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)

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

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.

This is a breakout board for the WS2812B RGB LED. The WS2812B (or “NeoPixel”) is actually an RGB LED with a WS2811 built right into the LED! All the necessary pins are broken out to 0.1" spaced headers for easy bread-boarding. Several of these breakouts can even be chained together to form a display or an addressable string.

A new collaboration between Adafruit & Micah from Scanlime, we are excited to introduce Fadecandy, a NeoPixel driver with built in dithering, that can be controlled over USB. Fadecandy is not just hardware! It is a kit of both hardware and software parts that make LED art projects easier to build and better-looking so sculptors and makers and multimedia artists can concentrate on beautiful things instead of reinventing the wheel. It's an easy way to get started and an advanced tool for professionals. It's a collection of simple parts that work well together:

Firmware that uses unique dithering and color correction algorithms to raise the bar for quality while getting out of the way of your creativity.

Open source hardware for connecting cheap and popular WS2811 based LEDs to a laptop, desktop, or Raspberry Pi over USB.

Fadecandy Server Software, which communicates with one Fadecandy board or dozens. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, and on embedded platforms like Raspberry Pi.

The Open Pixel Control protocol, a simple way of getting pixel data from your creative tools into the Fadecandy server.

Libraries and examples for popular languages. We have Python and Processing already, with Javascript and Max coming soon.

LEDs! Fadecandy works with Adafruit's popular WS2811/WS2812 LEDs. Each controller board supports up to 512 LEDs, arranged as 8 strips of 64 each. Not for use with RGBW NeoPixels, you can only use RGB type at this time.

Headers are not included but we have tons of different kinds of dual header in the shop if you want to solder something into the pads.Fadecandy is designed to enable art that is subtle, interactive, and playful - exploring the interplay between light, form, and shadow. If you’re tired of seeing project after project with frenetic blinky rainbow fades, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to create expressive lighting!It's also battle tested! The firmware was originally developed to run the Ardent Mobile Cloud Platform, a Burning Man project which used 2500 LEDs to project ever-changing rolling cloud patterns onto the interior of a translucent plastic sculpture. It used five Fadecandy boards, a single Raspberry Pi, and the effects were written in a mixture of C and Python. The lighting on this project blew people away, and it made me realize just how much potential there is for creative lighting, but it takes significant technical drudgery to get beyond frenetic-rainbow-fade into territory where the lighting can really add to an art piece instead of distracting from it. How it's made - Ladyada and Micah Scott manufacturing Fadecandy at Adafruit.

FadeCandy - Dithering USB-Controlled Driver for NeoPixels (18:41)

What is better than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB+White LEDs! These NeoPixels now have 4 LEDs in them (red, green, blue and white) for excellent lighting effects. Round and round and round they go!  

This is the NeoPixel 1/4 60 LED Ring in Cool White. We have a ton of other NeoPixel rings in the store to check out!

With four of these you can make a huge ring with 60 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with a 6.2" diameter. Each order comes with just the quarter ring. Four of this item are required to make a large ring. You will have to solder them together as well, so for the full ring of 60 LEDs, buy four and solder them together!

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 and you're ready to rock.

The NeoPixel is 'split', one half is the RGB you know and love, the other half is a white LED with a yellow phosphor. Unlit, it resembles an egg yolk. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 8-bit PWM per channel (8 x 4 channels = 32-bit color overall). Great for adding lots of colorful + white dots to your project!

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 and color of each R/G/B/W with 8-bit PWM precision (so 32-bit color per pixel). The LEDs are controlled by shift-registers and only 1 digital output pin are required to send data down. The PWM is built into each LED-chip so once you set the color you can stop talking to the ring and it will continue to PWM all the LEDs for you.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. for NeoPixel Please check it out! Please note you will need a NeoPixel library with RGBW support which is not always available. If you try to control these with a plain 'RGB' NeoPixel library, you'll get very weird results. Our Adafruit NeoPixel library does support RGBW but if you're using something else, just be aware that it might require some hacking.

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)

Comes with one quarter ring of 15 x individually addressable RGB LEDs assembled and tested. We recommend you buy four to build the full circle as this is just the 1/4 of the circle.

What is better than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB+White LEDs! These NeoPixel rings now have 4 LEDs in them (red, green, blue and white) for excellent lighting effects. Round and round and round they go!  

This is the 24 LED RGBW NeoPixel Ring in Cool White. We have a ton of other NeoPixel rings in the store to check out!

24 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with 2.58" (65.5mm) 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 and you're ready to rock.

The NeoPixel is 'split', one half is the RGB you know and love, the other half is a white LED with a yellow phosphor. Unlit, it resembles an egg yolk. Lit up these are insanely bright (like ow my eye hurts) and can be controlled with 8-bit PWM per channel (8 x 4 channels = 32-bit color overall). Great for adding lots of colorful + white dots to your project!

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 and color of each R/G/B/W with 8-bit PWM precision (so 32-bit color per pixel). The LEDs are controlled by shift-registers and only 1 digital output pin are required to send data down. The PWM is built into each LED-chip so once you set the color you can stop talking to the ring and it will continue to PWM all the LEDs for you.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. for NeoPixel Please check it out! Please note you will need a NeoPixel library with RGBW support which is not always available. If you try to control these with a plain 'RGB' NeoPixel library, you'll get very weird results. Our Adafruit NeoPixel library does support RGBW but if you're using something else, just be aware that it might require some hacking.

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)

Comes as a single ring with 24 individually addressable RGBW LEDs assembled and tested.

Add some dazzle to your Spark Core or Photon with this custom-made NeoPixel ring kit! 24 ultra bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with 2.6" (66mm) outer diameter. Snap in your Spark and upload the NeoPixel library code to light up the LEDs, make an Internet of Blinky! 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 about 3.5-5.5 VDC battery pack and you're ready to rock.

To make your project portable, we have a JST connector for attaching an external battery. Power with 3.5 - 5.5V DC, a rechargeable LiPoly or LiIon cell battery works great, or 3xAAA or 3xAA battery pack. The JST included is so you can make your own battery connection. Use pin D6 for the NeoPixel library code, all other pins are availale to use and have two breakouts on either side so you can wire up other sensors or devices.

Comes as a single round PCB with 24 individually addressable RGB LEDs assembled and tested, two 12 pin 0.1" socket headers and a bonus JST cable. Some light soldering is required, you can solder the two sockets in place to allow unplugging of the Spark, or just solder it directly in place for a slimmer look.

Please Note: Particle (Spark) Core/Photon and Battery not included (but we do have them in the shop!)

Move over NeoPixels, there's a new LED strip in town! These fancy new DotStar LED strips are a great upgrade for people who have loved and used NeoPixel strips for a few years but want something even better. 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.

Make your own smart Cool White LED arrangement with the same integrated LED driver that is used in our DotStar or 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)

However, unlike NeoPixels, these LEDs have 2 wires (input and output) for sending data - one clock pin and one data pin. That means you need two pins, not one, to control DotStars. Because the clock and data is separated, you can use any processor speed or type to control these strips, and you don't have to worry about being careful with the timing. Hardware SPI support is handy but not required. This makes them excellent for use with any microcontroller or microprocessor, including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Propeller, SparkCore, and any 'raw' microcontrollers/microprocessors. It's very easy to port the library, and you can send data to the pixels at up to 32MHz clock rate!

NeoPixel LEDs use 800 KHz protocol so specific timing is required. On NeoPixels, the PWM rate is 400 Hz, which works well but is noticeable 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!)

This is the 60 LED-per-meter version of our DotStar strips, on white flex PCB. We also have this in Warm White and RGB full color.

The strip is made of flexible PCB material, and comes with a weatherproof sheathing. You can cut this stuff pretty easily with wire cutters, there are cut-lines every 1 LED. Solder to the 0.1" copper pads and you're good to go. Of course, you can also connect strips together to make them longer, just watch how much current you need! We have a 5V 4A power supply that can drive a half meter or meter, a 5V/10A supply that can drive a couple meters (depending on use) You must use a 5V DC power supply to power these strips, do not use higher than 6V or you can destroy the entire strip

These strips come in 4 meter reels with a 4-pin JST SM connector on each end. These strips are sold by the meter! If you buy 4 meters at a time, you'll get full reels with two connectors. If you buy less than 4m, you'll get a single strip, but it will be a cut piece from a reel which may or may not have a connector on it. If the piece comes from the end of the reel, the connector may be on the output end of the strip!

To wire up these strips we suggest picking up some JST SM plug and receptacle cables for the signal wires  For the power wires, you will also probably want a 2.1mm DC jack to wire in so you can connect one of our 5V wall adapters to power it.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. Please check it out!

Move over NeoPixels, there's a new LED strip in town! These fancy new DotStar LED strips are a great upgrade for people who have loved and used NeoPixel strips for a few years but want something even better. 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.

Make your own smart Cool White LED arrangement with the same integrated LED driver that is used in our DotStar or 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)

However, unlike NeoPixels, these LEDs have 2 wires (input and output) for sending data - one clock pin and one data pin. That means you need two pins, not one, to control DotStars. Because the clock and data is separated, you can use any processor speed or type to control these strips, and you don't have to worry about being careful with the timing. Hardware SPI support is handy but not required. This makes them excellent for use with any microcontroller or microprocessor, including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, Propeller, SparkCore, and any 'raw' microcontrollers/microprocessors. It's very easy to port the library, and you can send data to the pixels at up to 32MHz clock rate!

NeoPixel LEDs use 800 KHz protocol so specific timing is required. On NeoPixels, the PWM rate is 400 Hz, which works well but is noticeable 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!)

This is the 30 LED-per-meter version of our DotStar strips, on white flex PCB. We also have this in Warm White and RGB full color.

The strip is made of flexible PCB material, and comes with a weatherproof sheathing. You can cut this stuff pretty easily with wire cutters, there are cut-lines every 1 LED. Solder to the 0.1" copper pads and you're good to go. Of course, you can also connect strips together to make them longer, just watch how much current you need! We have a 5V 4A power supply that can drive a half meter or meter, a 5V/10A supply that can drive a couple meters (depending on use) You must use a 5V DC power supply to power these strips, do not use higher than 6V or you can destroy the entire strip

These strips come in 5 meter reels with a 4-pin JST SM connector on each end. These strips are sold by the meter! If you buy 5 meters at a time, you'll get full reels with two connectors. If you buy less than 5m, you'll get a single strip, but it will be a cut piece from a reel which may or may not have a connector on it. If the piece comes from the end of the reel, the connector may be on the output end of the strip!

To wire up these strips we suggest picking up some JST SM plug and receptacle cables for the signal wires  For the power wires, you will also probably want a 2.1mm DC jack to wire in so you can connect one of our 5V wall adapters to power it.

We have a tutorial showing wiring, power usage calculations, example code for usage, etc. Please check it out!