Asked, answered, sourced.

The Brainboard-32-8L is the controller layer of the QuinLED Dig-Octa system: an ESP32 board that drives 8 addressable LED channels through real level shifters, with wired 10/100 Ethernet, a MicroSD slot, a relay output and WLED pre-flashed. It runs about 2,000 LEDs in WLED at full frame rate, or around 3,000 with ESPixelstick v4. On its own it is a capable 8-channel WLED controller; stacked on a fused Dig-Octa powerboard it becomes a complete install controller, drawing its power through the brass QPowerPost standoffs while the powerboard feeds the LEDs through individually fused outputs. It costs from $32.50, and a complete stack with a powerboard starts at $65 at quinled.shop.

WLED comes pre-flashed from the factory, with Ethernet enabled and 30 test LEDs configured per output. The board is fully supported in WLED and in ESPixelstick v4, MoonLight supports it too, and you can run your own ESP32 code.

Connect USB-C and use the web installer at install.quinled.info/dig-octa/. It ships builds with the board's pins pre-configured, including Audio Reactive builds for the v2 microphone header. The USB-C port has its own CH340 serial chip and auto-reset circuit, so no boot-button gymnastics are needed.

Generic WLED builds don't know the board's Ethernet wiring. Open WiFi Settings in WLED and set the Ethernet type to QuinLED-Dig-Octa, then reboot. Also check the physical LAN-enable jumper is in place; the port is jumper-powered to save a GPIO.

Yes on v2 boards (selling since October 2024): plug an INMP441 digital microphone onto the dedicated header (GND, 3v3, SD→GPIO14, WS→GPIO15, SCK→GPIO16), remove the SD-card jumper, and flash an Audio Reactive build from install.quinled.info. On v1 boards every GPIO is in use, so it isn't possible without warranty-voiding modifications.

Around 2,000 LEDs in WLED, or around 3,000 with ESPixelstick v4, spread over the 8 outputs while staying above 40 FPS. The ws281x protocol is fixed at 800 kHz, so the practical rule is 500 to 600 pixels per channel for full frame rate. For scale: a 16-strand megatree at 100 pixels a strand is 1,600 LEDs, comfortable on a single board with channels to spare.

Addressable 5V to 48V RGB, RGBW and RGBCCT strips and pixels from the ws281x family and friends (ws2812b, ws2811, ws2815, sk6812 and similar). 36V and 48V LEDs need the Power-5HV powerboard; the brainboard's own inputs accept 5 to 24V.

LED output 8 and the I²C SCL line share one GPIO, a deliberate trade-off to fit everything on the ESP32. Use all 8 LED channels, or 7 channels plus I²C accessories. Since v2 the I²C pull-up resistors are removed, so the pins are also free for general use.

It selects the data-line series resistor per output. 249 Ω is the safe default for strips close to the board. Flipping a channel to 33 Ω drives long 3-wire cable runs to pixels and props much better; a 10m / 32ft run is no problem.

Add a second brainboard to the same stack. Each brainboard is its own controller with its own network connection, and QPowerPost feeds them all power automatically. Show software like xLights addresses them together over E1.31 or Art-Net, or WLED's DDP sync chains them into one canvas.

That is one of its most common jobs. A typical two-storey outline in 12V ws2811 bullet pixels lands between 800 and 1,200 pixels across six to eight runs: well inside one Brainboard-32-8L's 8 channels and a Power-5's 50A rating. Every run gets its own fused output matched to its wire, so a midwinter fault takes out one 10-cent fuse instead of the display. WLED runs it locally over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, plays nicely with Home Assistant, and the relay port can cut the big power supply between shows while the brainboard idles on USB-C at a few hundred mA.

Through the brass QPowerPost standoffs: the four outer M2.5 posts are ground and the center post carries VCC up from the powerboard. No power wires needed. The feed is PTC-fused on both sides and direction-protected in hardware: powerboards can only send, brainboards can only receive.

Yes. Power it through USB-C or the orange 5–24V terminal and mount it on the four outer GND standoffs. You handle LED power distribution and fusing yourself in that setup, which is exactly what the powerboards exist to avoid. The powerboards also ship with high quality original LittelFuse fuses in the box.

Yes, all three (USB-C, the 5–24V terminal and QPowerPost) may be connected simultaneously, even at different voltages. The custom DC-DC accepts 3 to 24V, always outputs a stable 5.12V for the logic, and switches between sources without rebooting. USB-C makes a great standby feed.

Through QPowerPost alone: about 3 brainboards on a 5V stack, 6 at 12V and 12 at 24V. A powerboard supplies up to 1.5A through the posts and each brainboard typically draws under 0.5A with Ethernet and relay active. More powerboards in the stack may raise the limit, but not always.

Not natively. The clean solution is an isolated PoE extractor: 48V PoE to 12V into the 2-pin input, or a PoE-to-USB-C splitter. Budget about 5V 1A or 12V 0.5A per brainboard. Running the LEDs themselves from PoE is not recommended.

Wi-Fi is fine for local effects and casual WLED sync. For real-time pixel streaming (E1.31, Art-Net, DDP from xLights or Madrix) use the wired port: a 2,000-pixel stream at 40 FPS is roughly 2Mbit/s of steady UDP, trivial for the LAN8720A and miserable on busy Wi-Fi. It's why every brainboard has Ethernet onboard.

Yes, natively. xLights talks to each brainboard over E1.31 or Art-Net, and the wired Ethernet port is built for exactly that kind of real-time pixel streaming. Set the brainboard up as an E1.31 controller in xLights, assign your universes, and sequence away; Vixen and Madrix work the same way. For multi-controller shows, give every brainboard a fixed IP and let xLights address them separately, or use WLED's DDP sync to chain boards into one canvas. Prefer playing shows without a PC? ESPixelstick v4 runs the sequence from the brainboard's MicroSD card while FPP only sends sync over the network.

No. Boards in a stack share power, never data. Each brainboard is an independent network device with its own IP. Unify them at the software layer: xLights/E1.31 addressing, WLED Sync for mirrored effects, or DDP for one continuous canvas.

Yes. The relay terminal provides 5.12V, GND and a trigger that works with high- or low-trigger relay boards, strong enough for up to 4 standard 10A relays or 2 30A ones. Switch the PSU on its AC side and keep the brainboard alive over USB-C; standby draw is typically 300–500mA.

Mainly ESPixelstick v4's hybrid mode: the show sequence plays from the card while the network only carries sync from FPP, which makes even Wi-Fi shows reliable. On v2 boards a jumper can depower the SD section to free three GPIOs, the same header the microphone uses.

v1 had an SHT30 temperature and humidity sensor soldered on. v2 replaces it with a socket for an optional plug-in module so the feature stays available without burdening every board. The plug-in module is announced as upcoming on quinled.info.

v2 (shipping since 2024-10) has a 16 MB flash ESP32 module, a redesigned DC-DC stage, the temperature-sensor socket instead of a soldered sensor, an SD power jumper plus GPIO header, and microphone support. Terminal positions are unchanged, so wiring and stacking are identical. The revision history page on quinled.info lists every detail.

At quinled.shop, which routes you to the trusted reseller for your region: Allnet ships worldwide (US$32.50 at the time of writing), DrZZs covers the US, Jerems covers Canada and QuinLED NL serves the EU. Stacking hardware and connectors are included in the box.