What's cooler than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB + White LEDs! These NeoPixel rings are packed with 4 LEDs (red, green, blue, and white) for amazing lighting effects. This is the 16 - LED RGBW NeoPixel Ring in a cool white color, and there are many other NeoPixel rings in our store for you to explore. The 16 ultra - bright smart LED NeoPixels are arranged in a circle with an outer diameter of 1.75 inches (44.5mm). They're chainable, allowing you to connect one ring to another easily. You can control multiple rings with just one microcontroller pin. Each LED is addressable thanks to the built - in driver chip. With a ~18mA constant current drive, the color remains consistent even with voltage variations, and no external choke resistors are needed, making the design sleek. Power it with 5VDC and you're all set. The NeoPixel is unique, with one half being the familiar RGB and the other half a white LED with yellow phosphor. When lit, they're incredibly bright. You can control them with 8 - bit PWM per channel for a 32 - bit color overall, perfect for adding colorful and white dots to your project. NeoPixel LEDs use an 800 KHz protocol. Their PWM rate is ~400 Hz, which works well but may show pixelation when the LED is moving. DotStars have a 20 KHz PWM rate for smoother blending. We recommend DotStars if possible. These 5050 - sized LEDs have an embedded microcontroller inside. You can set the brightness and color of each R/G/B/W with 8 - bit PWM precision. They're controlled by shift - registers and only need 1 digital output pin for data. The PWM is built into each LED - chip, so you can set the color and let it do the rest. We have a tutorial on wiring, power usage calculations, and example code. Note that you need a NeoPixel library with RGBW support, which might not always be available. Our Adafruit NeoPixel library supports RGBW. The detailed NeoPixel Uberguide has all you need for any NeoPixel shape and size, including ready - to - go library and example code for various Arduino models. It comes as a single ring with 16 individually addressable RGBW LEDs, already assembled and tested.
Using the NeoPixel Ring is easy. First, power it with 5VDC. You can connect multiple rings together by linking the output pin of one to the input pin of another. Then, use a single microcontroller pin to send data to control all the connected rings. You can set the brightness and color of each individual LED with the help of an RGBW - supported NeoPixel library. For example, our Adafruit NeoPixel library works great. When it comes to code, check out our tutorial which has example code and also shows you how to calculate power usage and wire the ring properly. One important thing to note is that you need a NeoPixel library with RGBW support. If you use a plain 'RGB' library, you'll get strange results. As for maintenance, keep the ring in a dry place. Avoid exposing it to excessive heat or moisture. If you notice any issues, double - check the wiring and make sure the power supply is stable. With these tips, you'll be able to enjoy the amazing lighting effects of your NeoPixel Ring for a long time.
