Basic DMX LED Shield and ESP32 Thing Plus questions

Development Boards ESP32
1

I’ve got some basic questions about the ESP32 and DMX LED shield.

I’m working on a project where I want to use DMX to control some WS2812B addressable LED strips.

The DMX LED shield description mentions APA102 LED strips. Will it also control WS2812B strips or do I need to get some new LED strips?

Also, when it comes to the SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM, I’m trying to figure out if I need the Micro-B or U.FL versions. Is the only difference that the U.FL version adds the U.FL connection? I don’t anticipate using that, but who knows. They’re the same price, so I’m just wondering if U.FL version lacks something the Micro-B has.

Thanks!

2

The DMX LED shield designed for APA102 will not directly control WS2812B strips. You need either a different DMX controller that supports WS2812B or an intermediate microcontroller to translate DMX to WS2812B.

3

Thanks that’s helpful. For the ESP32 Thing Plus, it looks like the DMX shield uses all the pins on the Thing Plus. If I need to add something like a microphone or audio line input, are there extra pins that aren’t used by the DMX shield? Or is there some other way of expanding the Thing Plus?

4

I guess a more basic question is, can the SparkFun ESP32 Thing Plus receive audio input from a mic or line input via like a standard Arduino?

If so, does the DMX shield interfere with this in any way (like by using up all the available inputs)?