FAQ

This wiki page contains the most frequently asked questions.

Please check if your question is already answered here. If your question is not covered in the FAQ, check the existing GitHub issues or create a new one. You can also ask a question in our Discord channel.

Overview

• Issues with dimensioning the setup
  How many frames per second will the setup have?
  How much amperage does the power supply require?
• Issues with installing MLSC
• Issues with starting MLSC
• Issues with the microphone
  Which microphone should I use for my setup?
  Why do the music effects not work?
• Issues with the LED Strip
  Why do the LEDs not light up?
  Why do my LEDs flicker?
• Issues with the LED Strip driven by the Raspberry Pi
• Issues with the LED Strip driven by the ESP
  Why doesn't my ESP connect to the wifi?
• General
  Can I change effects externally without the web interface?
  How can I create my own effect?
  Can I use any Linux distro as an MLSC server?
  Known limitations

Issues with dimensioning the setup.

How many frames per second will the setup have?

The limit of the FPS is caused by the data transmission speed of the LED strip on big setups with 1000+ LEDs and the technical limitation to generate a new frame fast enough by the Raspberry Pi.

Formula:

Transmission Speed / (Package Size * LED count) = FPS

Example:

Package Size: 24 Bit
Transmission Speed: 800 kBit/s
LED count: 900

800.000 Bit/s / (24 Bit * 900 LEDs) = 37 FPS

How much amperage does the power supply require?

The amperage of your power supply depends on:

• LED count
• Max amperage per LED

Example for WS2812B:

LED count: 900
Ampere per LED: 60mA (WS2812B)
Voltage of the LED: 5V

900 LEDs * 0,06A = 54A

Example for WS2815:

LED count: 900
Ampere per LED: 15mA (WS2815)
Voltage of the LED: 12V

900 LEDs * 0,015A = 13.5A

Issues with installing MLSC

Please check that:

• You are connected to the internet
• The URL is not misspelled
• You are running the installation command on a Raspberry Pi or another compatible linux distro

Issues with starting MLSC

Make sure you are running MLSC with sudo.

Please check if there is a newer version already online, that may fix your issue.

To find the source of the issue, try isolating different components. For example, plug/unplug the microphone.

If you cannot find a solution, create an issue on GitHub. Please provide us the console output, the config, and a detailed issue description for us to be able to reproduce it.

Issues with the microphone

Which microphone should I use for my setup?

You can use any microphone that is compatible with Linux. There is a list with tested microphones here: Compatible Hardware List

Why do the music effects not work?

There are several causes for such an issue:

• The microphone is not plugged in or the connection is faulty.
• Incorrect configuration. The microphone sample rate is wrong, or the wrong audio device was selected.
• The microphone level is too low.

Issues with the LED Strip

Why do the LEDs not light up?

• Check your wiring:
  • Does the LED share common ground with the Raspberry Pi/ESP and the Power Supply?
  • Is the right Pin for the Data used?
  • Is the Di (Data in) pin of the LED strip used?
  • If you are using a potentiometer, try adjusting it.
• Is MLSC running?
• Is your power supply plugged in and working properly?

Why do my LEDs flicker?

The flickering could be caused by a bad data signal. You can increase the signal quality by:

• Adding a potentiometer to the data wire.
• Adding a logic level converter, which is specified for high data rates like 800kBit/s. Additionally, it should shift the voltage from 3.3V to 5V.

Issues with the LED Strip driven by the Raspberry Pi

You can test the Output by using the example script. Please ensure you stopped MLSC before. The script is located at: /share/music_led_strip_control/test/raspi_led_test.py. Adjust all important variables to match your setup before executing the script.

If you want to drive 2 different stripes on the Rapberry Pi, you have to use:

• Different direct memory access channel (DMA)
• Select the PWM channel (0 or 1).
• Dependent on the channel, you have to select the GPIO pin (Channel 0 - 12, 18 and Channel 1 - 13, 19 (only available on B+ and later))

You can configure them inside MLSC Webinterface on the device settings.

Additionally, you have to disable the system audio, which uses one of the PWM modules that you need. See rpi_ws281x instructions

Issues with the LED Strip driven by the ESP

Why doesn't my ESP connect to the WiFi?

Check your config first:

• Does the IP match?
• Did you set up a valid subnet mask?
• Have you configured the SSID?
• Are the following programs configured and running:
  • dhcpcd
  • dnsmasq
  • hostapd
• Is the WiFi network visible from another device?
• What does the hostapd log say?
• You can try changing the wifi channel inside /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

General

Can I change effects externally without the web interface?

Yes, you can do it via the REST API. Please check the API documentation inside your web interface.

How can I create my own effect?

Please see the small tutorial: Create a custom effect

Can I use any Linux distro as an MLSC server?

Any Linux distro that uses the APT package manager should work. Examples are Debian, and its derivatives, like Ubuntu, Elementary OS, Linux Mint.

Known limitations

This section will be added soon.