I am working on an LED project which will use the Particle Photon as I have a few of them laying around. I am hoping to use the same external 5V/10amp power supply which will power the WS2811 LEDs to power the Photon. I've done some reading and it appears that it is safe to drive the Photon directly from the power supply on the VIN pin but coming here for a second (or third) opinion.
Here is a Stack Exchange Electronics Post which states that it should be safe since the microcontroller will only use the amount of amperage that is needed. Really my concern is voltage spikes or other weird drops
I have read the Particle Datasheet which states:
Power to the Photon is supplied via the on-board USB Micro B connector or directly via the VIN pin. If power is supplied directly to the VIN pin, the voltage should be regulated between 3.6VDC and 5.5VDC.
...
To avoid voltage spikes, keep input wiring as short as possible. If long wires are unavoidable, it is advisable to add a 5.1V zener diode or similar transient suppression device from VIN to GND. Another technique is adding more capacitance to the input using an electrolytic capacitor. Please refer to AN-88 by Linear for a good discussion on this topic.
My question is do I need (or would it be safer) to use a voltage regulator, diode, etc of some sort to prevent possible spikes or over amperage from damaging the board? If so, what is recommended?
(aside but I'm designing a custom PCB and also open to using a breakout if needed)