Any plans to stock WS2821's - will libraries work? Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

[SlowSteve]

Hi,

I was reading the spec sheet for the sister component of the WS2812 Neopixel, the WS2821. From what I can see it's the same as the WS2812, but it can be wired in parrallel, so a single LED failing won't cause a problem, and it would, I guess, make for a a more friendly power supply requirement.

Do Adafruit have any plans to use these chips? Do you think the Neopixel libraries would work?

Thanks

Steve

[adafruit_support_bill]

From the looks of it, the protocol for this chip is entirely different. It would have to be if you can wire them in parallel. The WS2812s operate like a giant shift register, so they have to be wired in series.

[Zach Dunham]

I know this is an old thread but, I thought I'd chime in. I recently designed a board around the Ws2822s model A pixel (RGB LED with the Ws2821 driver). They are wired in parallel and can be addressed with the standard DMX 512 protocol. BlinkinLabs paved the way here with their open source kickstarter project, the BlinkyTile (go Mat Mets and team!).

Because the pixels are essentially DMX devices, each one needs to be flashed with an address before it can be implemented in a DMX universe. WolrdSemi also makes a model B, which apparently has better heat management and the filaments are more uniformly centered on the LED.

The first couple boards came from OSH Park and were hand assembled. They're double sided boards with a pixel at center on either side so that they can be viewed from above and below. Here's a little pogo bed which flashes the addresses:

IMG_1268.JPG (126.45 KiB) Viewed 640 times

The run I'm doing of them is coming from PCB Cart, who are also doing the assembly. I just received this first sample and I have to say, PCB Cart did a great job. They have been super responsive and the price is really* competitive.

IMG_1262.jpg (955.86 KiB) Viewed 640 times

Top/Bottom:

IMG_1260.jpg (570.53 KiB) Viewed 640 times

[adafruit_support_bill]

Looks great! Thanks for posting your progress.