RNoble

thanks. i didn't see that. i can use the original power method for the boards until i find a better option. yes. i expect this to be sacrificial. i believe i found the fault that torched the last two boards.

here's where i'm at.

that's what i thought. basically, i would need a 12V-5V buck converter to power the isolator on the 12V side or a DC/DC isolator. the DC/DC isolator is probably a bad idea because the existing power method coming off the ESP32 USB could be...

clearly, i missed that. i'm going to attribute it to the way i process information. thank you for pointing that out. it looks like i could use ISO7710, ISO6760-Q1, or ISO6760L pretty easily. the ISO6760-Q1 seems to be the best option for...

i got the impression this wasn't viable and moved on. it would probably help if i had far more knowledge than i do. now that i'm looking harder, i'm seeing six channel opto isolators. so i'll now ask this question: if i use an opto isolator, to...

this mention? that's going to come down to which ones. supposedly, the circuits are running somewhere around 800kHz. i'd probably have to use a digital one.

i have a breadboard. it came with the Uno kit. i don't have the hundreds to thousands of dollars of resources your test bench has and i've asked questions that have gone not only unanswered, but straight up ignored, so i ask other sources. you...

i'm using prototype boards. and a socket is absolutely part of the design. are you saying that the IC won't stop a 12V incursion to the Teensy?

yes. Paul suggested a resistor and diode system that addresses the more expensive problem of killing Teensy boards which i thoroughly explored multiple ideas including the Shottky diode design i found when AI referenced it that i thought might do...

the AI looked at the entirety of my problem statements (blowing the teensy and flickering) and the thoughts i had created with my schematic and pointed out that my schematic was going to produce a lot of heat without a good way to dissipate it...

yes. i did ask the AI about that and the point it made was that the chip is ~$1 and does both the the bump in signal voltage and acts as a sacrificial part. i'm just ordering spares.

i think i have that 12V circuit well isolated under the air gap concepts, but that's a good idea to keep in mind.

alright. i think i've got it all figured out. thanks for the help and the attempts to educate me. it would have been easier if i had stayed in it when i was playing with the HAM guys 35ish years ago (yes, i'm an old dog learning new tricks).

and now i'm here...

so here's where i'm at. points of note: existing - the entire system functions off of an auxiliary 8AH LiFePO4 battery stuffed into the Windjammer V fairing: all grounds go back to that battery. it has a charge controller and is connected to...

thanks for you efforts @PaulStoffregen. you have far more resources than i do. this whole thing started because my kid wanted to learn how to program lights and i bought an Uno kit about two years ago. the regulated power supply on your bench...

schematics attached.

i might as well at this point. it's a prototype that i want to capitalize on and i should have documentation.

that's a whole new can of worms... how many of those would i have to have to handle all the circuits?

i'm working on doing a schematic. i haven't done one because things were relatively simple, but that ship clearly sailed. i've discovered a new thing, so what about a TVS diode? probably not... sounds like something meant for static. never...

i'm still wondering if the Shottky 3.3V is necessary given my goal is to isolate the data line and suppress any stray power returning. it sounds like sending a fault to the 3.3V pin is just doing the opposite of what i'm trying to do. there is...

it's interesting that you brought this up. i was discussing this with Google's AI because i was looking for ways to isolate and diagnose what happened to the LEDs. the AI found the thread that suggested using Schottky diodes and i asked it if...

so instead of setting up a one way gate with a regular diode, i'd be using one with a squeeze chute going the other way. alright. so what about the level shifter; is this better than or something that should be used with a level shifter? i have...

to get this thread back on track... @PaulStoffregen are you able to address these questions?

that's legit. the file is too big for the server, so here's an album of the process. i'm not far enough into the knowledge base to understand how C++ works so i'm not using very many things that aren't likely to be accessible elsewhere.

Oh, I wasn't asking you to share code. :) I guess I'm just curious if you're doing all your own patterns, and what kind of mathematics you're using. For example, do you use regular/periodic patterns or add some noise? Do you use 2-D or 3-D...

@shawn, my biggest frustration is that i started this thread in October of 2025, with the same information, and had to state that another board blew to get any response. trying to work out this problem on my own is what kept me from working to...

are we talking this over a level shifter or in addition to a level shifter? it's not clear if i am shorting 12V to the data line, but i have a lot of flickering and artifacts in my LEDs, so i am assuming that i need to have a level shifter, even...

well... i feel that if i'm making references to a 12V system and asking about level shifting that maybe some inferences could be made, but ok. the 12V is direct to the strips and does not make contact with the Teensy. the Teensy is being powered...

so... this has happened a second time. i have isolated it to a series of parallel strips and i'm wondering if a level shifter would prevent this?