Are the NeoPixel RGBW compatible with the previous RGB only

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jblair
 
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Are the NeoPixel RGBW compatible with the previous RGB only

Post by jblair »

I previously purchased Adafruit NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - Black 30 LED 2m - BLACK PID: 2551

Those strips seem to no longer be sold, and the next suitable replacement are the RGBW versions such as Adafruit NeoPixel Digital RGBW LED Strip - Black PCB 30 LED/m 5m PID: 2824

I am wondering if the RGBW strips are software compatible with the RGB strips? I am OK if the White LEDs in the RGBW strips are just ignored and inactive. I need the RGB strips for a system that I have no software control over so compatibility is important.

Thanks!

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dastels
 
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Re: Are the NeoPixel RGBW compatible with the previous RGB o

Post by dastels »

No, the software has to be changed to reflect the fact that the strips are RGBW and not RGB. There are 4 LEDs in each pixel rather than 3. Also, the strips can not be connected together as the data signal contains 32 bytes for each RGBW pixel rather than 24 for the RGB ones.

Dave

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jblair
 
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Re: Are the NeoPixel RGBW compatible with the previous RGB o

Post by jblair »

Thanks for the reply dastels,

I just found a moment to dig a little deeper and saw the info on the page for the individual LEDs:

Please note you will need a NeoPixel library with RGBW support which is not always available. If you try to control these with a plain 'RGB' NeoPixel library, you'll get very weird results.

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