- The Zio Qwiic RGB LED APA102 is incredibly bright and colorful
- It is much more accessible and works on an I2C interface
The Zio Qwiic RGB LED APA102 board features a bright and colorful 5mm x 5mm addressable RGB LED. This board can also be used as a driver board to control multiple APA102 LEDs; simply connect as many as you want (up to 100 LEDs), and chain them together to the board.
This board makes 5050 SMD LEDs much more accessible and works on an I2C interface. Isnt it awesome? The APA102 5050 LED features an integrated control circuit that can set the RGB color on a constant current output value and 5 bit (32 level) brightness setting. If you take a look inside, you can see the minuscule gold microcontroller and the golden connections to the LED.
The command to operate the LED is sent to the ATtiny85 20SU, which controls the RGB LED. We have also provided the pinout to be able to interact with the LED data and the ATtiny85 20SU.
Note: You must use a 5V DC Power supply to power the APA102 LED Strips. Keep an eye on the current consumption when using an LED strip; a 5V 4A power supply is recommended for 0.5m/1m, and a 5V 10A power supply is recommended up to 2m (depending on the application).