SparkFun ESP32 Thing Plus DMX to LED Shield

The SparkFun ESP32 Thing Plus DMX to LED Shield is the perfect way to send and receive DMX data. Whether it’s coming in via the onboard XLR-3 jack or ArtNet, or outputting over the XLR-3 Jack/ArtNet, this shield has you covered! It’s the perfect way to get started developing your own custom DMX fixtures or even adding ArtNet capabilities to a current fixture. It also holds up to the DMX standard which requires electrical isolation between the controller and communication side to avoid ground loops.

The DMX to LED Shield can be powered either through the screw terminals or the USB connection from your microcontroller that’s plugged into the shield. The screw terminal is a 2-pin 3.5 mm screw terminal capable of accepting 26-16 AWG wire with a strip length of 5-6mm. Please note that you should always power the shield with 5V to provide proper power for RS485.

The outputs are broken out to poke home connectors ordered to match up with APA102 LED strips and LuMini devices. The DMX to LED shield is designed to work with the SparkFun Thing Plus – ESP32 WROOM or any board with a Feather footprint, so Feathers and Feather-Wings will fit it. Since many Feather boards are 3.3V logic, there is a logic level converter between the microcontroller and LED data pins to bring the poke home connectors up to 5V logic.

Get started with the Sparkfun ESP32 DMX to LED Shield Guide

Features

• Sizing (approx): 2.625 (L) x 2.7 (W) x 1.375 (H)
• 3 mounting holes for 4-40 screws
• Populated female headers for the ESP32 Thing Plus to interface to
• Screw terminal for 5VDC power input
  • Compatible with 26-16 AWG wire
• 3-Pin XLR connections
  • XLR-3 female connector
  • XLR-3 male connector
• Poke-home connector allows for sturdy but temporary addressable LED connection without soldering
  • Compatible with 24-18 AWG wire
• Optocouplers for power isolation
  • Common Mode Rejection (CMR) at 1000V/ μs
• 5V DC-DC converter with isolation for ground loops
  • Output: 5V at 200 mA
  • Isolation voltage of 1 kVDC (1 min.)
  • Isolation resistance of 1 GΩ
• 3.3 V to 5 V Logic converters between LED poke-home connectors and Feather headers

Resources

• Schematic
• Eagle Files
• Hookup Guide
• Arduino Libraries:
  • SparkFun DMX Arduino Library
  • ArtnetWifi Arduino Library
  • ESP32 Servo Library
• GitHub Product Repository