Flex board question

[AaronL]

So just out of curiosity, what is the max led count I can use on one of these assuming there is enough amperage supplied by the usb port

[p0ke]

Hey Aaron,

in principle the flex can control up to 32 LEDs:
https://www.blinkstick.com/products/blinkstick-flex

Please take also a look at this description:

BlinkStick Strip and Flex capabilities

Flex can control up to 32 LEDs. This is due to the fact that USB can provide up to 500mA of power so it’s only safe to power 8 LEDs at full brightness. BlinkStick Flex has 32 LEDs so it automatically adjusts the power and limits the brightness to about 25% in order not to draw more than 500 mA from USB. Even if you connect more LEDs to the Flex it will not control them.

[AaronL]

I did, it’s why I asked since USB 3 supplies 900mA of current. One of my USB 2 ports on my monitor supplies 1200mA. So I guess the 32 led count is limited via firmware regardless of the amount of current available at the USB port.

At 25%, 32 leds in this configuration are drawing a little over 15mA of load each. In theory, if 900mA is available at the port, it should be able to run 58 to 60 leds at 25% and still have some left over as long as the circuitry can handle the load.

[p0ke]

Yes, As far as I know it depends on the Firmware, not on the current the Port delivers