This version of the LED backpack is designed for these very cute miniature 8x8 matrices. They measure only 0.8"x0.8" so its a shame to use a massive array of chips to control it. This backpack solves the annoyance of using 16 pins or a bunch of chips by having an I2C constant-current matrix controller sit neatly on the back of the PCB. The controller chip takes care of everything, drawing all 64 LEDs in the background. All you have to do is write data to it using the 2-pin I2C interface. There are two address select pins so you can select one of 4 addresses to control up to 4 of these on a single 2-pin I2C bus (as well as whatever other I2C chips or sensors you like). The driver chip can 'dim' the entire display from 1/16 brightness up to full brightness in 1/16th steps. It cannot dim individual LEDs, only the entire display at once.

This guide was first published on Jul 29, 2012. It was last updated on Mar 18, 2024.

This page (0.8" 8x8 Matrix) was last updated on Mar 08, 2024.

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