YULC Powers Up LED Projects with a 240 Watt ESP32-S3-Based Controller
YULC supports USB-C (100W) or barrel jack (240W), has a built-in buck converter, and level-shifters for WS2812B strips.
LEDs are a beautiful addition to any project. Providing large amounts of power safely to long strips can be challenging. Alessandro Alfonzetti addresses those challenges with YULC, "Yes, a USB Type-C LED Controller." YULC is a dual-channel LED controller capable of supplying 240 watts to power-hungry strips, and it is launching soon on Crowd Supply.
YULC's design is exceptionally flexible. There are multiple options for getting power into and out of YULC. The compact board has header pins that are breadboard-compatible. And the USB-C port allows direct programming of the ESP32-S3 microcontroller.
Getting power in starts with selecting one of the two input ports. A generic barrel jack supports up to 24 volts and 20 amps (240 watts). The USB-C connector supports Power Delivery (PD) 3.0. A WCH CH224K PD sink controller handles the protocol negotiation. YULC has a header pin block for selecting 5, 9, 12, 15, or 20 volts. At 20 volts, USB-C can provide up to 5 amps for 100 watts.
There are two output channels, each with a dedicated MOSFET. The MOSFET replaces a relay and can use pulse width modulation (PWM) to vary the brightness of voltage-controlled LED strips. Both channels share the same power source: direct power from the input source or a built-in buck converter that outputs 5 or 12 volts and up to 20 amps (100 or 200 watts). An automotive blade-style fuse provides overcurrent protection for direct or regulated output.
The output channels feature a level-shifter for addressable WS2812B LEDs, also known as NeoPixels. These popular LED strips use a serial protocol to control the color and brightness of each LED individually. The control signal is notorious for needing 5 volts to operate correctly.
The ESP32-S3 stays functional even if the output fuse blows because YULC has a separate regulator for the logic circuits. This capability enables YULC to provide an alert when a fault occurs. Other safety features include ESD protection for the USB-C port and ESP32-S3 SoC.
Along one side of YULC are 15 unpopulated pins. These connect to several control signals and nine unused GPIOs, with two pins available for UART communication. These signals let you build a project around YULC. You can connect YULC directly to a breadboard to connect to other devices using header pins.
YULC is an open-source project. You can already download a PDF of the schematic from this GitHub repository. Alfonzetti plans to add more documentation in the future. Sign up for notifications on the YULC product page to know when the pre-order Crowd You can connect YULC directly to a breadboard to connect to other devices using header pinsSupply campaign goes live.