The “magic” of these pixels is that they're digitally controlled…even though there are only two control lines, you can have as many pixels as you’d like in a single long strand, yet each remains independently controllable.
Though it looks like the 4-conductor ribbon cable is continuous, it isn't! The pixels have a distinct “in” and “out” side. Data from the microcontroller arrives on the input side, where it’s received by the driver chip. The output side then connects to the input of the next pixel, all the way down the line.
The way to tell input from output is different among the shape and version of the pixels you’re using:
Luckily, we have them as a pair so no matter what pixels you end up with, you'll have one for input and one for output
Connecting to Arduino
To use our example code for Arduino, connect the yellow wire (serial data) to Arduino pin 2 and the green wire (serial clock) to pin 3. The software can be configured to use other pins, but we recommend using this arrangement when starting out, so that everything is tested in a known configuration. The blue wire (ground) should be connected to any of the Arduino GND pins.-
Microcontroller GND to Blue Ground line
- Microcontroller D3 to Green Serial Clock line
- Microcontroller D2 to Yellow Serial Data line
- 5V Regulated Supply +5V to Red +5V Line
- 5V Regulated Supply Ground to Blue Ground line
Page last edited March 08, 2024
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