Through-hole addressable leds, how to make a strand?

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AmysAdventures
 
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Through-hole addressable leds, how to make a strand?

Post by AmysAdventures »

Hi. I am very new to electronics and lights, so forgive me if I ask anything dumb or obvious.

I've recently bought the WS2801 diffused strand. I'm weaving fiber optic fabric and hoping to make some garments from it. Anyway, I'm use .25mm optic fibers and I'm planning to weave in some holographic tinsel material for the weft, and have a stronger cotton for the warp. I just completed a sample using some .75mm fiber optics woven into tulle. I lit them with the WS2801 lights, but they just seem a bit too dim and bulky. I've bought a fiber optic mask from amazon to examine the material makeup and they had a much smaller bulb that had wires which were attached the the microcontroller. The light was much brighter and more effective. I'm having trouble because I want to use addressable RGB leds. Ideally I'd like to connect them to a microcontroller with Bluetooth function. I was looking into the led strips, as they seem like an easier solution, but I don't think they would be good for wearables. I'm not for sure if the fiber optics can bend sharply, and I don't think they'd work well with a body moving and breathing. Maybe I'm wrong.

So I am thinking of getting addressable RGB led through hole bulbs. I've been searching and I think that's the name for just the bulb with the legs? These have 4 legs typically. I'm just trying to find a simple tutorial on how to solder them together to make a strand. I've read about the resistors and ohms and stuff, not quite fully understanding it yet but hopefully I do soon. Anyway, is this even possible? I'd want to use 5mm bulbs, most likely. I'm planning to do a few yards of fabric, so it may be quite a few bulbs. Can I connect them all to the 1 microcontroller? Or should they all have their own setup? Is there a better system than what I'm doing? I love the Fiber optic light source on here, I just wish I could find one that had RGB and programmable capabilities.

Again, so sorry if I'm asking something dumb. I'm just not sure what else to do or who to go to to learn this stuff. Also, I was looking at the super bright neopixels as well, but they're a bit pricey for me right now.

Also, I am open to any suggestions.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Through-hole addressable leds, how to make a strand?

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

So I am thinking of getting addressable RGB led through hole bulbs. I've been searching and I think that's the name for just the bulb with the legs? These have 4 legs typically.
There are two general types of 4-legged through-hole RGB LEDs.
The Neopixels (WS2812/SK6812) are addressable: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1938
However these are not: https://www.adafruit.com/product/302
I'm just trying to find a simple tutorial on how to solder them together to make a strand. I've read about the resistors and ohms and stuff, not quite fully understanding it yet but hopefully I do soon.
The Neopixels do not require any resistors since each one has its own addressable driver. However, the manufacturer recommends a small capacitor in parallel with each one.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/753

See the last page of the data sheet for how to connect them together:
https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-f ... sheet+.pdf

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