Active Development

AFTERGLO Controller v1

Custom lighting controller board. Handles power, networking, and PWM output for up to 4 LED zones — all in one enclosure.

180×120
Size (mm)
4
LED Zones
24V
Input
30A
Max Output
S3
Chip Variant
0
ERC Errors
Actual Board

PCB Layout

Rendered from the real Gerber manufacturing files. Switch between front and back copper layers.

J1Power Input24V barrel jack
F1–F5FusesPer-channel protection
U1 MP23035V BuckSteps 24V down to 5V
U2 AMS11173.3V RegPowers the chip + comms
SW1 / SW2Boot + ResetProgram & restart the chip
U5 ESP32-S3Main ChipRuns WLED, controls everything
J4 + U7USB-C PortFlash firmware, serial debug
U9 + J15EthernetWired network, no dropouts
U8RS485DMX / Modbus bus wiring
Q2–Q5 IRF4905Power SwitchesHigh-side MOSFET per zone
J6–J9LED Zone Outputs4 channels · 7.5A each
Loading Gerber files…
Rendered live from manufacturing Gerber files — this is exactly what gets sent to the fab house.
What's On The Board

Four Main Systems

Each system handles one job. They all talk to each other, but if something goes wrong it's easy to narrow down which section to look at.

Power

Takes in 24V from the barrel jack, steps it down to 5V and then 3.3V for the electronics. Each LED zone has its own fuse so one blown zone doesn't kill the whole board.

24V Barrel Jack MP2303 Buck AMS1117 3.3V F1–F5 Fuses

Connectivity

Wired Ethernet via RJ45 for reliable, low-latency control — no Wi-Fi dropouts. USB-C port on the side for programming and serial debug. RS485 port for DMX or Modbus bus wiring.

LAN8720A PHY RJ45 USB-C CP2102N RS485

Control (S3 Chip)

The brain of the board. Runs WLED firmware, talks to the network, and drives all four output zones. Boot and reset buttons on board for easy programming. Also reads the onboard temperature sensor.

ESP32-S3 SW1 Boot SW2 Reset TMP102 Temp

LED Output (4 Zones)

Four independent channels each controlled by a large power transistor (MOSFET). Each zone can be dimmed separately via PWM. Handles up to 7.5A per zone — enough for long runs of high-density strip lighting.

IRF4905 MOSFET ×4 Gate Drivers Screw Terminals 7.5A / zone
Pin Reference

GPIO Map

Pins marked RMII Fixed are wired directly in silicon to the Ethernet chip — they can't be used for anything else.

Pin What It Does Connected To Type
IO0 Boot mode SW1 Boot button Control
IO2 Status LED Onboard indicator Output
IO4 Zone 1 PWM MOSFET Q2 gate driver Output
IO5 Zone 2 PWM MOSFET Q3 gate driver Output
IO16 RS485 Receive U8 RS485 chip Comms
IO17 Ethernet TX EnableLAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO18 Zone 3 PWM MOSFET Q4 gate driver Output
IO19 Ethernet TX Data 0LAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO21 Ethernet TX Clock LAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO22 Ethernet TX Data 1LAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO23 Zone 4 PWM MOSFET Q5 gate driver Output
IO25 Ethernet RX Data 0LAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO26 Ethernet RX Data 1LAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO27 Ethernet Carrier SenseLAN8720A — hardwired RMII Fixed
IO32 RS485 Transmit U8 RS485 chip Comms
IO33 RS485 Direction Switches TX/RX mode Control
IO34 Analog Input Spare / sense ADC
IO36 Analog Input Spare / sense ADC
SDA I²C Data TMP102 temp sensor Comms
SCL I²C Clock TMP102 temp sensor Comms
EN Chip Reset SW2 Reset button Control
TXD0 USB Serial Out CP2102N programming bridge Comms
RXD0 USB Serial In CP2102N programming bridge Comms
Quick Reference

Scan to Open This Page

Permanent link — no redirect, no expiry. Print it and stick it inside the enclosure lid or on the board bag.

https://afterglolighting.org/circuit-board.html