Thundercat
Well-known member
Background:
Hi all, been researching hours to try to find a way to incorporate a bunch of NeoPixels into a Teensy 4.1 project. Basically, I want to have a rotary encoder with 16 LEDs around it light up as the encoder turns, like you see on many professional mixing desks. There will be 8 encoders, so that's 128 LEDs! And each one to have RGB capability. So that's a lot of power.
Obvs this is way too much on a Teensy 4.1 plus I have other devices that will require power too, and I don't want to add an external PSU. I want it all to work over USB-C. Haha, maybe impossible.
I had considered using these tiny NeoPixels, but again, too much power: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32958032852.html
I'm not convinced that trying to use them with a low brightness would work to keep power consumption into a useable range for the project. I have a 2A regulator, which I could bump up, but USB spec only allows for 5A when following the rules.
Desire:
I found some ultra low-current LEDs that are tiny, and look perfect for the use-case. They consume 2mA or less, and they are RGB: https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/sunled/XZCMEDGCBD110W/10449796
The question is, is there a way to use these and have the same functionality as a "true" neopixel, with the individually addressable and dimmable LEDs etc?
I assume we would need a driver IC either per LED, but after a lot of googling I can't seem to find anything that makes sense. Would each LED need its own dedicated driver IC like the NeoPixels?
If so, what might work? All the googling returns is how to use existing NeoPixels, and searching for "DIY NeoPixels" results in how to USE existing NeoPixels instead of how to MAKE them.
Also, I don't want to use a bunch of pins on the Teensy 4.1 because I'm already using a ton.
Thanks for any hints or tips.
Mike
Hi all, been researching hours to try to find a way to incorporate a bunch of NeoPixels into a Teensy 4.1 project. Basically, I want to have a rotary encoder with 16 LEDs around it light up as the encoder turns, like you see on many professional mixing desks. There will be 8 encoders, so that's 128 LEDs! And each one to have RGB capability. So that's a lot of power.
Obvs this is way too much on a Teensy 4.1 plus I have other devices that will require power too, and I don't want to add an external PSU. I want it all to work over USB-C. Haha, maybe impossible.
I had considered using these tiny NeoPixels, but again, too much power: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32958032852.html
I'm not convinced that trying to use them with a low brightness would work to keep power consumption into a useable range for the project. I have a 2A regulator, which I could bump up, but USB spec only allows for 5A when following the rules.
Desire:
I found some ultra low-current LEDs that are tiny, and look perfect for the use-case. They consume 2mA or less, and they are RGB: https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/detail/sunled/XZCMEDGCBD110W/10449796
The question is, is there a way to use these and have the same functionality as a "true" neopixel, with the individually addressable and dimmable LEDs etc?
I assume we would need a driver IC either per LED, but after a lot of googling I can't seem to find anything that makes sense. Would each LED need its own dedicated driver IC like the NeoPixels?
If so, what might work? All the googling returns is how to use existing NeoPixels, and searching for "DIY NeoPixels" results in how to USE existing NeoPixels instead of how to MAKE them.
Also, I don't want to use a bunch of pins on the Teensy 4.1 because I'm already using a ton.
Thanks for any hints or tips.
Mike