NeoPixel-038 not working on ESP32s3 zero or mini boards

[Oldboy]

Hello all,

I am not sure if this is the right area for this issue.

After a day of building and testing a project, I discovered ESP-Easy Plugin 038 NeoPixel (Basic) is not going to GPIO on my two different ESP32s3 boards.
it works find on two ESP32-C3 boards and a test ESP32-S2 dev board

I started to discover this while adding plugin-038 to my custom.h on a copy of ESP-Easy 20240414 code in VS Platform to build my own plugin which is another story for another day.

after wasting a bit of time, I then tested with a few different normal / climate release versions to get the same issue.

I did compile a small Arduino IDE test code called "ESP32-S3_BlinkRGB " which worked on all S3 broads, so appears not to be a hardware issue.
I didn't compile on VS to test.

I do understand the C3 and S3 are very different CPUs and code.
here are some links to the S3 and C3 boards i tested, with comments of what I found.

--------
ESP32-S3 boards ,
both these ESP32-S3 didn't work with ESP-Easy NeoPixel ,
both have onboards WS2812 work with "ESP32-S3_BlinkRGB"code .

ESP32-S3 Zero: ( there are two version of these ,
each has WS2812 on different GPIO
- https://www.waveshare.com/esp32-s3-zero.htm
- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006485999236.html?

ESP32-s3 Super Mini
- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006701955079.html?

----------
These C3 work fine,
ESP32-C3 Zero:
- https://www.waveshare.com/esp32-c3-zero.htm
- has single onboard WS2812 RGB LED , works find on this PCB
ESP32-C3 super mini:
- https://forum.arduino.cc/t/esp32-c3-sup ... ut/1189850
- https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805898923942.html?



Thank you

[Ath]

A few check questions:
- Is your NeoPixel powered at 5V?
- Do you have a 3.3V/5V level converter installed between the ESP and NeoPixel?

[Oldboy]

The onboard LED on the board appears to be directly connected with out buffer chip.

My project circuit has three 5v LEDs with one low value resistor between GPIO and first LED, very short cable.

I was looking to add buffer, yet every other board drives the LEDs fine.

Tomorrow I will get out my scope to check each board waveform.

[Ath]

What GPIO pin are you using, and does your board have PSRAM on-board? (H4R2 indicates it has 2MB PSRAM, so pins 26..32 should not be used, and also, there is a warning about using ADC2 pins)

[TD-er]

Also which IDF are you using?
I do have a board here with about 150 neopixel LEDs and an ESP32-S3.
It is running on IDF5.1 code (Thus LittleFS build)

[Oldboy]

I tested with GPIO 7 and GPIO 13 on edge of the board.
I also tested with GPIO 21 to the single on board LED.

is there a LittleFS release version for S3 with Neopixel that I should test with?

[TD-er]

Is this a 4M flash unit or 16M?

[Ath]

The neopixel_ESP32s3_4M316k_LittleFS_CDC build should do the trick here.
Be aware that the storage is not migrated from the default SPIFFS to LittleFS, so while you can do an in-place upgrade, then all configuration (except WiFi) will be gone! Or just grab an unused board, then you'll loose nothing

[Oldboy]

only 4M flash



** NOTE:
using source code base 20240414 ,
ESP32-s3 I compiled " custom_ESP32s3_4M316k_CDC " NeoPixel (basic) doesn't work
ESP32-c3 I compiled "custom_ESP32c3_4M316k_CDC " NeoPixel (basic) worked perfectly

[Ath]

Can you test using the neopixel, with LittleFS enabled, build I mentioned before? That uses the latest IDF 5.1 framework, that solves many issues still present in the IDF 4.4 used by non-LittleFS ESP32* builds.

[TD-er]

only 4M flash



** NOTE:
using source code base 20240414 ,
ESP32-s3 I compiled " custom_ESP32s3_4M316k_CDC " NeoPixel (basic) doesn't work
ESP32-c3 I compiled "custom_ESP32c3_4M316k_CDC " NeoPixel (basic) worked perfectly

That's extremely odd as the C-series is using a completely different CPU architecture.
So S-series build on a C-series chip should not boot and vice verse.

[Oldboy]

with above code, I put a scope on the LED input, I have a 100e resistor from the GPIO.

on ESP32-c3 zero ,
NeoPixelAll,032,0,0 will drive 3 LEDs perfectly, see attached okay waveform.

on ESP32-s3 zero ,
no NeoPixel output , yet log = P038 : write - NeoPixelAll,032,0,0
if I set the GPIO as I2C SCL , i see clock when action scan
if I set different PWM on GPIO , I get what I expect.

I am not that good in code to follow this, so will use the ESP32-c3 Zero in my project.

Thank You

[TD-er]

I also saw this specific bugreport with a "supermini" board: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/issues/9545

It seems to be related to how the serial console is used on the board with native USB.
You could disable the console on tools->Advanced page and/or set the serial port to Serial0 and uncheck the "enable fallback on Serial0".
This will then disable the HWCDC USB serial port.

[Rob73]

Oldboy,

I have the s3 zero module flashed with the latest max firmware. The onboard LED stays on bright and green. I cant turn it off or change colors or do anything with it. I think from the datasheet it is on gpio 21 but I have had no luck controlling it. Actually, I just want to turn it off. I dont want to use neopixels at all with the project. Were you using the onboard LED? Were you able to turn it off, or did your even light up on its own?


Rob

[Ath]

I have the s3 zero module flashed with the latest max firmware.

Can you test using the latest MEGA merge from this Actions run, it has improvements in the Framework that might help with the NeoPixel issue.

[Rob73]

Sure, I will give it a try!

Rob

[Rob73]

I didnt have any luck turning the green led off with that build. I flashed two more identical s3 zero modules with the latest build. After the flash the led was in the on state on the two new modules. One was stuck on red, and the other was stuck on blue. Apparently they had a demo code on them that cycled the led through red, green and blue. I could connect to the modules through the serial console and change my wifi settings & when I removed the power and plugged them back in, the built in led went off on both modules.

The first module I have may have a glitch or a hardware problem, I can not get it to go off for anything. I will put it aside and maybe flash it through arduino ide with some small project code to see if I can wipe it out.

I did try to control the onboard led on the two new modules and I had no luck lighting them up. I will do some more testing in the next few days and see what I come up with.


Rob

[TD-er]

Did you power cycle the board inbetween?

Also which pins are connected to the NeoPixel?
Maybe the ESP does have some odd signals on that pin while booting?

Can you also set this pin to set to either input or output low in the boot state table on the Hardware tab?
Then save it and power cycle the board to see if it is kept off at boot.

[Rob73]

TD-er,

I did power cycle in between flashes, and setting changes. It didnt seem to care either way. It says that the neopixel is connected to gpio 21 in the datasheet. I changed it to every gpio available in the menu with no luck. I did set the input & output low on boot in the hardware tab & couldnt get the led to go off or change at all.

Rob

[TD-er]

Just to be sure we're talking about the same...
What I meant is to set that specific GPIO pin to output low for example on the Hardware tab and then power cycle.

The idea is that a NeoPixel can receive upto 24 (or more, depending on the type) bits which define some color.
If the next 24 bits are received, they will be flushed to the output for any next LED.
So changing the state of that pin will not clear any state in the NeoPixel LED, unless it is power cycled.

I know the NeoPixel LEDs en sich do work on an ESP32-S3 as I do have a board here looping a scrolling text for weeks already.
Only interrupted to load a new build for testing. (this board: https://www.tinytronics.nl/en/developme ... e-esp32-s3 )

[Rob73]

Yes, thats what I did. Set it to output low on the hardware menu, submitted the changes and cycled the power.
I also tried to give it the neopixel commands to change the color and brightness. I had no luck.

I do have two boards that the onboard led isnt lit while its powered up and working. I was not able to control the neopixel on those units either, but they are not lit. For some reason the three waveshare esp32-s3 zero boards that I have get really hot while in operation. I will do some more playing around with them. I was looking for a small simple unit for a solar/battery outdoor setup, but I am thinking this is not going to be the unit for that


Rob

[TD-er]

Where on the board is it getting hot?
How do you power the board? What voltage do you apply to which pins?
Is the WiFi connection stable?

[Rob73]

I am powering it from a usb cable. It has a usb c connector on it. The heat seems to be all coming from the esp32 chip. The wifi connection seems to be fine. All three modules seem to get hotter than I would think they should be running.

Rob

[TD-er]

You can add a task for "Generic - System info" and then select internal temperature.
Just to get an idea what the temperature of the silicon is.

Edit:
Just enabled it here on an ESP32-S3 board which is encapsulated in a tight enclosure and has 29x5 NeoPixel LEDs in that same enclosure.
The internal temperature of that ESP is close to 50 C

[Rob73]

My esp32 s3 zero, out on the desk sill slowly ramp up to right at 75 when freshly plugged in. Then it will then vary from mid 60's to 72ish just idling.

Rob

[TD-er]

That's a bit more than expected.

Does it matter when you enable ECO mode? (tools->Advanced settings page)

[Rob73]

I will give it a try and see

Rob

[Rob73]

With eco mode on it runs along at 55 to 56 deg. The temp dropped pretty quick once i enabled eco mode...

Rob

[TD-er]

ECO mode does 3 things which may reduce power consumption:
- Lower clock frequency
- Make more idle calls which does put the WiFi radio to sleep more often
- Lower TX power where possible (depending on the received signal strength of the AP)

Still I think the internal temperature is quite a bit higher compared to my S3 units.
Though I'm not sure what may cause this.
Could be the WiFi antenna is badly tuned, or is experiencing quite some losses due to metal close to the antenna.
If the antenna is badly tuned, the ESP will consume more power as it probably has to send more often (retransmits) and also has to deal with RF signals reflecting back into the ESP.

Can you see the signal strength and/or SNR (signal-noise-ratio) on the access point of the connected ESP board? (and link speed)

How is the ESP powered?
Via USB? Does the board have a separate USB to serial chip or is it native USB from the ESP?
Do you see a voltage regulator on the PCB or does the ESP handle the 5V and creates 3V3 from it?
Is anything else connected to the 5V or 3V3 of this board or is everything else powered via an external 3V3 power source?
If the ESP is powered by USB directly, do you also have some external 3V3 power supply connected to the 3V3 pin of the board?

[Rob73]

I have it powered by the usb c connector. The unit is just like the picture in the earlier post. Nothing is connected to it, I dont even have it on a breadboard. I will do some comparisons to some other boards that I have but I think this s3 zero is the only one that is getting hot like that.

Rob

[hitka]

Guys am not sure if this is the right place but I am working on the ESP32S3 zero (aka mini) as well by waveshare.
Whenever I upload my code using the arduino ide it always says


Sketch uses 302781 bytes (9%) of program storage space. Maximum is 3145728 bytes.
Global variables use 18620 bytes (5%) of dynamic memory, leaving 309060 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 327680 bytes.
esptool.py v4.6
Serial port COM3
Connecting...
Chip is ESP32-S3 (revision v0.1)
Features: WiFi, BLE
Crystal is 40MHz
MAC: f0:f5:bd:6e:1b:88
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Changing baud rate to 921600
Changed.
Configuring flash size...
Flash will be erased from 0x00000000 to 0x00003fff...
Flash will be erased from 0x00008000 to 0x00008fff...
Flash will be erased from 0x0000e000 to 0x0000ffff...
Flash will be erased from 0x00010000 to 0x0005afff...
Compressed 14880 bytes to 10569...
Writing at 0x00000000... (100 %)
Wrote 14880 bytes (10569 compressed) at 0x00000000 in 0.2 seconds (effective 489.6 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.
Compressed 3072 bytes to 137...
Writing at 0x00008000... (100 %)
Wrote 3072 bytes (137 compressed) at 0x00008000 in 0.0 seconds (effective 501.9 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.
Compressed 8192 bytes to 47...
Writing at 0x0000e000... (100 %)
Wrote 8192 bytes (47 compressed) at 0x0000e000 in 0.1 seconds (effective 713.4 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.
Compressed 303152 bytes to 170503...
Writing at 0x00010000... (9 %)
Writing at 0x0001c232... (18 %)
Writing at 0x000264f3... (27 %)
Writing at 0x0002bc16... (36 %)
Writing at 0x0003179d... (45 %)
Writing at 0x00036ee8... (54 %)
Writing at 0x0003c637... (63 %)
Writing at 0x00041c6f... (72 %)
Writing at 0x000471df... (81 %)
Writing at 0x0004f780... (90 %)
Writing at 0x00057a4b... (100 %)
Wrote 303152 bytes (170503 compressed) at 0x00010000 in 2.7 seconds (effective 888.4 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.

Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...

this is the output for all what should I do ? I tried resetting unplugging booting it properly and everything. The only source of power is the USB connection to my laptop. Please Help

[TD-er]

I wonder which build of ESPEasy this is as it looks extremely stripped down with only 300k of sketch size.

Also we highly recommend using PlatformIO and VScode as it is really hard to make ESPEasy build using ArduinoIDE.

Another issue is that with the recent Arduino 3.0.x code base you really should not use the RMT legacy driver.
See: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/issues/9866

That's why I don't use that driver anymore in ESPEasy.

So please tell me which exact ESPEasy build you're trying to build here as I know for a fact that NeoPixel does work perfectly fine on an ESP32-S3.
I do have an ESP32-S3 board here showing a scrolling text on a 29x5 NeoPixel matrix running ESP_Easy_mega_20240528_neopixel_ESP32s3_4M316k_LittleFS_CDC