Add hundreds of lights to your home or yard with these fantastic Pebble Pixel Nets. Adafruit carries them in a variety of sizes, from 1x1m to 1x6m large, and they are chainable and expandable so no vision is too big.
These nets use 12v power, which can be easily handled by the Adafruit Sparkle Motion microcontroller. It has 4 powered LED outputs, a power manager so you can run 12v or 5v lights, and an onboard I2S microphone, which makes sound-reactive projects a snap.
The build is fairly easy, with no soldering required (though adding connectors can make your life easier). This gives you time to focus on making beautiful sequences and enjoying your pretty lights.
WLED and xLights
Both WLED and xLights are open source control software for LEDs. The Sparkle Motion board works great with both. What's the difference?
WLED is a fast and easy way to get your lights doing beautiful things. It's easy to install and configure, and you can be up and running within just a few minutes. WLED's software lives on the microcontroller and works over your local WiFi network to talk to each controller. It's easy to sync your projects together and use the preset animations and customize them to a certain extent. I use WLED when I want to "set it and forget it" -- the controller boots up when I power it on and then the animations just run automatically.
xLights is a more advanced option, and it's biggest strength is sequencing. This program is used by industry professionals and also by homeowners who want a crazy mad holiday display in their front yard, with animated trees, windows, roof lines, arches, and matrices. xLights makes it possible to run animations across all your different lights at once. It's free to download and use, and there are online communities where people share and sell their favorite sequences. xLights really shines when it's showtime: sequence all your different lights to a piece of music and impress the heck out of your neighbors.
To run xLights you first need to install and configure WLED, so work through that section first.
These nets require 12v power. For just 1-2m of net, this 5a power supply is just fine. If you're using the bigger nets or chaining multiple nets together, or if you're doing an outdoor installation, look for a beefier power supply.
This net will also run on battery power. Our 8 x AA battery holder supplies 12v and will run a 1-2m net for several hours. It's insufficient for larger projects, but sometimes a few hours is all you need.
Connectors & Wire
Using connectors allow you to remove your Sparkle Motion controller from your project, which is especially helpful when it's a larger scale project that's hard to move. Adding 3-pin JST connectors is a bit more work during setup but can save you a lot of time down the road. They're pretty weatherproof and hold up to wind and rain. I like these color-coded ones.
Get some heat-shrink tubing too!
For a Large Install
Bigger (800+ pixel) installations will require thicker wire connections and more power. Here are a couple suggestions to get you started.
Standard JST connectors won't work in this case: the wires inside those little connectors just aren't rated to carry that much current. Solder your wires together or use a 12v rated connector like these.
Page last edited February 27, 2025
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