Perfect for light painting Nyancats: http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelbot/7909002212/

I just completed a quick project with this product with my 9 year old. Very fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D1IrqJl1zE
She likes embedded controllers!

I received my LED strip yesterday. There are 32 LEDS. My two strips came wired backwards. The two plugs were on the wrong side. Otherwise it works great.

Whew- I don't have the time to do it, but it seems you could mount two of these opposite each other on the shaft of a motor, then spin them to create a supersized full-color circular POV video display.

about WS2801 pixel flexible led strips Installation Instructions http://www.ledstripsales.com/color-change-LED-Strip-c-38/ws2801-ic-5v-rgb-magic-color-programmable-series-flexible-led-strip-lights-160-leds-5mreel-p-2068.html

Yes, I bought the WS2801 strips from GREELED too. But I like their LPD8806 RGB Strip better. Really wonderdul. http://www.gree-leds.com/productshow.asp?ArticleID=TS7X2X7VTP

Hey guys! This was a rather unexpected retirement of the product. I am glad that I managed to get one for myself. Now I am starting to wonder what to do with the only strip I have, since I had so many ideas for a project.

Any hints on why you have killed the product off? Is there going to be a replacement? A new Version?

I'm currently building a power supply for these and I want to use normal 5 volt regulators (like these: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/107)

One trick that may save people time trying to power these is doubling up those 5 volt regulators so that they can work in parallel! By using two of these regulators in parallel, we can double the overall current capabilities. I haven't tried this yet but this article gives some hints on the details of such an approach: http://electronicdesign.com/article/power/double-your-output-current-with-parallel-voltage-r-9270

Again, I'm still building out the power supply but two of those regulators in parallel should get the available current up past the 1.8 amps a single meter of these LED's would need at full white.

I hope this idea makes these a little more accessible to those of us trying to wire these up to an Arduino.

One important note: These come in two variations, one with the power connector on the DATA IN side (arrow "-->") and one with the power connector on the DATA OUT side (arrow "<--"). This is to allow you to more easily build larger displays, but may mean that if you're just buying one strip, the power connector is not located on the DATA IN side.

Check for the arrows to figure out which side to feed data into.

Check out this project my freinds and I did with 2 of these LED strips. We wrapped them around a speaker and programmed them react to music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbURT0VtfYM

I've got a RGB LED lighting project I'm doing for a friend and need some advice from the experts. I'm fairly new to microcontrollers but have done a couple projects.

This project involves the interior illumination of a show car (68 Tempest) with specific colors to compliment the interior color scheme.

Requirements:

• Lowest cost and/or easiest to implement solution
• Cascade two previously selected colors around a loop consisting of daisy-chained digital RGB LED strips (probably two).
• Must be powered from vehicle 12v supply

I demonstrated to him how I had used an Arduino Uno R3 to program a BlinkM which in turn was used in stand-alone mode to drive an analog RGB LED strip with pre-programmed color changes, but he wants to cascade his color changes down the strips, hence the requirement for individually addressable LEDs.

I don't know if a BlinkM can be used to send cascading color changes down a digital RGB LED strip or whether an Arduino is necessary.

I'm also not sure whether an Arduino can be programmed to start color cycling the LED strips immediately on power up. He wants it to start cycling as soon as he turns it on without having to do any preliminary settings.

How flexible are these?

Would repeated bending (bending within the limits of flexibility) damage the strip?

I.E. could it be mounted on say, the back of a shirtsleeve, and bend at the elbow? Or on a tie, and not be too rigid?

How did you program the pattern? I want to be able to only light up certain positions on the strip, can that be done? What do I need?

Is anyone else having a lot of problems with the example code? The first LED, for instance, seems to 'stick,' and the others don't reliably propagate down the strip. Then sometimes everything stops, and then jumps forward more than 1 LED (like 6 LEDs at a time), and other times everything stops and it starts filling up from the other end. What gives?

Hmmm

As a crazy geek, stumbling across this product I just said to myself ... Would it be cool to buy 64800 of those and actually make a 1080p LED TV ... lol

It would just be 33.75 meters (110 ft) wide and 60 meters (196.85 ft) and draw a current of 36000 Amps on 5V when fully bright white ... Hmm energy star might not like it though ...

Yes, it's just another afternoon at work and I've got nothing else to do. BTW I accept donation to start collecting the 2,330,208$ to buy the strips, so come on people be cool ! :)

Hmm, maybe we can even get a discount ...

(I'm voluntarilly ignoring controller issues, as with 2M$ of strips, I'm sure I will find some relatively CHEAP option to go with it).

I'm trying to drive a strip using the USART1 of an Atmega664P, in SPI mode. I've created a custom board for this. But the USART module seems unable to drive the data and clock lines properly. When I connect the LED strip to my board, the high states of the data and clock lines drop from 4.5V to about 1.5V.

Anyone suggestions about this?

The only issue with these is that the LEDs do not have a hard epoxy lens, so if you put any pressure on the front of the strip (as I did by mounting them where they could be stepped on), the pressure on the tiny LED chips inside will cause them to become intermittent. I am amazed that someone would actually think its a good idea to cut corners and manufacture an LED without a hard epoxy cover!

How does this compare to the addressable LED strip on Adafruit (http://www.adafruit.com/products/306)? The one over there is $10 cheaper.

I grabbed one when they were available as a scratch and dent. This weekend, I managed to slice it into 5 columns of 6 leds each. For the TI Launchpad, posted some msp430 code with an uppercase 5x6 font, a binary clock, and some basic graphical functions There are videos too. WS2801 Array at 43oh.com

Anyone that pays $45/meter for these is cah-cah-cah-ray-zay. They're no more than $15-$20..

just an fyi... the labels printed on the strip are wrong on my unit. i spent the entire night trying to figure out why i couldn't talk to the strip. then i noticed that the datasheet and example both had green as clock and red as SDI - but i looked at the labels on the strip when i wired it, which has red as clock and green as SDI.

How quickly can you refresh these things, what frame rates have been achieved?

for the picaxe lovers out there - here is some picaxe code using the 18m2
love the bright vivid colours that can be produced, massive current draw though.
what is the policy of replacement if the water prof casing cracks? the first led isn't showing due to a crack in the sealant.
thanks
tiny

I've been removing the wires and soldering the strips end to end directly so there's no gap between strips. The only problem seems to be that it's very hard to get a good reliable connection. I don't think it's the actual joint, but I think it's been damaging the traces near the joint so I have to cut off a section of the strip and resolder.. Has anyone else done this and gotten consistent results?

Interface to an MSP430 launchpad with bitbanged SPI code:
43oh

Two comments from some testing last night:
1. 500us is a bit tight for the reset timing. We were doing a "framerate" test and found that we needed closer to a 800us delay to get a consistent reset across the whole strip.
2. Arduino USB power definitely isn't enough (this is repeated in the comments a few times). If you run the demo code and it gets partway down the strip before "pausing" and starting over, it's because the arduino is resetting because too much power is getting drawn and something resets.

I have a few questions about connecting this to a Netduino Mini:
1) Is it even possible to connect to a Netduino Mini?
2) If so, aside a logic level converter to step the output voltage from the chip to 5V and a separate power supply for the strip, is there anything else really needed?

For those interested in removing the adhesive backing from the strips. Two things that DID NOT work are:
GooGone - didn't do anything but make it slick until it dried.
Denatured Alcohol - this actually cut the glue some, but it didn't come easy or totally clean.
I think those who aren't keen on the adhesive or it's cover should glue the strip to some other material and then trim off the excess. Heavy paper or plastic come to mind.
I've been playing with pieces of the 12v non addressable stuff and white primer spraypaint directly to the clear plastic works rather well for diffusion.

If you want to see it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuvHPtsou7k

Can the SPRITE library be used to control these LEDS??
http://wiring.org.co/reference/libraries/Sprite/index.html

I currently have 8 of these strip on hand. I would like to use them to display words and shapes like a stock market ticker. Are there any good libraries out there that can help me achieve this or do I have to start from scratch?
I am worried it might take a long time to start from scratch. I have taped the 8 strips in a 8X32 matrix and have manually coded words by turning on each LED individually but this is a tedious.
Any ideas on how to easily display characters on 8 strips?

Is it possible to get these strips without the silicone tubing. If not how much of a pain would it be to remove myself?

I do have one quick question regarding this product, I just received it but and connected it to my arduino, I loaded up the example code, and it does not work, only the first 15 leds turn on for a very short amount of time, and then only the first 8, where number 7 and 8 blink, 8 is always red, and 7 is always yellow, all other leds are a bluish white, they are the same color when the first 15 flash on for a second.

Does anyone have any idea where to purchase the RGB controller shown under "Optional accessories" in the datasheet? The part number is REC-RF8000C.

OK, I received these recently and found the documentation, well, sucks. Sorry if this is answered already
There are different connector sets on each end, which is the in and which is the out? and which wires correspond to what? Yes, I know I can peel back the heat shrink to find out, but if someone knows it will save me doing surgery

Just received mine (I bought the cracked ones in scratch and dent, but same product)
What I've found:
They are awesome!
Driven to full white from an arduino,
on a 4.9 volt (when loaded) switchmode power supply
one 1m strip consumes 1.77 amps, which equates to 8.65 watts per strip.
Using the sample code included with the strip, I can achieve on the arduino 15ms to shift out 32 leds worth of data (32 x 8 bits x rgb)
The most boring sample code I could write involving randomizing each led completely, then shifting out was 40ms for generating an array of 32 longs...
so about 55ms per frame = about 18 frames per second. A better uC could definitely do the math a bit faster, and some lower level shifting code would definitely improve the shift time.
the 500uS delay to set the colours is totally unnecessary because almost ANY other code you'd loop on an arduino would be sufficient delay so long as you weren't playing with the clock pin. (every uS counts when going for fps speed)
Temperature: They get noticably warm. When not attached to any surface, they get up to I'd estimate 35-45 degrees C. Really hard to estimate, because they're so light any thermometer I stick to them sinks their heat too much and they cool right down. Imagine a 1 meter long 10 watt heater :D

I made some code for the Parallax Propeller to control these. There is a thread over on Savage Circuits forums with the code available for download, and a video showing it working with 3 of these chained together.
link to thread on Savage Circuits

I agree with the folks requesting longer strands, it would be nice. I'd also love to see these in a non-waterproofed version as well! I got a few of the "dinged" ones and (very carefully)peeled the potting material off of them myself (smells curiously like chocolate to me... No i didn't taste any).
I found them to be much, much lighter without all the clear goo on them. They aren't waterproof anymore of course, but I wasn't planning on using them to bling out my boat in the first place. On the current draw issue, I would question the math on that, I think full current draw would mean having every LED in white mode. i.e. all 3 R-G-B leds x 32 on full blast. Since these are pulsed or PWM'd vs. CW, I'd assume the current to be much less most of the time. And if you have a fast controller, you could probably drop all the LED's out for some period (faster than the eye can see of course) and get it even lower depending on how bright or dim you choose to make them. Since each color has a range of 255 steps, it would probably be pretty easy to crank them down anyway.

When you reorder this stuff, PLEASE offer a continuous-length option. i.e. I order 3M, I get a 3M length cut off the roll. The terminations will be my problem to scrape off the waterproofing enough to solder to the ends.
This is essential for 2 reasons. One, if you're actually doing something requiring waterproofing and a length over 1M, it's exposing an intersection which can be contaminated with water. Two, this stuff is expensive and maybe someone (like me) needs 2ft lengths for a project. I'm either gonna have to throw away 1 ft lengths or make half the products out of two "joined" 1-ft cutoff pieces which won't flex the same way and is more failure-prone.
And the termination is surely increasing the cost, too.

I see in the data sheet that there is a 36 month warranty. Is there a spec for life other than that? Preferably in hours to which I can apply a duty cycle calculation?

Does anyone know the type/name of the connectors used on the power and data connections?
Would be handy to buy some for quick testing.

So whats the deal with the stock on these .. It feels like i have been waiting forever ..
Did I miss the back in stock email ??

Anyone tried removing the adhesive off the back? Any suggestions?

I found out something. I just wanted a single white LED to work it's way down the strip as fast as possible. I found 500us delay isn't reliable. About 850us delay seemed reliable.

mike41325:

I am confused. Can this be driven directly from an Arduino? I got the idea from your sample code that this connects directly to the Arduino but it seems like that many leds would draw more current than it can handle.
FYI: One strip worked fine with my Arduino test powered by usb.

So it seems as though they are designed to be cut every so many LEDs. Which is good in one sense because the project I'd like to do should be battery powered and 1.8 amps is a bit much - plus 1M is too long for what I need. But now here comes the next question: if you cut these strips how easy is it to salvage the cut portion? It's hard to gauge without physically handling one. Has anyone ordered these yet who could comment?

BTW if you look this stuff up on Alibaba it looks like some manufacturers are already using your demo images... [edit] whoops I misread it, you said it was a demo by the manufacturer... well that explains that...

For what it's worth, the data sheet specifies 1.8A maximum current which works out to just shy of 20mA * 32 LED's * ( 1 red + 1 green + 1 blue ).

Many years ago, I saw an awesome artwork installation with a bunch of blinking LEDs on poles (Great Dome Gallery, MIT '83). At first it seemed amusing but not especially artistic. Then, as you swept your head away to leave, those blinking poles all spelled out messages and graphics. Think of a multiplexed X-Y display but only displayed in Y with your eyes and head movement doing the X scan. And who says that all that time spent at the Thirsty Ear was wasted...
Please post a video if you follow thru. Cheers, Bob

Just the right size to cut in half for a POV windshield-wiper based heads-up display!

I am confused. Can this be driven directly from an Arduino? I got the idea from your sample code that this connects directly to the Arduino but it seems like that many leds would draw more current than it can handle.

I would like to see SFE sell the WS2801 IC for use in other projects.

Are there going to be plans to make a sheet size linke = 8.5x11 ? These are the coolest thing I have seen here yet

Hmm... There are 50 led strips in that picture to make that display and it costs $40.46 for each one. $40.46 * 50= $2,023 ! I could by a 60 inch HD plasma TV for that much!!!

I like the screen effect. I might duplicate that.

everyone says you need a licence agreement with Philips for this stuff, or its in breech of their patent rights. Have you guys got a licence for it?

What is the total length and height? I am trying to figure out how many I would need to cover an 8'x4' surface.

Some notes:
1. There are two websites shown on the data sheet. I'm not sure which one I clicked on but it popped up a bogus malware popup. It appears that their site has been compromised; or maybe they make extra money this way.
2. The Sparkfun blurb says 30 rgb leds but the data sheet seems to maybe imply 32... which is correct?
3. @CJG: per the data sheet, there are marks indicating where it is safe to cut. Doesn't say about using the cutoff piece but Sparkfun customers are known to be clever...

Can the strip be cut ??
And can the cut off section be used the same way ??

These are way more flexible than the HL1606 based strips I built my 2010 Burning Man art project with:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2094837721/solar-power-for-animated-led-beacon-installation-a
&
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2094837721/solar-power-for-animated-led-beacon-installation-a/posts
With the HL1606 you can only do 3-bit color (RGBCMYW) individually addressed. You can get more color range in gradients which is pretty but quite limited. Can't wait to try some of these out!

Lol what is that in the demo pic? About $1500 worth of strips? Would be nice.

Thank You! I suggested you carry this a while ago and now you are, great!

Crazy, I was just looking on a lot of Christmas lighting forums and everyone was discussing these. Most items discussed were 3 LEDs per node or ICs that no one could find the specs on.
Do you plan to selling these in 5 meter versions? It seems that is the preferred size for decorating Mega Light Trees and other displays. For example: mega tree on youtube

Well can you make a 5 or 10 meter strip like
this one in the pictures above but also make
it water protected.

Nate looks like I owe you a pint. I bought 5m strips (not going to disclose the price :) from Shenzhen but didn't have time to figure out the code but thanx to you I know what to do now :)
cheers mate!

Does that symbol in the first picture have a name?
Are there going to be any white LED strips?