NodeMCU ESP8266 Lights not being outputted from the Adrilight program

[T-NhanNguyen]

I'm used the Node MCU ESP8266 microcontroller, and there were some tweaking that needed to be done to get FastLED to work for the Arduino ide, specifcally, including 1 line of code from here:
https://github.com/FastLED/FastLED/wiki/ESP8266-notes

So, I've gotten the Adrilight.ino Code to upload and work with my MCU, however I can't seem to get the serial communication to work. I've set the proper amount of LED count, port value, and even tried older versions, Nothing is working for me. I think the problem is becuase within my preview, the LED bars are black rather than showing the appropriate colors.

Using Windows 10 version 1909

[fabsenet]

Adrilight sees the screen because the preview is working but you are right. The actual spots are black. You should check the black threshold in the lighting mode tab.

[T-NhanNguyen]

The black threshold doesn't change the outcome, and one thing I forgot to mention is that, when turning on "Enable sending" after uploading the ino code, the program doesn't change the LED to black, it fix it to the last color that each led is on, of the rainbow.

I've been reading over the old reports of similar problems about this same issue, but the solutions for those reports doesn't seem to work (Old version required turning off overlay, and using bambilight).

[TheLilGrant]

I have a very similar problem, using the ESP8266 NodeMCU. When I load the arduino code after completion the entire strip lights up with the rainbow effect for a few seconds and then fades. When I launch Adrilight nothing seems to be sent to the arduino, even if I try to send random colours, nothing appears.

[T-NhanNguyen]

I think, it's defintiely something with the program, rather than the MCU we're using. I assumed that it was a serial communication problem, so I did some research, and found this problem that also occurred within my MCU with the serial communication. esp8266/Arduino#4005

I know that for this specific application, you're not suppose to change the baud rate to anything below 1 million, but for the heck of it, I've tried it out and that wasn't the fix.

Something might be blocking the app from reading reading the section color values

[TheLilGrant]

In my case, the exact same setup with a FastLED example program works perfectly, its only Adrilight that does not work. When I try to communicate with the board while Adrilight is running I get blocked on the port, so I assume Adrilight is at least trying to communicate. The preview portion shows the proper colours, but all lights are off.

[T-NhanNguyen]

if you disable the "Enable sending" you can free up the port without have to exit the program. That's weird though, you're the tiles are showing proper colors but it's not displaying the lights? What version of the build are you using, and what antivirus are you using? tried disabling my avast to see if that was the cause for improper preview, but that wasn't a fix

[T-NhanNguyen]

I take that back, I've purged all instances of adrilight from my computer and downloaded the newest version. The preview is working properly now, but the communication isn't working still.

I've attempted to switch my board out with the nano, and that's a no go either.

[fabsenet]

Check the number of leds in adrilight setup and in the arduino code. They must match perfectly!

[TheLilGrant]

I verified that the number of LEDs is the same in adrilight and the arduino code. I've tried a smaller number of LEDS for testing and modified all the settings I can think of but nothing causes any of the LEDs to turn on. Any other ideas?

[Kaitoukid93]

3 things need to be verified
number of leds in the arduino code= (numled_x+numled_y -2)x2
With Raw pin order, D1 pin(node mcu) is pin 5
if you're not using wifi then turn the wifi function off, or you will get the wdt reset

[Kaitoukid93]

think about the matrix led, 4 led at 4 corner is used twice so actual leds number on the strip(arduino code) is less than on the software

[T-NhanNguyen]

Is the WIFI setting defined within the "Erase setting" of the tool's tab? D1 seems to work for uploading the lights, are you suggesting to use pin 5 instead?

[Kaitoukid93]

you should google it for "how to turn off wifi on esp8266"
it's a line of code inside setup()
you should try to upload the example code from Fastled( color palette) to make sure D1 is working ( remember to use with or without raw pin order to check)
if the fastled and the pin work together, you should see the rainbow color moving on the led strip after the adrilight code uploaded
next, turn on serial connection on adrilight app, if the led freeze then turn off or just freeze, the led number is not match

[T-NhanNguyen]

That's the problem though, that's what fatsenet mentioned earlier, and that's what me and TheLilGrant is having problems with. The led are stuck even with matching count.

[Kaitoukid93]

did you even try the serial communication??
because CP2102 has some problems with unpopular baud rates( 1000000 )