How to order Contact us Distributors Reviews
Register / Login

Select currency

If you'd like to view estimated pricing in other currencies then please select a currency below below.

GBP USD EUR JPY AUD NOK CHF NZD CAD

Please note:

  • Currency conversions are estimates and for information only
  • Your order will be billed in GBP
  • All prices exclude VAT / other local sales taxes
  • Shipping calculated during checkout


Pixie - 3W Chainable Smart LED Pixel

by Adafruit
An image of Pixie - 3W Chainable Smart LED Pixel An image of Pixie - 3W Chainable Smart LED Pixel An image of Pixie - 3W Chainable Smart LED Pixel An image of Pixie - 3W Chainable Smart LED Pixel

NeoPixels are plenty bright, suuuure. BUT ARE THEY 3 WATTS BRIGHT? No! They are not! That's why you need a Pixie.

These chainable smart LEDs are not only super-smart, they are ridonkulously bright with 3W total, compared to 0.2W of a 'standard' NeoPixel. Designed by Ytai Ben-Tsvi, these are the ultimate in LEDs.

Each Pixie not only contains that aforementioned 3W LED, it also has a Microchip PIC microcontroller. You send it the color you want to appear at standard 115200 baud (1 byte per color). You can send a longer string of pixel data and it will 'forward' along the messages so you can chain them like a shift register. You only have to send the data once per color change. Once set, the microcontroller does all the PWM handling for you.

You do have to send it data every 2 seconds at a minimum (as a protection against the bright and hot LEDs staying 'stuck on', they will eventually timeout if no updates are received). 1 second updates (or faster!) is best.

Since the Pixie uses so much power, there's a risk of the LED heating up so much it damages itself and/or the microcontroller. That's why Ytai added a temperature cut-off. When the PIC detects that the Pixie's temperature is too high, it turns off the LED until it gets back down to a reasonable level.

Each Pixie comes fully assembled, with big pads for power wires (don't forget, we're talking about max 1 Amp per Pixie!) and mounting holes on the sides that fit M2 size screws. You'll also need thick wires to power each Pixie and a microcontroller that can send 115,200 baud 8N1 data to the Pixie (on its own, it will not do anything, you must send it data for it to light up).

Check the tutorial for more information including code, schematics, libaries, pinouts & more! Our Arduino library is easy to use, has the same API you're used to with our NeoPixel library, and will get you blasting ROYGBIV in 5 minutes or less.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
  • PIC12(L)F157X Datasheet - 8-bit PIC microcontrller processor used
  • IRLML2060 Datasheet - Power transistor for each RGB channel
  • 3W RGB LED Datasheet
  • Weight: 2g

Product Dimensions: 24.1mm x 19.7mm x 8.2mm / 0.9" x 0.8" x 0.3"

Reviews

User photos

NeoPixels are plenty bright, suuuure. BUT ARE THEY 3 WATTS BRIGHT? No! They are not! That's why you need a Pixie.

ADA2741

This product is no longer available

It's sad to say goodbye but sometimes we have to retire products to make way for new things.

SKU
ADA2741
EAN
0704256794699
Brand
Adafruit
Stock available
0 units
Backorder not allowed on this product
Weight
5g

Video introduction

Guides & tutorials

Search

 

Region

Your search returned no results.

Subscribe

We'll keep you up to date with new product launches!

The good ship

We've been sailing the Maker seas offering our wares since 2012.

  • read about our history
  • what our customers say
  • find a local distributor
  • contact our business team

We manufacture all of our products locally at our workshop in Sheffield, UK

Under one roof

Pimoroni are your one-stop shop for bulk and education purchasing of Raspberry Pi, Pimoroni, micro:bit, Adafruit, Sparkfun, and many other brands.

If you have any questions about what we offer then drop us a line.

Pimoroni Ltd

Unit 1, Parkway Business Park,
Parkway Drive,
Sheffield,
S9 4WN,
United Kingdom

Registered in England and Wales:
Company №: 07510759
VAT Reg №: GB 140 8707 21