If your project requires an output per terminal of less than 10A and you would prefer to have a lower-rated fuse, that is perfectly fine. The Eternaglo Plus uses standard automotive-style mini fuses that can be found at almost any large supermarket or auto parts store.

Can you put in fuses with a higher rating, like 20A? We don't recommend it. The reason we have a 20A max for the entire board is due to the individual components' ratings. The input terminal is rated by UL for 20A continuous, and the output terminals are rated by UL for 10A continuous each, hence the total board rating of 20A continuous. The board has not been tested at higher amperage, and though technically there's nothing stopping you from putting in larger fuses, it will void your warranty and is not recommended by us.

The simple answer is because it's not possible with the other features that this board has. While ESP32 is a great platform, it does have some limitations, one of those being that we only have so many pins to use for additional components. If we added digital line-in we'd have to drop ethernet from the board. We don't consider this to be an "audio-reactive-first" board, it's more of a multi-LED-strand board with line-in as an experimental add-on for those that want to play with it. Support for analog in WLED isn't as good as we originally hoped when we added it to the board, though there are WLED contributors who are aware of its quirks and are working to improve it. And once WLED sees the input correctly it still can be quite good as an input source, despite being technically inferior to digital.

We are actively researching other options that will allow for line-in without some of the quirks that come with using analog. If you're interested in getting updates on new board developments and improvements, we'd recommend signing up for our newsletter.

We’ve made sure the data signal for the LEDs is strong enough to allow for longer distances between the controller and the lights. However, the maximum distance depends on several factors, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Things like cable quality, light type, and current draw all impact the data signal’s performance.

For example, in our tests, a single strand of 12V lights worked perfectly at 60 feet, but adding a second strand introduced too much current draw (which add interference in the signal), causing flickering. We were able to chain multiple 12V strands at 40 feet without issues, though.

So, is 40 feet the limit? Not necessarily. At 40 feet, 24V COB lights showed flickering, likely due to their higher current draw, but they performed perfectly at 20 feet. Generally, the higher the current, the more interference in the cables, which decreases the maximum distance. To maximize your chances of reaching the longest distance, use high-quality cable and run the power separate from data and ground. We used common inexpensive 3-wire cable in our tests, since that's what most users will use, but for users looking for ultimate signal fidelity it's best to avoid this type of cable.