For those of us who are maybe a little tired of rainbows, we now have 'smart LEDs' in monochrome! Make your own smart Cool White LED arrangement with the same integrated LED dr that is used in our new fancy DotStar strips.  Unlit, the color resembles a yellow Starburst. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 24 bit high-frequency PWM. The phosphor helps diffuse the 3 white dies inside together for a very bright but consistant light, compared to what you get by trying to mix RGB to make white (which never quite looks right)

This tiny 5050 (5mm x 5mm) SMD LED is fairly easy to solder and is the most compact way possible to integrate multiple bright LEDs to a design. If you want to prototype with these, we recommend our 5050-size LED breakout PCBs, solder them on for a breadboard-friendly package

They're also a great upgrade for people who have loved and used NeoPixels for a few years but want to use the same kind of technology for monochromatic lighting. DotStar LEDs use generic 2-wire SPI, so you can push data much faster than with the NeoPixel 800 KHz protocol and there's no specific timing required. They also have much higher PWM refresh rates, so you can do Persistence-of-Vision (POV) and have less flickering, particularly at low brightness levels.

Like NeoPixels, DotStar LEDs are 5050-sized LEDs with an embedded microcontroller inside the LED. You can set the brightness of each of 3 individual cool white dies epoxied into the case. Each LED acts like a shift register, reading incoming data on the input pins, and then shifting the previous data out on the output pin. By sending a long string of data, you can control an infinite number of LEDs, just tack on more or disconnect unwanted LEDs at the end. The PWM is built into each LED-chip so once you set the brightness you can stop talking to the strip and it will continue to PWM all the LEDs for you.

Another nice thing about DotStars is their high PWM rate. You only have to set the brightness data for each pixel LED once, and then the LED+built-in-chip will handle the PWMing. On NeoPixels, this PWM rate happens 400 Hz, which works well but is noticably at lower brightnesses and if the strip is moving in any way.  DotStars have a 20 KHz PWM rate, so even when moving the LED around, you won't see the pixelation, the blending is very smooth.

Comes in a package with 10 individual LEDs.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. for DotStars Please check it out! Please note that the tutorial and code talk about RGB, but of course, this LED is just WWW, three individual white LEDs instead.

For those of us who are maybe a little tired of rainbows, we now have 'smart LEDs' in monochrome! Make your own smart Warm White LED arrangement with the same integrated LED driver that is used in our new fancy DotStar strips.  Unlit, the color resembles an egg yolk. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 24 bit high-frequency PWM. The phosphor helps diffuse the 3 white dies inside together for a very bright but consistant light, compared to what you get by trying to mix RGB to make white (which never quite looks right)

This tiny 5050 (5mm x 5mm) SMD LED is fairly easy to solder and is the most compact way possible to integrate multiple bright LEDs to a design. If you want to prototype with these, we recommend our 5050-size LED breakout PCBs, solder them on for a breadboard-friendly package

They're also a great upgrade for people who have loved and used NeoPixels for a few years but want to use the same kind of technology for monochromatic lighting. DotStar LEDs use generic 2-wire SPI, so you can push data much faster than with the NeoPixel 800 KHz protocol and there's no specific timing required. They also have much higher PWM refresh rates, so you can do Persistence-of-Vision (POV) and have less flickering, particularly at low brightness levels.

Like NeoPixels, DotStar LEDs are 5050-sized LEDs with an embedded microcontroller inside the LED. You can set the brightness of each of 3 individual cool white dies epoxied into the case. Each LED acts like a shift register, reading incoming data on the input pins, and then shifting the previous data out on the output pin. By sending a long string of data, you can control an infinite number of LEDs, just tack on more or disconnect unwanted LEDs at the end. The PWM is built into each LED-chip so once you set the brightness you can stop talking to the strip and it will continue to PWM all the LEDs for you.

Another nice thing about DotStars is their high PWM rate. You only have to set the brightness data for each pixel LED once, and then the LED+built-in-chip will handle the PWMing. On NeoPixels, this PWM rate happens 400 Hz, which works well but is noticably at lower brightnesses and if the strip is moving in any way.  DotStars have a 20 KHz PWM rate, so even when moving the LED around, you won't see the pixelation, the blending is very smooth.

Comes in a package with 10 individual LEDs.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. for DotStars Please check it out! Please note that the tutorial and code talk about RGB, but of course, this LED is just WWW, three individual white LEDs instead.

So much power and light from such a small package. This 5 pack of “Cool” white 3 Watt aluminum backed PCBs is sure to shed a lot of light on any project you add it to. These LEDs act as any other LED except these little guys require much more power while delivering a light as intense of a thousand suns going super nova (this is an exaggeration but you know what we mean)!

Each LED in the pack sits upon an aluminum backed PCB to help with heat dissipation and emits a cool white light. Additionally, each LED requires a forward voltage of 3.2-3.8V at 750mA.

Note: We like to joke around about super novas and all, but seriously, don’t look directly into the LED.

Features

Forward Voltage: 3.2-3.8V

Forward Current: 750mA

Viewing angle: 125±5 Degrees

Luminous Intensity: 160-240LM

Temperature Color: 6000-7000K

So much power and light from such a small package. This 5 pack of red 3 Watt aluminum backed PCBs is sure to shed a lot of light on any project you add it to. These LEDs act as any other LED except these little guys require much more power while delivering a light as intense of a thousand suns going super nova (this is an exaggeration but you know what we mean)!

Each LED in the pack sits upon an aluminum backed PCB to help with heat dissipation and emits a vibrant red light. Additionally, each LED requires a forward voltage of 2.0-2.8V at 750mA.

Note: We like to joke around about super novas and all, but seriously, don’t look directly into the LED.

Features

Forward Voltage: 2.0-2.8V

Forward Current: 750mA

Viewing angle: 125±5 Degrees

Luminous Intensity: 75-105LM

Wavelength: 620-630nm

For those of us who are maybe a little tired of rainbows, we now have 'smart LEDs' in monochrome! Make your own smart Cool White LED arrangement with the same integrated LED driver that is used in our NeoPixel LED strips.  Unlit, the color resembles a yellow Starburst. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 24 bit high-frequency PWM. The phosphor helps diffuse the 3 white dies inside together for a very bright but consistant light, compared to what you get by trying to mix RGB to make white (which never quite looks right)

This tiny 5050 (5mm x 5mm) SMD LED is fairly easy to solder and is the most compact way possible to integrate multiple bright LEDs to a design. If you want to prototype with these, we recommend our 5050-size LED breakout PCBs, solder them on for a breadboard-friendly package

NeoPixel LEDs use 800 KHz protocol so specific timing is required. On NeoPixels, the PWM rate is 400 Hz, which works well but is noticable if the LED is moving. In comparison, DotStars have a 20 KHz PWM rate, so even when moving the LED around, you won't see the pixelation, the blending is very smooth. (we recommend DotStars if you can use them!)

NeoPixels are 5050-sized LEDs with an embedded microcontroller inside the LED. You can set the brightness of each of 3 individual cool white dies epoxied into the case. Each LED acts like a shift register, reading incoming data on the input pins, and then shifting the previous data out on the output pin. By sending a long string of data, you can control an infinite number of LEDs, just tack on more or disconnect unwanted LEDs at the end. The PWM is built into each LED-chip so once you set the brightness you can stop talking to the strip and it will continue to PWM all the LEDs for you.

Comes in a package with 10 individual LEDs.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. for NeoPixel Please check it out! Please note that the tutorial and code talk about RGB, but of course, this LED is just WWW, three individual white LEDs instead.

Make your own smart LED arrangement with the same integrated LED that is used in our NeoPixel strip and pixels. This tiny 5050 (5mm x 5mm) RGB LED is fairly easy to solder and is the most compact way possible to integrate multiple bright LEDs to a design. The driver chip is inside the LED and has ~18mA constant current drive so the color will be very consistent even if the voltage varies, and no external choke resistors are required making your design minimal. Power the whole thing with 5VDC and you're ready to rock.This is the 4 pin LED chip version, not 6. It is code compatible and the same over-all shape and functionality but not the same pinout so you cannot use these to replace an 'S chip. If you are designing a new PCB we suggest going with the B, since it has built in polarity protection. Other than that, B and S are the same brightness, and use the exact same code interface.The LEDs are 'chainable' by connecting the output of one chip into the input of another - see the datasheet for diagrams and pinouts. To allow the entire chip to be integrated into a 6-pin package, there is a single data line with a very timing-specific protocol. Since the protocol is very sensitive to timing, it requires a real-time microconroller such as an AVR, Arduino, PIC, mbed, etc. It cannot be used with a Linux-based microcomputer or interpreted microcontroller such as the netduino or Basic Stamp. The LEDs basically have a WS2811 inside, but fixed at the 800KHz 'high speed' setting. Our wonderfully-written Neopixel library for Arduino supports these pixels! As it requires hand-tuned assembly it is only for AVR cores but others may have ported this chip driver code so please google around. An 8MHz or faster processor is required.

These raw LEDs are cut from a reel and/or might be loose. They may not suitable for pick & place + reflow. We recommend these for careful hand soldering only! Comes in a package with 100 individual LEDs. We have a ready-to-go component for this in the Adafruit EAGLE library

Round and round and round they go! 16 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with 1.75" (44.5mm) outer diameter. The rings are 'chainable' - connect the output pin of one to the input pin of another. Use only one microcontroller pin to control as many as you can chain together! Each LED is addressable as the driver chip is inside the LED. Each one has ~18mA constant current drive so the color will be very consistent even if the voltage varies, and no external choke resistors are required making the design slim. Power the whole thing with 5VDC (4-7V works) and you're ready to rock.There is a single data line with a very timing-specific protocol. Since the protocol is very sensitive to timing, it requires a real-time microconroller such as an AVR, Arduino, PIC, mbed, etc. It cannot be used with a Linux-based microcomputer or interpreted microcontroller such as the netduino or Basic Stamp. Our wonderfully-written Neopixel library for Arduino supports these pixels! As it requires hand-tuned assembly it is only for AVR cores but others may have ported this chip driver code so please google around. An 8MHz or faster processor is required.Comes as a single ring with 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs assembled and tested.

Make your own little LED strip arrangement with this stick of NeoPixel LEDs. We crammed 8 of the tiny 5050 (5mm x 5mm) smart RGB LEDs onto a PCB with mounting holes and a chainable design. Use only one microcontroller pin to control as many as you can chain together! Each LED is addressable as the driver chip is inside the LED. Each one has ~18mA constant current drive so the color will be very consistent even if the voltage varies, and no external choke resistors are required making the design slim. Power the whole thing with 5VDC (4-7V works) and you're ready to rock.The LEDs are 'chainable' by connecting the output of one stick into the input of another - see the photo above. There is a single data line with a very timing-specific protocol. Since the protocol is very sensitive to timing, it requires a real-time microconroller such as an AVR, Arduino, PIC, mbed, etc. It cannot be used with a Linux-based microcomputer or interpreted microcontroller such as the netduino or Basic Stamp. Our wonderfully-written Neopixel library for Arduino supports these pixels! As it requires hand-tuned assembly it is only for AVR cores but others may have ported this chip driver code so please google around. An 8MHz or faster processor is required.Comes as a single stick with 8 individually addressable RGB LEDs assembled and tested.Our detailed NeoPixel Uberguide has everything you need to use NeoPixels in any shape and size. Including ready-to-go library & example code for the Arduino UNO/Duemilanove/Diecimila, Flora/Micro/Leonardo, Trinket/Gemma, Arduino Due & Arduino Mega/ADK (all versions)

NeoPixel Stick - 8 x 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Drivers (6:15)