Home Assistant-compatible 5-24V LED strip controller ships with Sound Reactive WLED firmware

SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 is a Home Assistant-compatible addressable RGB LED strip controller based on an ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller that supports 5V to 24V LED strips.

The unit is equipped with a built-in digital microphone used by the Sound Reactive WLED firmware to make the RGB LED strip follow the rhythm and tempo of the music, an IR receiver, and a sensor button.

SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 specifications:

SoC – ESP32 dual-core microcontroller with WiFi 4, Bluetooth 4.2/5.x, and 16Mbit flash
4-pole terminal block for RGB LED strips
- Supported strips – WS2812B, WS2811, WS2813, WS2815, APA102, LPD8806, WS2801, SK9822.
- Voltage Range – 5-24V DC
- Up to 2,000 LEDs are supported at 35 fps with two outputs or 3,000 LEDs at 25 fps with two outputs (about 33 to 50-meter LED strips with 60x LEDs per meter)
- Multiple A1-SPWF-03 controllers can be synced together for controlling even more LED strips.
USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming
Sensors
- ICS-43434 digital microphone for Sound Reactive WLED or Home Assistant voice assistant (different firmware)
- IR receiver
Misc – “Sensor” button
High-level communication protocols (with default firmware) – Blynk, DMX, MQTT, Philips Hue, WebSockets, HTTP API, Serial, UDP Realtime.
Power Supply – Via USB Type-C port, 5.5×2.1mm power barrel jack, or screw terminal
Dimensions – 57 x 30 x 23mm
Temperature Range – -15 to +45°C
IP Rating – IP20

The A1-SLWF-03 addressable RGB LED strip controller comes pre-flashed with Sound Reactive WLED firmware and is supposed to work with Home Assistant out-of-the-box, but apparently not for all features as we’re also told the microphone can be used for the Voice Assistant of Home Assistant (with different firmware), and the system can also support BTProxy for Home Assistant and ESPHome both of which requires reflashing the device as well.

It’s the first time I hear about the Sound Reactive WLED firmware. It’s based on WLED, an implementation of an ESP8266/ESP32 webserver to control NeoPixel (WS2812B, WS2811, SK6812) LEDs or also SPI-based chipsets like the WS2801 and APA102, and the Sound Reactive WLED fork adds audio input and support for fun visual effects. You just need an Android or iOS app to configure the device and you’re good to go. The wiki has more details. Here’s a demo with the SMLIGHT A1-SLWF-03 controller.

The A1-SLWF-03 LED strip controller ships with two dual-sided adhesive tapes, two screws, a screwdriver, and a USB Type-C to micro-USB adapter. It’s the second device we cover from the company, as last year, they introduced an interesting Zigbee 3.0 to Ethernet, USB, and WiFi adapter with PoE support that’s also compatible with Home Assistant.

SMLight sells the A1-SLWF-03 controller for $15.99 on Tindie and the Smartlight store. There are also options to get a 24-key remote control and/or some RGB LED strips. Further information may also be found on the product page.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.