Adafruit LED Backpacks

These instruction apply to the 1.2" Matrix only! If you have a Bi-Color or 0.8" square matrix, follow the links on the left side of the page.

When you buy a pack from Adafruit, it comes with the fully tested and assembled backpack as well as a 8x8 matrix in one of the colors we provide (say, red, yellow or green). You'll need to solder the matrix onto the backpack but its an easy task.

WATCH OUT! THE MATRIX MUST BE INSTALLED THE RIGHT WAY!

First look for the line of text on the side of the LED matrix

WATCH OUT! THE MATRIX MUST BE INSTALLED THE RIGHT WAY!

Find the corner of the backpack with a filled in dot. Make sure that the text on the side of the matrix is on the same side as the filled dot

WATCH OUT! THE MATRIX MUST BE INSTALLED THE RIGHT WAY!

Slide the matrix into the backpack and flip it over. Triple check that the text is on the same side as the From Adafruit text

Solder in all 16 pins

Then clip the matrix leads short

Now you're ready to wire it up to a microcontroller. We'll assume you want to use a 4pin header. You can also of course solder wires directly. Place a 4-pin piece of header with the LONG pins down into the breadboard.