Adafruit 16 WS2812 LED NeoPixel Ring

This Adafruit NeoPixel ring contains 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs arranged in a closely spaced circle that can all be controlled with a single digital output of a microcontroller.

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Description

Overview

Adafruit 16-, 24-, and 4x15-LED NeoPixel rings being controlled by an A-Star 32U4 Micro

This NeoPixel ring from Adafruit consists of 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs that can all be controlled with a single digital output of a microcontroller and chained together with other rings and WS281x-based LEDs to make larger, more complex displays. This small ring has a 1.75″ (44.5 mm) outer diameter and 1.25″ (31.8 mm) inner diameter.

We also carry two other types of NeoPixel rings: a 24-LED ring with a 2.6″ (66 mm) outer diameter and 15-LED quarter-circles that can be combined to make a 60-LED ring with a 6.2″ (158 mm) outer diameter.

The ring can be controlled by many microcontrollers, but our A-Star 32U4 Micro works particularly well for applications where space is an issue since it fits neatly inside the ring. The picture on the right shows an A-Star 32U4 Micro controlling three different sizes of NeoPixel rings. See the Protocol section near the bottom of this page for some things to consider when selecting an appropriate microcontroller.

The Adafruit NeoPixel library for Arduino makes it easy to use an Arduino-compatible board to control the ring’s LEDs, and since NeoPixels are based on the same WS2812B LEDs as our Addressable RGB LED Strips, you can also use our Arduino library for addressable RGB LED strips, Example AVR C code for addressable RGB LED strips, and PololuLedStrip mbed library to control the ring.

For more detailed documentation and resources on Adafruit NeoPixels, see the Adafruit NeoPixel Uberguide.

The following videos from Adafruit show sample projects you can make with the 16-LED ring:

Features and specifications

  • 16 individually addressable RGB LEDs (WS2812B-based NeoPixels)
  • Circle outer diameter of 1.75″ (44.5 mm) and inner diameter of 1.25″ (31.8 mm)
  • 24-bit colour control (8-bit PWM per channel); 16.8 million colors per pixel
  • One-wire digital control interface
  • Operating voltage: 5 V
  • Each RGB LED draws approximately 50 mA at 5 V with red, green, and blue at full brightness (~800 mA max for the ring)
  • Multiple NeoPixel rings can be chained together
  • Detailed Adafruit NeoPixel Uberguide

Adafruit 16-LED NeoPixel ring, top view

Adafruit 16-LED NeoPixel ring, bottom view with a US quarter for size reference

Using the NeoPixel ring

Connections

The pin labelled Power Signal Ground is the ground pin, and should be connected to the ground pin of the microcontroller that is controlling the LEDs and also to the negative terminal of the power supply. The version of this product shipped by Pololu after September 10, 2014 include a second ground pin close to the first.

The pin labelled Power 5V DC is the power input pin, and should be connected to a suitable power supply. An input voltage of 5 V is used to power the ring, and each LED on the ring can draw up to 50 mA at 5 V when outputting white at full brightness. That means the ring could draw up to a maximum of around 800 mA.

Note: As of September 10, 2014, we are shipping a newer version of this product that adds a second ground pin near the original ground pin and a second power pin near the original power pin, making it easier to chain multiple rings together on a single power bus. The PCB thickness has also doubled, changing from approximately 33 mil to 66 mil.

The pin labelled Data Input is an input that receives the signal controlling the LEDs. This pin should be connected to a microcontroller output pin or to the signal output pin of a WS281x-based LED product.

The pin labelled Data Out is optional. It can be connected to the data input pin of another WS281x-based LED product in order to form a chain.

Our 0.1″ header pins could be used to connect to the ring’s four pins, or wires could be soldered directly to the board. The ring does not ship with any header pins or connectors.

NeoPixels can be easily damaged if proper precautions are not taken when using them. In general, for WS2812B-based products, we suggest adding a capacitor of at least 10 μF between the ground and power lines and a 100 Ω to 1000 Ω resistor between your microcontroller and the signal input pin. More details on best practices when using NeoPixel products can be found in the Adafruit NeoPixel Uberguide.

Adafruit 16-, 24-, and 4×15-LED NeoPixel rings being controlled by an A-Star 32U4 Micro.

Protocol

The WS2812B LEDs are controlled by a simple, high-speed one-wire protocol that requires sub-microsecond timing. The details of this protocol are explained in the Adafruit NeoPixel Uberguide. It is generally not possible to generate the required control signals directly from older, slower microcontroller boards, like the Basic Stamp, or from processors that run full operating systems and can experience multithreading delays, like the Raspberry Pi.

Sample code

These example libraries should help you quickly give your project some shine:

Note: This product is Adafruit product ID 1463.


Specifications

Dimensions

Outer diameter: 1.75 in
Inner diameter: 1.25 in
Weight: 3 g

General specifications

Typical operating voltage: 5 V
LEDs: 16
Colour: RGB
Maximum current draw: 0.8 A1

Notes:

1
Measured with all RGB LEDs at maximum brightness (full white). Can vary some from unit to unit.

Resources

Recommended links

Adafruit NeoPixel Uberguide
This guide includes a walk-through on using the different NeoPixel-based products from Adafruit and links to the Adafruit NeoPixel and NeoMatrix libraries for Arduino.
Adafruit NeoPixel library
This Arduino library from Adafruit is as an alternative to our library and should work for controlling our WS281x-Based Addressable RGB LEDs.
Arduino library for addressable RGB LED strips from Pololu

This library allows you to control an arbitrary number of WS281x-Based Addressable RGB LEDs from an Arduino.

Example AVR code for addressable RGB LED strips from Pololu
This example AVR C code allows you to control WS281x-Based Addressable RGB LEDs with an AVR microcontroller.
PololuLedStrip mbed library
This library lets you control our WS281x-Based Addressable RGB LEDs from an mbed microcontroller board.

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