I have been working with different types of LEDs and the myriad of ways to control them for over 10 years.

For a recent project I came up with one of my favorite system designs yet and I ventured to document it slightly for others that are interested.

To be sure this applies to how to control 5v Digital RGB LEDs (aka NeoPixels and WS2812) with a computer over the Art-Net interface.

These LEDs are very common and can be found in a near infinite amount of shapes and styles with many accessories and vendors. The digital refers to the fact that each pixel can be individually addressed which means great patterns but also precludes a way to send that data.

Some makers have very basic controllers with limited patterns.

But if you are building something for an interactive artwork or a concert stage lighting design I highly recommend controlling them in a more verbose manner.

Enter this system!

By using the MadMapper software we can interface with 1000’s of LEDs using the DMXKing LeDMX2/4 products.

These will take in the Art-Net signal and decode that through a power supply. Add in a few signal slitters and you can easily scale the design to handle many many LEDs.

Enjoy!