Help with IR Illuminator / power supply
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Hello,
I am new to the M5stack products and software stack. Please bear with my possibly naive questions.
I am building a Computer Vision/Machine Learning box for night vision scenarios. I have already built and tested a single-board computer with a camera for video recording/processing, i.e., the Raspberry Pi 5. I want to add an array (or strip) of IR LEDs to flow in an indoor room and record in dark situations. I have found some simple add-ons for my camera that provide 2 850nm (albeit dim) LEDS, but the results are not good. So, I want to add an external IR Illuminator.
My friend gifted me some m5stack RGB LED strips and I2C controllers and told me that I could explore the m5stack products to see if I could find some almost out-of-the-box solutions. I could not find something close to my needs.
Can someone steer me in the right direction?
- I want to add 6 940nm IR LEDs to my configuration, but I cannot power them from the same board input as they will start to drain the current.
- I don't mind having an additional power supply for the IR LEDs array (similar to the one needed for the m5stack RGB LEDS).
- It would be great if I could have only one power supply (USB C) and then fork it for the IR LED array and the single-board computer, but I don't know how to do this safely. Maybe m5stack has something like that.
- Could I solder my 4 IR LEDs (with their respective resistors) similarly to the m5stack RGB LED strip configuration and use the same connectors and controllers?
- I do not mind (although it will be great) the single-board computer to control or interface with the IR LED array; it could always be on.
I appreciate your help.
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You need to learn about the basics of electronics and ohms Law R=V/I That will teach you how to accomplish what you want. If you abuse a grove to DuPont lead then you can connect them with the leds but you will need to make sure you don’t draw to much power
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@m5romarcg You can’t use RGB LEDs for IR illumination since they lack infrared emitters. Instead, look into dedicated 940nm IR LED modules or build your array with resistors. Use a separate power source or a USB-C splitter with proper voltage regulators for safety. M5Stack controllers won't directly support IR LEDs, so they’d need separate wiring, but for simplicity, you can keep the IR array always on.
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@claraallison you could just drive relay to power IR illuminator when needed, you could do some logic inside M5stack based on light sensor or/and movement sensor to drive relay possibly. by that ir illuminator can be supplied by what kind of voltage it needs and M5stack only closes relay contact to power it up when needed.
