Which WS2812 controller for cloudless operation? Which PWM controller for an LED strip? Gledopto rev

Today I am showing two LED controllers that can work without a cloud from the factory. No soldering is required. The first one is the GL-C-309WL, it is based on ESP32 and has an open WLED firmware uploaded. It works 100% locally, we configure it via Wi-Fi. The second is the GL-C-301P, it offers Zigbee communication and can work with Home Assistant via any supported transceiver for Zigbee2MQTT. Both of these devices could be a good choice for those who value privacy and security for their installations.

Let's start with the WS2812 controller. The GL-C-309WL operates on 5-24 V DC. It has IO16, IO2, IO12 and IO33 pins. These can be configured later in the software. Instructions:

This is used to control a strip of individually addressable, coloured WS2812 or similar LEDs.
Inside we have the WLED firmware uploaded:
https://kno.wled.ge/
The whole thing, when reset, forms an AP network with the password wled1234:

The configuration page is at IP address 4.3.2.1, there you can pair the device with our network and set its mode of operation.

This is done in the menu - here you basically have to set the number of LEDs in the bar used and the colour order and GPIO on which it is connected.


After that, you can freely select animations from the menu and connect the controller to other ecosystems:

Examples of effects with the individually addressable WS2812 strip powered by 5 V:




The GL-C-301P is still left. There is no Wi-Fi here, but there is Zigbee. It can work with HA as we have a CC2531 antenna. It supports RGBCW LED strips at 12-24 volts.


Home Assistant correctly detects the device:

It is detected fully correctly - as GL-C-008P:


Integration with HA offers control over brightness level, RGB colour and CW temperature. In addition, we can change the state of the controller after start-up (on, off, switching, memory).

Available effects:

Specific settings - interesting, there is even a smooth switching time between colours:

There are unfortunately not as many options here as in products with Wi-Fi after the firmware change, it is not possible, for example, to control these 5 independent single-colour LED strips.

In summary , the ESP32-based controller with uploaded WLED stood out the most from the products from Gledopto. I was very surprised when it popped up for me to buy in a search engine and I just had to order it. The two units shown here cost about the same, just under £100 each. This is quite expensive, although you have to take into account that I ordered from a shop in our country and got them the next day. It is certainly an option to consider, especially if you don't want to assemble and solder yourself. Otherwise however, I admit that many times it is more profitable to buy a board with ESP32 and use it to control WS2812, it will be several times cheaper and the LEDs will also blink - WLED binaries can be downloaded and uploaded to ESP by anyone.
There is also the second controller, with Zigbee - no revelation here, but it is not the same as Wi-Fi, you can't e.g. configure it to control independent strips, you can't connect an additional temperature sensor or IR receiver to it, but whatever you prefer.
Do you use WLED or products from Gledopto?