Help selecting Arduino + Accessories

[willh89]

Hi all!

I'm currently trying to design a cosplay outfit for next year and want to add NeoPixels to it to make it stand out!

I've purchased the following Neopixels:

5 x NeoPixel Mini PCB
3 x Adafruit NeoPixel Ring - 12 x 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Drivers

I plan to have 2 of the Neopixel Rings running a green cycle pattern and one running a pulsing purple pattern. The Mini PCBs I have yet to decide but I they will be one solid colour.

I want to use an arduino to power these, but need it to be fairly robust in terms of lasting for the whole day. Are you able to advise me on which Arduino board would be the most effective to power these LEDs, and which accessories I will need to do it?

I have a number of Li-Po batteries at home which I could hook up to run this if that is feasible, but I assume I will also need a voltage cut off / gauge to show me how much power is left in them?

I'd be extremely grateful for any help you can give :)

[adafruit_support_bill]

That is a relatively small number of pixels, so you don't need a tremendously powerful processor to drive them. One of the Feather processors would be ideal. These are lightweight and compact and have built-in LiPo charging circuits. So you can just plug in your LiPo, connect the Neopixels and go.

Either of these would do the job:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2771
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2772

[willh89]

Thanks for the reply.

Would this also be suitable for larger Lipo batteries? Most of my batteries are 11.1v as opposed to the 3.3v needed to power the board.

Would I need a breadboard to run all of this from? Or can one simply solder the wires to the board directly?

[adafruit_support_bill]

Would this also be suitable for larger Lipo batteries? Most of my batteries are 11.1v as opposed to the 3.3v needed to power the board.

Larger batteries would be a waste since the maximum supply voltage for both board and pixels is 5v. You could use a 5v UBEC, but if you run the neopixels at 5v, you will need a 3.3v->5v level shifter between processor and pixels. Not to mention that you would not be able to use the on-board charge controller. A 3.7v LiPo would be simpler and more practical - as well as more efficient.

Would I need a breadboard to run all of this from? Or can one simply solder the wires to the board directly?

You could use a breadboard for prototyping if you like. But you can connect everything directly to the board.

[willh89]

Would this also be suitable for larger Lipo batteries? Most of my batteries are 11.1v as opposed to the 3.3v needed to power the board.

Larger batteries would be a waste since the maximum supply voltage for both board and pixels is 5v. You could use a 5v UBEC, but if you run the neopixels at 5v, you will need a 3.3v->5v level shifter between processor and pixels. Not to mention that you would not be able to use the on-board charge controller. A 3.7v LiPo would be simpler and more practical - as well as more efficient.

Would I need a breadboard to run all of this from? Or can one simply solder the wires to the board directly?

You could use a breadboard for prototyping if you like. But you can connect everything directly to the board.

Thanks for the help :) I assume with efficient coding I would be able to run these Neopixels for the whole day off of one or two batteries with no trouble?

[adafruit_support_bill]

You can stretch the runtimes pretty long with efficient coding. This guide has some great advice on the subject: https://learn.adafruit.com/sipping-powe ... s/overview

[willh89]

One more question. Could I run the arduino feather off of a 4400mah 3.7v battery?

[adafruit_support_bill]

Yes. It will work with any 3.7v LiPo.