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https://github.com/garyhtou/desk-lights

Wireless NeoPixel control via Firebase Realtime Database on ESP8266
https://github.com/garyhtou/desk-lights

adafruit adafruit-feather-huzzah-esp8266 arduino esp8266 firebase firebase-realtime-database led neopixel

Last synced: 4 months ago
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Wireless NeoPixel control via Firebase Realtime Database on ESP8266

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README 

          
# Desk Lights



An ESP8266 powered system connected to a Firebase Realtime Database to control a LED strip.



This README is more of a "how it works" and doesn't really serve as a great tutorial/guide.



This project started back in January 2019 with the goal of wirelessly controlling an individually addressable LED strip. After some faulty wiring that melted a breadboard and fried a test strip of LEDs... whoops!... I picked it back up in December 2020.



_Check out the other repositoy for this project, [`garyhtou/Desk-Lights-Website`](https://github.com/garyhtou/Desk-Lights-Website), which expands upon this project by connecting a website to firebase; allowing anyone on the interset the control the color of the LEDs!_



## Get Started



- Wire up the system

- Create a Firebase Project, create a Real-Time Database within the project, and grab your Database URL and auth token.

- Replace the `WIFI_SSID`, `WIFI_PASSWORD`, `FIREBASE_HOST`, and `FIREBASE_AUTH` at the top of [`Desk_Lights.ino`](Desk_Lights/Desk_Lights.ino).

- Download and install Arduino IDE

- Install the CP2104 USB Driver ([more info here](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-huzzah-esp8266/using-arduino-ide))

- Set up your Adafruit Feather HUZZAH with ESP8266 as a board in Arduino IDE

- Upload the updated code via the Arduino IDE

- Enter some values on Firebase

- Plug it in!



View sections below for more information relating to these steps.



## Parts



| Product                                                          | Supplier/Link                                                                                                            |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |

| Adafruit NeoPixel Digital RGBW LED Strip - White PCB 60 LED/m 1m | [Adafruit](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2842?length=1)                                                               |

| Assembled Adafruit Feather HUZZAH with ESP8266 With Headers      | [Adafruit](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3046)                                                                        |

| 74AHCT125 - Quad Level-Shifter (3V to 5V)                        | [Adafruit](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1787)                                                                        |

| 1000µf 25V Capacitor (or any 1000 µF, 6.3V or higher)            | I think I bought them from [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/McIgIcM-1000uf-capacitor-Aluminum-electrolytic/dp/B06WGPNM19) |

| 470 Ohms Resistor (or any between 300 to 500 Ohm)                |                                                                                                                          |

| Any breadboard and wires                                         |                                                                                                                          |

| Soldering tool may be required                                   |                                                                                                                          |



## Wiring



- 5V to ESP8266 USB Pin

- ESP8266 GND Pin to Ground

- ESP8266 14 Pin to 74AHCT125 1A Pin

- 74AHCT125 Vcc Pin to 5V

- 74AHCT125 GND Pin to Ground

- 74AHCT125 1OE Pin to Ground

- NeoPixel 5V Pin/wire to 5V

- NeoPixel GND Pin/wire to Ground

- NeoPixel Din Pin/wire to 74AHCT125 1Y Pin

- 1000uf 25V Capacitor across the incoming + and -



Because the ESP8266 runs on 3.3V logic, the data line from Pin 14 must be level-shifted to 5V in order for the NeoPixels to understand. The 74AHCT125 does this for us.



| ![Wiring Full View.JPG](Wiring%20-%20Full%20View.JPG) | ![Wiring - Adafruit Feather Huzzah ESP8266 close up.JPG](Wiring%20-%20Adafruit%20Feather%20Huzzah%20ESP8266%20close%20up.JPG) | ![Wiring - Level-Shifter (3V to 5V) Adafruit 74AHCT125 close up]() |

| ----------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| Full View                                             | Adafruit Feather Huzzah ESP8266 close up                                                                                      | Level-Shifter (3V to 5V) Adafruit 74AHCT125 close up                                                                                                    |



## Program



I originally tried connecting the ESP8266 via Socket.io to my existing server, however, I had an issue compiling with the [socket.io-client](https://github.com/timum-viw/socket.io-client) library. I gave up and decided to use Firebase ([Firebase-ESP8266](https://github.com/mobizt/Firebase-ESP8266)) to communicate with the ESP8266 in real-time.



### Firebase Settings



Create a Realtime Database within a new Firebase Project. Because the program uses a service account to authenticate, we can set our Realtime Database's rules to Locked Mode. Once the project has been created, manually enter the following data:



```JSON

rgbw

 |-- r: 255

 |-- g: 0

 |-- b: 0

 |-- w: 0

```



Then, grab your database URL and update the `FIREBASE_HOST` value in [Desk_Lights.ino](Desk_Lights/Desk_Lights.ino).

Go to your Firebase project's Users and Permissions settings **>** Service accounts **>** Database secrets, to grab your database's auth secret. Update the `FIREBASE_AUTH` in [Desk_Lights.ino](Desk_Lights/Desk_Lights.ino) with this value.



And thats pretty much all we need to do with Firebase! If it works, the LEDs should turn red.



### Wifi Settings



This is pretty self explanatory, update your `WIFI_SSID` and `WIFI_PASSWORD` in [Desk_Lights.ino](Desk_Lights/Desk_Lights.ino).



### NeoPixel Settings



If you changed the pin connected to the data link of the NeoPixels, you will need to change the `pin` integer in [Desk_Lights.ino](Desk_Lights/Desk_Lights.ino). Similarly, if the number of LEDs on the strip of NeoPixels is not 60, that will need to be updated (`numLeds`).



## Additional Resources



- https://tttapa.github.io/ESP8266/Chap10%20-%20Simple%20Web%20Server.html

- https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-files/1787/1787AHC125.pdf

- https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-huzzah-esp8266/power-management

- https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/249/original/adafruit_products_Huzzah_ESP8266_Pinout_v1.2-1.png?1504885873

- https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/arduino-library-installation

- https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixels-on-raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-wiring

- https://adafruit.github.io/Adafruit_NeoPixel/html/class_adafruit___neo_pixel.html

- https://medium.com/@vibrologic/serverless-iots-with-firebase-realtime-database-and-esp8266-e624304c3197

- https://github.com/mobizt/Firebase-ESP8266



---



There are so many ways to expand this project. For example:



- Create a website with a color picker that updates the values in Firebase. Now anyone on the internet can change the colors of the LEDS! **Check out [`garyhtou/Desk-Lights-Website`](https://github.com/garyhtou/Desk-Lights-Website)**

- Instead of updating the color of all the LEDs at once, you an trickle the new color down the line.

- Implement an on/off switch (either physical or virtual). You could run a webserver on the ESP8266 with a website that allows anyone on the network to turn it on/off. Or, simpily store a boolean for on/off on Firebase.