Hey, who doesn't love LEDs? Well, how about having twice as many of them! With our 16x8 LED Matrix Backpack, it's a breeze to get two 8x8 matrices on one board, doubling your project's matrix capacity. Controlling a large number of LEDs usually means using a ton of pins. But with this backpack, you don't have to worry about that. It uses a HT16K33 driver chip that simplifies everything. This chip has a built - in clock and constant - current drivers for ultra - bright, consistent green color. You can adjust the brightness in 1/16 steps via a simple I2C interface. Each backpack comes with three address - selection jumpers, allowing you to connect up to 8 x 1.2" 16x8's on a single I2C bus. This kit includes a fully tested and assembled 16x8 1.2" LED Backpack, 2 ultra - bright square 8x8 pure green matrices, and a 6 - pin header. A bit of soldering is needed to attach the matrices to the backpack, but it only takes about 10 minutes. We also offer a detailed tutorial and a nice library to help you get up and running in under half an hour, perfect for scrolling or small video displays.
Using this 16x8 LED Matrix with Backpack is quite easy. First, you'll need to solder the two ultra - bright square 8x8 pure green matrices onto the backpack. It's a simple process and should take around 10 minutes. After soldering, connect it to your device using the 6 - pin header. You can use a Trinket to power it (Trinket not included). The backpack uses a HT16K33 driver chip, which you can control via a simple I2C interface. You can adjust the display brightness in 1/16 steps. When using multiple backpacks, use the address - selection jumpers to connect up to 8 x 1.2" 16x8's on a single I2C bus. For programming, refer to our detailed tutorial and use the library we've provided. This will help you display images on the matrix or numbers on the 7 - segment in under half an hour. As for maintenance, keep it away from moisture and excessive heat. If you notice any issues, check the soldering joints first.
