you originally posted you had WS2812B - 3 wire LEDS but your sketch is for 4 wire LEDS, I do remember you ordering another set but cant remember what you settled with, if you do have the 3 wire strip you only need to alter line 21 in the sketch, the rest should be fine and matches your setup.

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Thanks, I'll try that, To be honest with you, I only really knew about using WS2812B as that is all the YouTube videos go with. If I knew about APA102 before ordering them, I would of given them a shot...

I'll try this later today just because I am busy on a project this morning...

Thanks !

TheCoolDave · Feb 28th 2021

OK, got a chance to play with this. Nope, didn't change anything. Well it's flickering a lot slower and really, really laggy now.

I assume the lower baud rate is the reason for this. I did try to chance it back to 500000 and its not laggy any more but, still flashing like crazy on bright images...

What could be doing this ? I cant see that it's a power issue, I did pick up a 30a power supply, even when I setup the LEDs, it's saying I should have 16.7a power suppy, so plenty left.

This was working perfect (besides very laggy) when using GPIO-18 and I did plenty of tests with bright images and bouncing things to see the lag...I never noticed flashing on it before I went to the UNO..

davieboy · Feb 28th 2021

your not having much luck @TheCoolDave , was hoping to hear you were sorted after using that sketch.

So white is still there with diff sketch so were left with signal to UNO or LED's again :LOL::mad:

ok if its not doing it when connected to the GPIO, it must be voltage related as Uno has an extra few v's over the GPIO, did you fit a resistor into it? Could it be something that simple?

TheCoolDave · Mar 1st 2021

Quote from davieboy

your not having much luck @TheCoolDave , was hoping to hear you were sorted after using that sketch.

So white is still there with diff sketch so were left with signal to UNO or LED's again :LOL::mad:

ok if its not doing it when connected to the GPIO, it must be voltage related as Uno has an extra few v's over the GPIO, did you fit a resistor into it? Could it be something that simple?

Yea, just not having any luck here... What a PIA LOL

No resistor in my setup... As for the UNO, it's plugged into the PI...Hmmmm... The PI has the Video capture and the UNO... maybe it is a power issue... Maybe ?

Power supply has plenty of Amps left...

It will start to flicker on brighter images but, a whole screen of RED, wow, the whole room is flashing !

This setup has been sitting behind my TV with wires all over the place for months, just trying to get it working solid (including 4K HDR movies, that is another thing I have deal with), then I was going mount it to the back of the TV and clean up wires...

Sigh that is not here yet !

TPmodding · Mar 1st 2021

you playing with the baudrate, but do you aware of that the baudrate at hyperion AND th baudrate on your arduino uno has to be the same?

TheCoolDave · Mar 1st 2021

Quote from TPmodding

you playing with the baudrate, but do you aware of that the baudrate at hyperion AND th baudrate on your arduino uno has to be the same?

Yes, both times I made sure they were exactly the same. As if they are not, nothing happens

TheCoolDave · Mar 3rd 2021

Ok, power cord searches to test to see if adding power to the UNO R3 helps with this flashing... Seeing that the UNO can use anything from a 7-12v as long as it's a center positive. Found a few that would fit. Nothing helped...

here is what I tried

1. DC 12v 0.3a
2. DC 12v 1a
3. DC 12v 1.5a (1.5a to 3.25a)

Not of these had any change at all. I'm thinking about trashing the UNO but, is there a sure way to get rid of all lag ?

Or does anyone have an idea, or have seen this before ?

Here is 2 videos I took so you can get an idea on what is going on here(I'll take them down in a few days)...

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmHdwDuUvhmjg_VBvvvu1ZQ5l2f5Qg?e=DgXOMy

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmHdwDuUvhmjg_VCIoppG2nZ6lfUKg?e=OZYQ4n

If you watch carefully you will see at some points the lights just stop working for a second or 2, This happens when watching videos as well. On a full RED screen, the flashing is crazy, and in playing back video, on lighter backgrounds flickering happens..

Don't mind the mess of wires, this will be cleaned up soon once this project is final !

I don't want to drop the resolution to 320 X 240, I want to run it at least at 720p so I can get at least SOME detail...

Any idea ??

davieboy · Mar 3rd 2021

well on my ws2812b setup Red is my biggest consumer of power if thats any help, but yeah that is strange what it is doing in the vids.

few things tho, if you decrease the overall brightness down does the flicker still happen on the red screen.

Have you tried a fresh flash on another SD card?

TheCoolDave · Mar 3rd 2021

Quote from davieboy

well on my ws2812b setup Red is my biggest consumer of power if thats any help, but yeah that is strange what it is doing in the vids.

few things tho, if you decrease the overall brightness down does the flicker still happen on the red screen.

Have you tried a fresh flash on another SD card?

Thanks for the idea..

OK, Played with brightness for a bit, jumped to 60%, 80%, 90%, 91%, 93%, 95% and 99%....

Dropped to 90% after all, the flashing has appeared to go away and it still is plenty bright (YEA !!!) over 95% it comes back

The question remands here, I had a 5v 10a power supply running all these, never a problem with it, I NOW have a 5v 30a power supply, should I be dealing with power issues on the LEDs ? As ground and 5v go directly to the LEDs from the 30a supply....I got a larger supply so I didn't need to deal with issues like this.

I still get points where the LEDs just shut off, and when the screen changes (like another view) they come back on.

If you watch the videos I posted again, you can see it on the bottom left of the video where it's clearest. Light will be going around and it gets to that corner and all the lights go off, this could happen for split second, or I have seen it as long as 2 seconds... Light should be going and nothing.

Lowering brightness did no change here. Any idea on that one ? Should/could a screen/LED refresh rate be boosted up a little here so it might not do this ?

The SD card is brand new SanDisk (100mb/s rated) 16gb card. I ordered it just for this project as I could not leave a 64gb or 128gb one for just this project as the PI will only be used for this. During testing this was rebuilt a few times. I did try it on the other card (64gb as well, no change)

davieboy · Mar 3rd 2021

it does sound power related, I ran mine from an old 2.5A phone charger and they worked fine - Turns out they do not draw anything higher than 2.1A

Try this dave - get meter out, set to DC volts and specify the range to 00.00v - Check the output at the PSU - What is it?

Next 1 - Keep same settings as above, put 1 meter lead at the start of the signal wire going to the lights (connector or strip a cable slightly) set the LEDS to full red, now the 2nd meter lead, check the various data line points or end of corner connectors - Your expecting to see as close to Zero as you can, you may see some slight voltage of up to maybe 0.5v but hopefully everything is very low - as on that test any voltage you see on the meter is choosing to go through the meter rather than your circuit (easiest route).

You can do the same with power and earth connections, just go from positive or negative on the PSU to each positive or negative point around the LED strip - again the lower the voltage the better.

PITA but a quick and easy test to check your connections and wiring.

TheCoolDave · Mar 3rd 2021

Quote from davieboy

it does sound power related, I ran mine from an old 2.5A phone charger and they worked fine - Turns out they do not draw anything higher than 2.1A....

I am running the PI and the LEDS off the 30a power supply, I did try to use the OEM PI power supply (I did order it when I got the PI), in case of a lack of enough power, this made no change.

The wiring on the LEDs are perfect(no other way to put it here, I know my last set what good but, not perfect), corners were using the no solder connectors and I even soldered them. Power goes in both sides with with steady voltage all around, checked every point with a voltmeter. This was all setup, soldered, everything OFF the TV, the last one I did was on the TV(what a PIA) This was my primary double check when was seeing LAG using GPIO-18. I've gone through this many times, just to be sure.

I'll check the power supply tonight. Maybe the power supply is a little low ? I know there is an adjustment on it. I guess that is the next step.. If it's outputting a little lower voltage it would cause these problems.

Do you think the random shutting off is due to power or timing ?

TPmodding · Mar 3rd 2021

@TheCoolDave PLEASE no full quotes!

TheCoolDave · Mar 3rd 2021

Quote from TPmodding

@TheCoolDave PLEASE no full quotes!

Sorry, I just hit reply and it quotes the whole thing. I'll edit them going forward to make the smaller...

davieboy · Mar 3rd 2021

no idea dave, wont do any harm tho just to make sure there are no connection issues as something is clearly happening somewhere when they are cranked right up

TheCoolDave · Mar 4th 2021

Quote from davieboy

no idea dave, wont do any harm tho just to make sure there are no connection issues as something is clearly happening somewhere when they are cranked right up

This is with brightness @ 90% (where there was no flickering)

So, I took my meter, put it in DC mode, connected to power supply + and - , and it gives me a 5.09v will going over a little cause a problem ?

Spot checking LEDs with the meter set at 0.000 on the corner that is the farthest away from the power connector shows 4.98v

Checking any closer will show a 5.04 or something in that range.

I will re-test and edit this after I get a full red image up. Problem is, the image on the video only shows for 2-3 seconds... This is again, with 90% brightness.

Ok, so I ran one of the test videos that showed full red as with other colors. On the farthest corner it was ranging (depending on the color) from 3.9 to 4.2v while while the LEDs were in use. Closer (same spot as before would show 4.3 to 4.7v while playing.

Next test: boost brightness to 100% and try again...

While at 100%, checking in the corner that is farthest away from the PS connection showed a little lower but, not much, 3.9 to 4.6v., as the closer one show the same, 4.3 to 4.7v.

Both of these were during the flashing... so not a major change.

I think I would expect to see the farthest corner have a little lower voltage but, it was not that bad. LEDs seems fine.

Still wondering what the heck is going on. Would a power supply a little higher cause this type issue ?

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