Circular clock face
Map the 60 pixels to the 60 seconds (and scaled hours/minutes) of a clock, lighting hands as moving colored dots for an ambient LED timepiece.
NeoPixel Ring 60
A ring of 60 individually addressable 5050 RGB LEDs (WS2812B) driven over a single data wire.
What is the NeoPixel Ring 60?
The NeoPixel Ring 60 is a circular board carrying 60 chainable RGB LEDs, each with an integrated WS2812B driver chip. Every pixel is individually addressable, so you can set its own color and brightness from a single microcontroller pin. The ring measures about 157.5mm (6.2 in) across and roughly 3.6mm thick, and weighs about 16g.
Each LED reads the first 24 bits of the incoming data stream (8 bits each for green, red, and blue), then passes the rest of the stream out its DOUT pin to the next pixel. This means one data line controls all 60 pixels, and the board's DOUT can feed the DIN of another ring or strip to extend the chain. The protocol runs at 800 kHz with tight timing, so it needs a real-time microcontroller (8 MHz or faster) rather than an interpreted or Linux-based system.
The ring runs on 5V. At full-brightness white a single pixel can draw up to roughly 60mA (about 20mA per color channel), so all 60 pixels lit white can pull on the order of 3.5A. Size your 5V supply and wiring for that worst case, not for a typical animation.
NeoPixel Ring 60 pinout
| Pin | Function | Type |
|---|---|---|
VCC +5V | Power | Power in |
GND GND | Power | Power in |
DIN DIN | Digital · 1-Wire WS2812 | Digital input |
DOUT DOUT | Digital · 1-Wire WS2812 | Free |
Specifications
- Operating voltage
- 5 V (max 5.5 V)
- Interface
- 1-Wire
- Dimensions
- 157.5 × 3.6 × 157.5 mm
Verified from the Tinkered component library · Adafruit.
Circuit requirements
- Power the ring from a solid 5V supply (absolute max about 5.5V) and connect all grounds together, including the microcontroller ground.
- Budget current for the load: up to about 60mA per pixel at full white, so a fully-lit 60-ring can approach 3.5A. Do not try to power a fully-lit ring from an Arduino's onboard 5V regulator.
- Data flows one way only: drive the DIN (input) pin and take the continued signal from DOUT (output). Wiring data into DOUT will not work.
- Place a 300-500 ohm resistor in series on the data line, close to the DIN pin, to limit ringing and protect the first pixel.
- Add a large electrolytic capacitor (about 1000uF, 6.3V or higher) across the +5V and GND terminals to absorb inrush current when many pixels switch on at once.
- The WS2812B expects roughly 5V logic on the data line. When driving from a 3.3V board, use a level shifter (such as a 74AHCT125 or 74HCT245) to raise DIN to 5V for reliable data.
Board compatibility
The NeoPixel Ring 60 connects to any of the microcontrollers supported in Tinkered. Mind the 5 V logic level on 3.3 V boards.
Simulate the NeoPixel Ring 60 in your browser
The NeoPixel Ring 60 is fully simulated in Tinkered. Wire it into a circuit, write your firmware, and read real values back with no physical hardware. Test your logic before you touch a breadboard.
Open it in the simulatorCommon NeoPixel Ring 60 mistakes
Powering a fully-lit ring from the Arduino 5V pin
60 pixels at full white can draw around 3.5A, far beyond what an Arduino's regulator or USB port can supply. Use a dedicated 5V supply rated for the peak load and only share ground with the board.
Wiring data into DOUT instead of DIN
The signal is directional. The controller must connect to DIN; DOUT is only for passing data onward to the next ring. Check the printed arrow or the IN/OUT labels before soldering.
Skipping the level shifter on a 3.3V board
WS2812B pixels want near-5V logic highs. Feeding raw 3.3V data can cause flicker, wrong colors, or dead pixels, especially on the first LED. Level-shift the data line to 5V.
Omitting the series resistor and bulk capacitor
Without a 300-500 ohm data resistor and a ~1000uF capacitor across power, the inrush spike and signal ringing can damage or randomly reset the first pixel. Add both, mounted close to the ring.
Forgetting to tie grounds together
When the ring uses a separate power supply, its ground must still connect to the microcontroller ground. Without a shared ground reference the data signal has no return path and the pixels behave erratically.
NeoPixel Ring 60 datasheet
Official NeoPixel Ring 60 datasheetAdafruit
Popular NeoPixel Ring 60 projects
Audio-reactive VU ring
Feed a microphone or line-level signal into an analog pin and light pixels around the ring in proportion to sound level for a spinning volume meter.
Rainbow and comet animations
Use a NeoPixel library to sweep hue around all 60 pixels or run a fading comet trail, a classic showcase of per-pixel addressing.
Status and notification halo
Mount the ring behind a diffuser as a large indicator that pulses or changes color for timers, weather, or incoming notifications.
More leds & addressable
Build with the NeoPixel Ring 60.
Drop the NeoPixel Ring 60 into a circuit, write firmware, and simulate it in your browser, then deploy to real hardware. All in one editable Tinkered project.