The LED Board features 30 WS2812 LED Strips that each contain 30 addressable LEDs. The board uses a uC32 to control all 900 LEDs in the board. In conjunction with the LED board, the creation of a 4-button controller and the game of “Snake” are included in this demo.

For the original instructions check out the Instructable.

• 30 1m strips of WS2812 addressable LEDs
• chipKIT uC32 microcontroller
• 5V, 75A power supply
• Various lengths of wire for connections

• RJ45 Pmod connector pair
• 4 momentary push buttons
• 4 1kΩ resistors
• Short wire lengths, solder, bare PCB, metal standoffs with screws, small acrylic panel

• 1/4“ (6.35mm) clear, colorless acrylic sheet (plexiglass)
• 6 friction catches for cabinets
• Super glue
• Acrylic cement
• 1/” (6.35mm) particle board
• Flat black enamel paint

• Band Saw and Hand Saw
• Sandpaper and sanding block
• Drill press with 1/2“ (12.7mm) and 1/8” (3.2mm) drill bits
• Rotary tool with cutoff wheel
• Screwdriver

The strips come with a connector on each end that connects power as well as data lines to allow for serial connection, but they also have a second set of bare wires for power connections. The bare wires are used to connect the strips in parallel to the bus lines across the bottom of the panel and the connectors to pass the data signal down the line. Since the data must be serial, the strips must be connected end to end, meaning that the data comes in from the lower left and runs up the first strip, then down the second, up the third, etc. in a zig-zag pattern across the board.

Using one strip as a guide, mark all four edges of the acrylic with the gaps between each LED to center each LED on the board where it needed to go to make a square array. Space the first strip lengthwise so that the first and last LEDs on it were the same distance away from the bottom and top edges of the panel. The weatherproof casing and even the strips themselves are not all perfectly 1m in length, nor is the distance from the end of the strip to the first LED consistent between strips, so just lining up one end of each strip would not have resulted in a square array.

Determine the distance from the top and bottom, then mark where the wires are coming out of the end of the strip, but back in toward the center of the strip about 1/2“ (12.7mm). The connectors for the data are about 1/2” wide. By moving the hole back about 1/2“ it allows for the strip to cover most of the hole, giving a cleaner look. Use the standing drill press and some clamps to give a much cleaner cut to the holes.

With the LEDs glued, create and attach the power buses. For each bus, use a length of 12AWG wire as long as the panel is wide plus enough to reach the power supply. This results in the panels all having different total lengths, but the part attached to each panel was identical. Slice and remove little gaps into the insulation of the bus wires at intervals of one LED, leaving the insulation in place between each connection. The wire was laid down on the back of the panel and the bare wires on the LED strips that had been pushed through from the front were measured, cut, stripped, and then soldered to the bus wire.

Once all ten supply wires were soldered to the supply bus wire, the whole wire was glued down. This process was repeated for the ground bus, but the buses were placed so that the gaps were staggered between the supply and ground buses to minimize shorting. On the other end of the LED strips at the top of the panel, where there is no need for bus wires, the bare wires were trimmed as close to the silicone casing as possible to prevent shorting on that end. The bus wires and the AC supply cable were all fitted with spade connectors to connect to the terminal blocks on the 75A power supply.