SparkFun Lumenati 8-stick

The SparkFun Lumenati 8-stick is a compact board that features eight APA102C LEDs in a straight line and two mounting points. This board is designed to enhance the lighting capabilities of your projects. The 8-stick board is engineered to be daisy-chained with other Lumenati boards, facilitated by castellated edge connectors at both ends. This feature allows for a variety of design possibilities and configurations. The APA102C LEDs on each board are numbered to aid in coding. The Lumenati boards are perfect for adding a touch of flair to racing drones.

The Lumenati 8-stick can be paired with the 90R and 90L boards to craft outlines of varying shapes and sizes.

The APA102C addressable LEDs function on a +5V power input and 0--5V logic levels for clock and data, using a 2-wire communication protocol. This protocol consists of a clock line and a data line. Although this necessitates an additional wire compared to standard WS2812B LEDs, the benefit is that the communication with the LEDs is less dependent on timing. This means they can be run directly from a Raspberry Pi or similar single-board computer without the need for additional hardware.

It's important to note that there are two solder jumpers on the back of the 8-stick, labeled CO and DO (clock out and data out). These can be cut to disrupt those signals if you create a closed-loop design and don't want the clock and data from the last LED to interfere with the first one. It is crucial that you cut the traces in the jumpers of the last board in the loop before powering up your LEDs if you've arranged a continuous loop of Lumenati boards. Failing to do this could result in a couple of LEDs burning out.

Start your journey with the SparkFun Lumenati Guide.

Product Features:

• Dimensions: 56.6mm x 15mm x 3.2mm
• Weight: 2.8g

Supporting Documents:

• Schematic
• KiCad Files
• Hookup Guide
• Lumenati Alien Garden Guide
• How to Solder -- Castellated Edges
• Datasheet (APA102C)
• GitHub

View our helpful videos to get the most out of your Lumenati 8-stick.