Hi there,
I currently have a BlickStick Strip and am really happy with it. Turns out though, 8 LEDs are not enough.
Now I’m considering the BlinkStick Flex with Smart Pixels. Do they work together and are essentially plug 'n play?
Has the issue with “only 8 LEDs work on the Flex” been resolved?
Thanks in advance,
Florian
Hey Florian,
welcome to the forums. Basically there is no issue with 8 LEDs only. You can control up to 32 LEDs.
But maybe it could depend on the LED count of the device. The tool in the thread you referring to wasn´t available anymore because of a broken link. I´ve actived it again.
But as far as I know there is no default limit to 8 LEDs in the flex anymore.
Thanks for the quick response @p0ke.
You’re right, that was indeed the thread I was referring to.
If there is indeed no default limit for the Flex anymore, I shouldn’t need your tool. But, out of curiosity, do you have the source for your tool up somewhere?
All that aside, do you know if the Flex works with the Smart Pixels?
Yes, Flex works with Smart Pixel.
Haven´t uploaded the source and I don´t think it is very interesting because there are a lot of examples for c#
The Flex is designed to be powered completely by a single USB2.0 +5V 500mA line, hence the 32 LED limit.
The Neopixel 8x8 matrix is 64 LEDs. The Flex would have to be flashed with the standard Pro firmware to remove the limit (which I believe the manufacturer will do if you specify that in the order).
The danger then is letting the matrix pull too much power from a single USB2.0 +5V line. You would have to power the matrix independently, or bundle a second USB2.0 +5V line to the Flex.
USB3.0 and USB3.1 +5V lines are 900mA so the extra line would probably not be necessary. It would be nice if the Flex firmware could detect the USB version and set the limits accordingly.