16-LED RGBW NeoPixel Ring – Cool White, featuring individually addressable pixels, 32-bit colour control, and bright cool white output. Chainable, 5 V powered, and controlled from a single pin for eye-catching circular lighting effects.
What’s better than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB + White LEDs! This 16 LED RGBW NeoPixel Ring (Cool White) adds a dedicated white LED to every pixel, giving you brighter whites and more flexible lighting effects in a compact circular format.
The ring features 16 ultra-bright, individually addressable NeoPixels arranged in a circle with a 1.75″ (44.5 mm) outer diameter. Each LED contains its own integrated driver, allowing all pixels to be controlled independently using just one microcontroller pin. The rings are fully chainable, so you can connect the data output of one ring to the input of another and control multiple rings from a single pin.
Each NeoPixel provides approximately 18 mA constant current drive, ensuring consistent colour output even if the supply voltage varies. No external resistors are required, keeping designs neat and slim. Power the ring with 5 V DC and it’s ready to use.
Internally, each NeoPixel is split into two parts: the familiar RGB LED and a white LED with yellow phosphor. When unlit, the white element resembles an egg yolk, but once powered it’s extremely bright. Brightness and colour are controlled using 8-bit PWM per channel, giving 32-bit colour control per pixel—ideal for vivid colours and clean, cool white illumination.
NeoPixels use an 800 kHz single-wire protocol, which requires precise timing. The PWM refresh rate is approximately 400 Hz, which works well for most applications but may be noticeable if the LEDs are moving. For projects that require higher PWM rates and smoother motion, DotStars offer 20 kHz PWM, though NeoPixels remain a popular and versatile choice.
Each LED contains an embedded microcontroller and behaves like a shift register, passing data from one pixel to the next. Once colour data is sent, the built-in PWM continues driving the LEDs automatically—no constant data updates required.
Extensive documentation is available, including wiring guides, power usage calculations, and example code. A NeoPixel library with RGBW support is required, as RGB-only libraries will produce incorrect results. The Adafruit NeoPixel library fully supports RGBW devices, and the NeoPixel Überguide provides comprehensive coverage for NeoPixels of all shapes and sizes across a wide range of Arduino-compatible boards.
This product ships as one fully assembled and tested ring with 16 individually addressable RGBW LEDs.
Specifications
Outer diameter: 44.5mm
Inner diameter: 31.75mm
Thickness: 3.25mm
Weight: 4.2g
May ship with either WS2812B or SK6812-based LEDs. They are the same brightness, colour, and protocol
Revision History
As of August 14, 2023 – we've updated this PCB with Adafruit Pinguin to make a lovely and legible silkscreen - you may get the new PCB or the older version with vector fonts - both are identical other than the fancy silkscreen.
Skip to content
