SDG #357 RGB Meteor Shower LEDs Build using ESP32 and WLED

Cheap off the shelf meteor shower lights rarely survive a single winter, and this build is a direct answer to that problem: a purpose designed system using 450 mm LED PCBs that link together into 900 mm strips, populated with 8 mm through hole WS2812 LEDs bent down through a cutout so the light is visible from every angle.

The electronics side is deliberately simple. A small ESP32 module (bought for well under two pounds) replaces the PIC plus Charlieplexing approach used on an earlier version of this project, which cut the firmware effort to almost nothing once WLED was flashed. The controller board takes 24 V in, tolerates dips to roughly 9 V so long cable runs and voltage drop are not an issue, then steps down to 5 V for the LEDs with a 3.3 V linear regulator for the module. Waterproof connectors with 1 mm squared cable handle interconnection between fixtures, which matters when 20 or more units are strung along a house.

There are useful honest details here: the per LED series resistors and decoupling caps were reduced or bridged with solder because hand assembly of that many 0603 parts is not realistic, and a missing electrolytic on the buck output had to be tacked on afterwards. Flux performance also gets a side by side mention while soldering the modules.

Mechanically, PCBs slide into 1 m acrylic tubes capped with resin 3D printed parts: a sealed hooked top cap with a cable exit and a vented clear bottom cap so condensation can drain rather than sitting on the electronics. In use, WLED brightness limiting was set to 850 mA to respect the converter’s inductor rating, 30 LEDs per strip configured, and sync set to one master. An extra outdoor access point was needed for reliable Wi-Fi sync at the far end of the run.