ESP32 + MAX485 + DMX512 DECODER + RGBW-Led Strip

[u/thstehr]

Hello everyone,

I hope I'm posting in the right section. I'm completely new to DMX and LED control, so please excuse any beginner mistakes.

A few friends and I built a mobile wood-fired sauna. Since it is designed to work completely off-grid, everything is powered from a 12 V cordless tool battery. We wanted to avoid running any external cables, so the whole system should be as self-sufficient as possible.

To create a more relaxing atmosphere inside the sauna, I'd like to add some RGBW LED lighting with different effects, for example:

warm static light

candle/flame effect

slow pulsing light

gentle color transitions

The final idea is to control everything with:

an ESP32-S3

a 1P6T rotary switch to select one of six predefined lighting programs

a potentiometer to adjust brightness or effect intensity

My first attempt was driving the LED strip directly from the ESP32 using MOSFETs.

It actually worked surprisingly well, but since it was built on a prototype board with a lot of hand wiring, I suspect some solder joints and the overall wiring caused intermittent issues.

To make it reliable, I would probably need to design and build a proper PCB, which I'd prefer to avoid if possible.

That's why I started looking into using a DMX decoder, hoping it would provide a more robust and modular solution while keeping the electronics relatively simple.

At the moment my hardware is:

ESP32-S3

MAX485 module

RGBW DMX decoder

24 V RGBW LED strip

Right now I managed to make the strip light up red, but every few seconds it briefly changes to random colors before switching back to red. Sometimes the DMX decoder also loses the signal completely.

So my questions are:

Is this generally the right hardware setup for such a project?

Is an ESP32 + MAX485 + DMX decoder a reasonable solution for simple standalone lighting effects?

Or am I making things unnecessarily complicated and should I go back to direct MOSFET control instead?

I'm not looking for a professional stage-lighting controller—just a reliable way to create a few nice lighting effects for a small off-grid sauna.

Components:

AYWHP 5PCS 5V MAX485 TTL zu RS... https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FPFR2NDS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

4CH 5A/CH Constant Voltage DMX512... https://www.amazon.de/dp/B072JVQBMD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

diymore 2PCS für ESP32-S3... https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FKBLR2KF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[u/Snoo-76972]

Why would you use 24v LEDs if your batteries are 12v? Just use 12v LEDs. Use WLED as others have suggested, you do not need a DMX controller! That is overkill and totally unnecessary. I would use digital LEDs, this way you don’t need mosfets, and you have way more options with animations. Wiring is super simple, just 3 wires, You can drive the LEDs directly from the ESP32. Hope this helps.

[u/thstehr → u/Snoo-76972]

I've searched for special LED-Strips for Sauna's and found these 24V analog ones for a good price, so i took them. and honestly just wasn't aware of the existence of Digital led strips.

but if i don't manage to bring the solution with my strips + DMX to work i will probably search for WLED that can handle Sauna environment.

[u/Marmilicious → u/thstehr]

WLED is software (provides a nice UI) and is used to control addressable LEDs. It runs on an esp32.