Hello.
I’m new to soldering, wiring, etc… I printed an led light box, and want to connect the usb c to the led strip.
These are the lights I bought.
Now, I know that I’ve soldered it correctly, (because I noticed after the first time, that I connected the positive to the negative lol). After I soldered it, and plugged it in, it doesn’t light up.
Any help or constructive criticism would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Type C connectors will often need a pair of 5.1k resistors added so that the power supply will supply power.
The other option is to use a power supply that does not negotiate power with the load.
The link you shared shows 4 varieties of COB strips. The first one is 12VDC. If that’s the one you purchased, you can’t simply plug it into USB and expect it to work. You will need a 5VDC to 12VDC buck converter. There is a step-up cable that does this from HiLetgo but I have no experience with it.
If you purchased the 5VDC version, then all you need are the +5VDC and GND legs of the connector. USB by default outputs 5VDC so no conversion is needed.
I first purchased a cheap 5V DC cob strip. I only use the USB that comes with it as a tester because I cut up the COB into smaller pieces. Here’s an example but there are tons of these all over the Internet, the key is 5VDC.
Then all you need is a USB cable with pigtail endings.
They come in USB-C versions but why spend the money unless that’s all you have, there is no advantage in this scenario.
Then if you want to save yourself aggravation with soldering - who doesn’t? Purchase these solderless clips.
Here’s a crude test that I made last year. Total effort not counting the five minutes to get coffee? Two minutes tops.
But please note the +5V
I should have given more insight into what I purchased. I bought the +12V. I thought I had bought the +5V. I’m just trying to learn a bit a soldering, but these connectors will probably work better in this situation. Would these work ok? (2 pin, 8mm). I’m guessing I should switch to the +5V as well?
I guess I should go with the old USB 2.0 then. Didn’t realize that USB C would be that complicated lol
The answer is yes, those will work. But just to be clear, this is what you want to match up.
From Ali Express link you provided.
It’s too easy when linking to vendors with multiple options, to pick out the wrong one or more to the point here, you may supply a link and the seller may do the old switcheroo on both of us and what I click may not be what you click.
BTW: If you want to salvage your 12V. You can still use this USB cable that I linked above:
Then simply use the clips to avoid soldering.
If you want to get skilled at soldering, there is a better way. Just get any one of these hundreds of practice kits. They range from tiny little science projects where the actual end product is a cool gadget from just plane dull PCBs with different solder pads to practice on.
Oh, never thought of those little kits. Thank you. Yeah, I just reordered the right parts off of Amazon, and will save the 12v for later on.
Again, thank you for the helpful advice. It’s greatly appreciated. Same with @JonRaymond. This is all new to me, so it’s a learning curve.
Another option would have been to use a board that negotiates with the power supply to get the right power delivered.
There are two common standards, one is called power delivery and the other one is quick charge (you need an usb c cable/power supply that supports one of the standards). Many devices use one of those standards, so you might already have a power supply lying around.
These are the ones I have tried:
For the purple one, you can change the voltage freely by adjusting the switch
and for the black one, you either buy them with the correct voltage or bridge this joint (note: they are tiny to solder)
They are called “usb c decoy board” or “usb c trigger board”.
That’s an interesting solution as well. I might pick up one of these later on, when I learn more about soldering. The bridging part I find really intriguing. I know there’s always easier solutions, like what @Olias suggested, but my mind always goes for the hardest solutions, for some reason, and I get frustrated when I can’t figure it out, and then get more frustrated when I find there’s an easier way lol.
USB once WAS easy to deal with…
The current standards though mean you have to get creative…
One way of doing this to use a USB-C to USB-A converter plug, a few cents online these days.
They come for both directions by the way.
With them you only need to worry about meeting the old USB standards in terms of what you plug into them.
So 500mA would never be a problem, for things above this you need to know what provides the power.
Some old USB charger might work, same for a TV or things with a USB port to play media from.
A modern USB-C charger though would probably not provide any output at all.
Personally I prefer the dirt cheap way if I need light from a USB port - I buy a dirt cheap USB light stick or such and just wire onto what I need after peeling the silicone skin away.
2.1A max but even the really power hungry sticks won’t go above 1A.
If you like it simpler than there is plenty of great options listed above.
Don’t forget though that you can also buy dedicated USB and USB-C LED light strip controllers.
If you buy 10 than those Chinese market platforms can provide a price of under 3 bucks per controller…
For about 2 bucks more you can have them with app/IR remote control.
Just saying…
Update: So I purchased the Flutesan light strip connectors, but they didn’t work as I’d hopped the would, as the teeth couldn’t pierce the silicon casing on the wires. I thought it was something I had done, but once I’d done some research on them, I’d noticed that others mentioned this issue. I cut down the spot where the teeth connected, but then the wires wouldn’t stay in. They were able to make a connection when I wiggled the wires around while plugged in, but I need them to be secure, so I bought These ones instead, and will post back later on the results. @Olias wondering if you ran into this issue as well? (possible solution)?
I also purchased these to help connect the rows together, as I didn’t have wiring available. I mean, I guess I could have purchased a roll of the wiring, but had now clue what gauge I needed, and was too tired at the time lol.
I’m glad that you made it through to a solution. You have to admit, there is a deep satisfaction to finding your own way.
On the subject of the plastic clips not piercing the wire, here are two tips. First, don’t use regular pliers; use vice-grips or any locking plier. You want to apply as much force as you can without cracking the shell. Cracking the shell during practice is not a bad way of calibrating the vice-grips; just back off on the grip after you reach the plastic cracking threshold.
The second tip is to experiment with the wire. For this application, I found that stranded wire is better than solid wire. The reason is flexibility, but if stranded doesn’t work, then try solid. The important thing is to make sure you use the correct 22AWG wire specified on the webpage. If you go with a thicker wire, like 18AWG, you’ll find that the shell doesn’t snap closed and you won’t have a secure fit. If you use a thinner wire, like 24AWG, then the teeth won’t pierce the insulation.
That’s the finished product. I like these clips better, but I will still make use of the other ones, and use vice grips instead., as you suggested. I like the COB lights, but will probably switch to the other ones, as I had to trim the ends of the silicone covering the lights, because it wouldn’t fit into the connectors.
Oh, and total satisfaction. Not just from finding my own way, but also getting helpful suggestions, so I’m stressing out as much lol.
