Obtainium Consulting’s Lightkraken Is a PoE++ LED Strip Driver That Can Handle 70W of Power

The Lightkraken supports ArtNet and E1.13 protocols, can drive most programmable LED strips, has a built-in web configurator, and more.

Cabe Atwell
4 years agoSensors / Lights / Internet of Things

San Francisco-based Obtainium Consulting is offering a first-of-its-kind LED strip driver that draws power via a PoE++ (802.3bt Type 4) connection, which allows it to consume up to 70W of power and data through a Cat5 network cable. According to Obtainiumm, the Lightkraken supports ArtNet and E1.13 protocols, as well as the most common programmable LED strips (WS2812b, APA102 etc.). It can also be hardwired to drive analog RGB(W) strips using PWM at 16-bit resolution, offers 5V/12V/24V outputs via the selector switch, and has a built-in web configurator.

The Lightkraken is compatible with switches that support all PoE standards (Type 1/2/3/4 up to 70W max) and uses a 100/10Mbit Ethernet connection with a DHCP or static IP address. As mentioned earlier, the Lightkraken supports ArtNet and E1.13, which supports up to five universes per output, which means it can handle up to 1,020 LEDs per output for RGB strips. It also accepts unicasts, synchronization packets, or broadcast ArtNet packages, plus unicast E1.31 traffic and joins E1.31 multicast address space by default.

Obtainium recommends installing a fan on the Lightkraken if you plan to drive LEDs at 25W or higher, as the board can get hot under DC/DC conversion (about 212F), and comes with a standard JST header just for that purpose. Obtainium Consulting is currently selling the Lightkraken on Tindie for $69 and up (depending on the output configuration), and offers a 3D-printed case with optional fan for $10 and up as well. The company also provides links to design files, source code, and documentation on its product page.

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