I've been reading a lot about the WS2811 LEDs and how to properly set them up. I've purchased a few thousand of them off of Ebay for various projects because they're so easy to use. So far I've only used a series of 100.
I've seen a lot about the need to re-inject power at certain points throughout the series. Most of these use-cases were using power supplies with low amps.
Forgive me if this is a horribly naive question but if I have a 5v 60 amp power supply will I still need to re-inject to account for a voltage drop or will the higher amperage help maintain voltage?
EDIT:
Most of what I've read says re-injection will be required every 60 LEDs or so. I'm at 300 and I'm not seeing any noticeable difference at the end of the series?
Best Answer
Voltage droop is a result of cable resistance over large runs. Resistance adds up the longer and thinner the cable. And as your current load increases, the voltage you see at one end of the cable will decrease. Basic ohms law. In this case you will see the leds down the line look dimmer and dimmer until they stop lighting up at all.
You reinject power every few meters because you want to bypass the resistance of the cable to offer a path of lower resistance and keep the leds looking even.
Keep in mind the 60 leds or so statement is for basic 12V strips, not the smart 5V strips. Reinject power as you see fit (turn all the leds to full brightness white and eyeball it)