NEW PRODUCT – 16×32 RGB LED matrix panel – MASSIVE BLINKY!

Rgbmatrixpanelplasma Lrg

NEW PRODUCT – 16×32 RGB LED matrix panel – MASSIVE BLINKY!. Bring a little bit of Times Square into your home with this 16 x 32 RGB LED matrix panel. These panels are normally used to make video walls, here in New York we see them on the sides of busses and bus stops, to display animations or short video clips. We thought they looked really cool so we picked up a few boxes of them from a factory. They have 512 bright RGB LEDs arranged in a 16×32 grid on the front. On the back there is a PCB with two IDC connectors (one input, one output: in theory you can chain these together) and 12 16-bit latches that allow you to drive the display with a 1:8 scan rate.

Rgbmatrixpanel Lrg

These panels require 12 digital pins (6 bit data, 6 bit control) and a good 5V supply, up to 1A per panel. We suggest our 2A regulated 5V adapter and then soldering a jack on such as from our extension cord. Please check out our tutorial for more details!

Rgbmatrixpanelback Lrg

Keep in mind that these displays are designed to be driven by FPGAs or other high speed processors: they do not have built in PWM control of any kind. Instead, you’re supposed to redraw the screen over and over to ‘manually’ PWM the whole thing. On a 16 MHz arduino, we managed to squeeze 9-bit color (512 colors) with 50% CPU usage but this display would really shine if driven by an FPGA, CPLD, Propeller, XMOS or other high speed multi-core controller. The good news is that the display is pre-white balanced with nice uniformity so if you turn on all the LEDs its not a particularly tinted white.

Of course, we wouldn’t leave you with a datasheet and a “good luck!” We have a full wiring diagrams and working Arduino library code with examples from drawing pixels, lines, rectangles, circles and text. You’ll get your color blasting within the hour! On an Arduino, you’ll need 12 digital pins, and about 800 bytes of RAM to buffer the 9-bit color image.

In stock and shipping now!

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9 Comments

  1. Jeremy Saglimbeni
    August 17, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    Um.. Ah.. Ohh.. Great. Now I just got drool all over my desk. But seriously, those are awesome!!! Can’t wait to get my hands on one.

  2. Andy
    August 17, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    Oh total awesomeness. Wish you’d had these around when I was building my propeller based RGB scroller! I may have to play with one of these now.

  3. Jeremy Saglimbeni
    August 17, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    And CRAZY nice work on the Arduino Library and Tutorial! Hats off to you folks up there!! Me likey blinky!

  4. Doug
    August 17, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Makes me want to build Forrest Mims’ LED oscilloscope from the 80’s. Lovely display.

  5. Joe
    August 17, 2011 at 10:42 pm

    I think I’m in love.
    ~Joe

  6. Rick
    August 18, 2011 at 9:16 am

    Can these panels be “piggybacked” to connect more than one together? Or is the arduino not powerful enough?

  7. adafruit
    August 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    @rick – yup! read the doc page: http://ladyada.net/products/rgbledmatrix/

  8. MooreOrLess
    August 18, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    When I saw this on “It’s not out yet, so don’t ask” a couple weeks back, a dark yearning came over me. The darkness can only be lifted by the wholesome brilliance of the RGB panel. Maybe I will ask for one for Christmas this year…

  9. David
    August 19, 2011 at 2:18 am

    I just built an LED video display – the Video Coat. Tres expensive, but that’s mostly for the flex boards.

    It would not be hard to make my VHDL code work with this unit; all it would need is an FPGA board with a few outputs.

    I’m watching a 40×60 pixel color LED TV set right now. It’s quite a watchable picture, amazingly enough.

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