neo pixel help

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1885
 
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neo pixel help

Post by 1885 »

I need spoon fed on this one.

I purchased two of these amoung other neo pixel strips
https://www.adafruit.com/products/1426

NeoPixel Stick - 8 x WS2812 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Drivers

I do not what to fry these neopixels. I noticed on some of the other tutorials. A capacitor , resistor and voltage regulator is required.

I am going to use an arduino to drive these LEDs .
What else is need to connect these to an Arduino?

External battery?
Powered 5V power supply?
Capacitor?
Resistor?
5V voltage regulator?

Thanks,
cwc1885

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Re: neo pixel help

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

I assume you've read the NeoPixel tutorial here:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neo ... e/overview

You can run 16 NeoPixels from the regulated Arduino 5V output, so you don't need a separate power supply.
The NeoPixel sticks already have the resistor and capacitors on board, so you don't need anything additional.

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Re: neo pixel help

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Lets start with the power supply. Does this need to be portable ( i.e. battery powered), or do you plan to run it plugged into the wall or a USB port?

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Re: neo pixel help

Post by 1885 »

adafruit_support_bill wrote:Lets start with the power supply. Does this need to be portable ( i.e. battery powered), or do you plan to run it plugged into the wall or a USB port?
Both . I have a 4 AA 6v power supply and a 5v 2a rectifier

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Re: neo pixel help

Post by 1885 »

adafruit_support_rick wrote:I assume you've read the NeoPixel tutorial here:
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neo ... e/overview

You can run 16 NeoPixels from the regulated Arduino 5V output, so you don't need a separate power supply.
The NeoPixel sticks already have the resistor and capacitors on board, so you don't need anything additional.

I have read this and went to best practices. That's why I asked about the cap and the resistor.
If I have an 8 led neo stick. It looks like I can use the arduino with no cap or resistor. Correct

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Re: neo pixel help

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You should be OK without the cap or resistor when running on batteries. A cap is advisable when running from a power supply since some of them have a bit of a voltage spike on power-up.

Your 6v battery pack is too high to power the pixels directly. But if you replace the alkaline batteries with NiMH rechageables (e.g. Eneloop) it becomes a 4.8v pack which will work just fine. For other battery power options, see this guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/battery-powe ... and-strips

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Re: neo pixel help

Post by 1885 »

thanks for the help!

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