board

RITHESH LED Display

Public Unreviewed

by Rithesh03

A 300 x 70 mm PCB that spells RITHESH with 107 WS2812B RGB LEDs, controlled over Wi-Fi.

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RITHESH LED Display

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Contents

README

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RITHESH LED Display

A custom circuit board that spells the name RITHESH with 107 colour LEDs. You control it from a phone or computer over Wi-Fi, using the free WLED app. It is powered from an ordinary USB-C phone charger.

Status (2026-09-25): Version 1 design complete and approved for a prototype. Not ordered yet. Two things must pass first: a timing test with a few real LEDs, and JLCPCB's manufacturing review. A smaller Version 2 is being planned (see the last section).

The finished Version 1 board in 3D, seen at an angle

Project overview

  • What it is: a 300 × 70 mm board with the letters R-I-T-H-E-S-H made of small addressable RGB LEDs. Every LED can show any colour.
  • Why: a personal name sign that can show colours, patterns and animations, controlled from a phone.
  • How it was made: requirements, schematic, PCB layout and every check were done step by step and saved in this page's files. The board is designed for JLCPCB to make and assemble (all parts soldered by the factory).

Final Version 1 specifications
Size 300 × 70 mm, 2 layers, 1.6 mm thick, 1 oz copper, four M3 mounting holes
LEDs 107 × XL-5050RGBC-2812B (WS2812B-style), 5 × 5 mm, 7 mm apart, each with its own 100 nF capacitor
Letters 5 × 7 dot pattern, each letter about 33 × 47 mm
Brain ESP32-C3-MINI-1 Wi-Fi module running standard WLED
Power USB-C, 5 V, up to 3 A charger. WLED limits the whole board to 2 A
Protection surge diode, USB protection chip, and an electronic fuse (eFuse) with soft start, current limit and over-voltage clamp
Buttons RESET, ON/OFF, BOOT
Test pads 10 (power, 3.3 V, ground, LED data, eFuse status and current, serial RX/TX)
Assembly 250 parts, all on the front

Back of the board in 3D: almost all ground copper

How the board works

  1. The USB-C charger supplies 5 V.
  2. A surge diode and a USB protection chip absorb voltage spikes, and the eFuse switches the power on gently and cuts it off if too much current flows (about 2.5–2.9 A) or the voltage is too high.
  3. A 3.3 V regulator powers the ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi chip.
  4. The ESP32 runs WLED. It sends colour data out of one pin (GPIO10).
  5. A level shifter turns the 3.3 V data signal into a clean 5 V signal for the LEDs.
  6. The data enters LED1 (top-left of the "R") and passes from LED to LED, all the way to LED107.

The LED chain: the order in which the data travels through all 107 LEDs

LED1 and the level shifter that drives the LED data line

Major components

Part What it does JLCPCB part
XL-5050RGBC-2812B × 107 the colour LEDs (WS2812B-style, each with a tiny built-in controller) C2843785
ESP32-C3-MINI-1-N4 Wi-Fi chip that runs WLED; also programmed over the USB-C port C2838502
TPS259531 eFuse soft start, 2.5–2.9 A current limit, over-voltage clamp, automatic restart after a fault C2155674
SMAJ5.0A surge (TVS) diode on the 5 V input C2925443
USBLC6-2SC6 protects the USB data lines from static C7519
TLV76733 3.3 V regulator for the ESP32 C2848334
SN74AHCT1G125 3.3 V to 5 V level shifter for the LED data C7484
TYPE-C-31-M-12 USB-C connector for power and programming C165948
220 µF × 2 (+ 2 spare spots) bulk capacitors that steady the LED power C72496

Power design

  • Budget: the charger gives up to 3 A. WLED keeps the whole board at or under 2 A (about 1.88 A for the LEDs plus the ESP32).
  • Full white: all LEDs at full white would need about 3.85 A, so WLED dims white to about 30 %. Single colours can be much brighter.
  • Supply copper: the back of the board is a solid ground plane. The front has a 5 V copper area under all the LEDs.
  • Voltage drop: the worst voltage loss to the farthest LED is calculated at only 9 mV at 1.88 A.
  • eFuse: stays below the charger's 3 A and above the board's 2.2 A worst case (including Wi-Fi peaks).

USB-C connector and its protection parts

Power section: eFuse, surge diode and the 5 V supply

PCB design and checks

  • Checks that all pass:
    • design-rule check: 0 errors, 0 unconnected, 0 footprint errors
    • electrical-rule check: 0 errors, 0 warnings
    • every chip pin checked against its datasheet
    • netlist checker, placement checker and a voltage-drop calculation
  • Antenna: the ESP32 antenna sits at the bottom edge with no copper under or beside it.
  • USB: the data pair has protection right at the connector and ground vias wherever it changes layer.
  • Vias: all are covered by solder mask, and none are inside a pad.

The fully routed board (both layers)

Front copper: the 5 V area and the LED wiring

Back copper: the ground plane

ESP32 module and its antenna area at the board edge

Design notes: hardware/pcb-layout-notes.md · schematic: hardware/schematic.pdf · all decisions: requirements.md

Firmware and WLED

  • Firmware: standard WLED, installed from a web browser at install.wled.me. No custom firmware is needed.
  • Settings:
    • LED output on GPIO10, 107 LEDs
    • ON/OFF button on GPIO5
    • Maximum PSU Current 2000 mA
  • Letter effects: the files firmware/ledmap.json and firmware/ledmap1.json make effects follow the letters.
  • Full guide: firmware/README.md covers installing, Wi-Fi setup, testing and USB recovery.

Manufacturing package

hardware/manufacturing/RITHESH-v1-PROTOTYPE/ contains:

  • the Gerber and drill ZIP
  • the parts list (BOM) and placement file (CPL) for JLCPCB
  • assembly drawings and fabrication notes

It is marked "PROTOTYPE – DO NOT ORDER" until the tests below pass. Nothing has been uploaded to JLCPCB or ordered.

Remaining physical tests

Before ordering:

  1. LED timing test: 5–10 real LEDs on an ESP32-C3 running WLED for 30 minutes, plus an oscilloscope check of the data timing.
  2. JLCPCB review:
    • manufacturing check
    • placement preview (every part's rotation and pin 1)
    • stock
    • board size accepted
    • final price

On the prototype:

  • Power: starts cleanly; 5 V stays at or above 4.7 V at full load.
  • LEDs: all 107 light in the right order.
  • WLED: the 2 A limit holds.
  • Connections: Wi-Fi range, USB programming and the RESET/BOOT recovery, and the ON/OFF button all work.
  • Power ripple: decides whether to fit the two spare capacitors.

The full list is in FINAL-REVIEW-CHECKLIST.md.

Version 2 optimization plan

A smaller Version 2 is being planned in v2/. It is a proposal only; Version 1 stays unchanged.

Version 1 Version 2 (plan)
Board 300 × 70 mm 250 × 40 mm (about half the area)
LEDs 107 × 5 mm LEDs, 7 mm apart 107 × 2 mm LEDs, 5 mm apart
Letters 33 × 47 mm 22 × 32 mm
Full white about 3.85 A (dimmed by WLED) about 1.66 A (full brightness)
Electronics strip under the letters at the right end

In Version 2 the LED data enters at the right end, next to the electronics. The letters look the same, but the LED numbering is reversed: V2 LED1 is where V1 LED107 is. Version 2 therefore has its own WLED maps in v2/firmware/.

The new LED stays provisional until its own timing test passes. Details are in v2/requirements.md.

Version 2 board plan: 250 × 40 mm, electronics at the right end

Files: README · requirements · updates · final checklist · Hydrogen feedback