At Adafruit, we're always excited to find new and fascinating glowing items. These 'chip on board' ultra-flexible LED strips caught our eye. With 480 SMT LEDs per meter soldered side by side and diffused by silicone epoxy, they look like neon or incandescent tubing or high - quality EL wire, but without the need for costly transformers, glass tubing, or inert gases. Unlike pixel - dot strips, they offer a continuous, pure light source. Compared to our 'Neon' tubing, they're thinner and more flexible, lacking the chunky diffused look. These LED strips are extremely bendy. This specific one is a non - addressable green LED strip. It has a solid piece of translucent silicone rubber as a diffuser on top of the LEDs, encased in a sealed silicone tube that can be removed. They look amazing, are super easy to use, and are perfect for lighting up your projects. The silicone casing is strong, durable, and weather - proof. It's not suitable for long - term underwater use or extended outdoor exposure, but it can withstand outdoor conditions for things like costumes, bike lighting, or festival decorations. The strip comes with an adhesive backing for easy placement. You'll receive a 1 - meter - long strip with two wires (black and red). Supply 9V for bright light or 12V for very bright light, and the strip will start to glow. At 12V, the whole strip draws a maximum of about 800 milliAmps. You can cut the strip if needed. Note that these are not 'NeoPixel' LED strips, so you can't control individual LEDs. Check out the guide on analog RGB LED strip control for how to operate it; you'll need a microcontroller with a PWM output and N - MOSFETs or a ULN2803 to manage the power to the entire LED element.
Using this LED strip is easy. First, decide where you want to place it. Thanks to the adhesive backing, you can stick it on almost any flat surface. Connect the black and red wires to a power source. You can use 9V for bright light, but if you want it to be very bright, use 12V. Once connected, the strip will start to glow. The whole strip draws a maximum of about 800 milliAmps at 12V, so make sure your power source can handle it. If you need a shorter strip, you can cut it down to your desired length. But remember, these are not 'NeoPixel' LED strips, so you can't turn on or off individual LEDs. To control the power to the entire strip, you'll need a microcontroller with a PWM output and N - MOSFETs or a ULN2803. As for maintenance, the silicone casing is strong and weather - proof, but it's not meant for long - term underwater use or extended outdoor exposure. If you use it outdoors, try to keep it away from direct contact with water for long periods. Clean it gently with a dry cloth if it gets dirty.
