32x32 RGB LED Matrix Panel - 4mm Pitch

SKU: ADA607 Brand: Adafruit

Bring a little bit of Times Square into your home with this totally adorable 5 inch square 32 x 32 RGB LED matrix panel. These panels are normally used to make video...

$83.55 AUD, inc GST

$75.95 AUD, exc GST

In stock, ships same business day if ordered before 2PM
Delivered by Thu, 18th of Jul

Quantity Discounts:

6-12 $72.92 (exc GST)
12+ $70.64 (exc GST)

Bring a little bit of Times Square into your home with this totally adorable 5 inch square 32 x 32 RGB LED matrix panel. These panels are normally used to make video walls, here in New York Adafruit see them on the sides of busses and bus stops, to display animations or short video clips. Adafruit thought they looked really cool so they picked up a few boxes of them from a factory. They have 1024 bright RGB LEDs arranged in a 32x32 grid on the front with 4mm grid spacing. On the back there is a PCB with two sets of dual IDC connectors (two input, two output: in theory you can chain these together) and 12 16-bit latches that allow you to drive the display with a 1:16 scan rate.

Of course, Adafruit wouldn't leave you with a datasheet and a "good luck!" Adafruit have tutorials and add-on boards that will make connecting and usage very easy!

Comes with:

Single 32x32 RGB panel
One 2x8 IDC cable
Power cable

RAM & Processor Requirements

Keep in mind that these displays were designed to be driven by FPGAs or other high speed processors: they do not have built in PWM control of any kind. Instead, you're supposed to redraw the screen over and over to 'manually' PWM the whole thing.

You'll need about 1600 bytes of RAM to buffer the 12-bit color image. You cannot use this size panel with an Arduino UNO (ATmega328) or ATmega32u4 - you need a chip with more RAM! These displays are technically 'chainable' - connect one output to the next input - as long as you have the RAM and CPU to handle it

This display does best with a high speed, high RAM microcontroller like a SAMD21, SAMD51, ESP32, etc. 8-bit micros are going to struggle if they work at all. The good news is that the display is pre-white balanced with nice uniformity so if you turn on all the LEDs it's not a particularly tinted white.

Power Requirements

There's a lot of LEDs! You may need up to 4A per panel. We suggest Adafruit's 4A regulated 5V adapter and then connecting a 2.1mm jack. Please check out Adafruit's tutorials for more details!

Connection Requirements

These displays require 13 GPIO pins to control. You may have to use consecutive or special pins depending on the driver firmware. We'll be honest: folks who try to wire directly are usually not successful, its easy to get confused and misconnect. For that reason Adafruit strongly recommend a ready-to-go board or adapter that makes wiring as easy as plugging in the cables and powering with 5V

Adafruit recommend the Matrix Portal ESP32-S3 for a WiFi-enabled powerful plug-and-play board
The original Matrix Portal with SAMD51 is also a great plug-and-play board if you happen to want a Cortex M4 as a main processor (we recommend the S3 version, above, as it is faster and has more memory)
For many Arduino-shaped boards, you may be able to use Adafruit's RGB Matrix Shield (check the product page and tutorial for which Arduino-like boards can be used)
We also have RGB Matrix FeatherWings for many Feather boards (check the product page and tutorial for which Feather boards can be used)
For Raspberry Pi computers, Adafruit's RGB Matrix Bonnet is fully plug-and-play for powerful Linux-controlled displays.

Adafruit have also got Adafruit's great Protomatter library that works in Arduino and CircuitPython for quick usage of many chained matrices.

Please note! These panels are remainder stock from factories that make huge light boards. For that reason, the look and size might vary from batch to batch, even though the basic operation, codebase and tutorial is the same.

Technical Details

Adafruit don't have a spec or datasheet at this time. However, these are the specifications from the factory

Dimensions: 128mm x 128mm x 17mm (5.0" x 5.0" x 0.65")
Panel weight with IDC cables and power cable: 170 g
5V regulated power input, 4A max (all LEDs on)
Compatible with M3 mounting screws
5V data logic level input
2000 mcd LEDs on 4mm pitch
1/16 scan rate
Indoor display, 150 degree visibility
Displays are 'chainable' - connect one output to the next input - but Adafruit's Arduino example code does not support this yet

Adafruit have a full tutorial here!

Revision History:

As of August 20th, 2018 this product is not ROHS compliant.
As of April 16, 2021, Adafruit have updated Adafruit's supplier so these may look a little different. They also no longer come with magnetic feet.

CAD Drawing

Learn

Product Comments

Start the conversation

Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page (no login required).

Products that weigh more than 0.5 KG may cost more than what's shown (for example, test equipment, machines, >500mL liquids, etc).

We deliver Australia-wide with these options (depends on the final destination - you can get a quote on the view cart page):

$3+ for Stamped Mail (typically 10+ business days, not tracked, only available on selected small items)
$6+ for Standard Post (typically 6+ business days, tracked)
$10+ for Express Post (typically 2+ business days, tracked)
Pickup - Free! Only available to customers who live in the Newcastle region (must order online and only pickup after we email to notify you the order is ready). Orders placed after 2PM may not be ready until the following business day.

Non-metro addresses in WA, NT, SA & TAS can take 2+ days in addition to the above information.

Some batteries (such as LiPo) can't be shipped by Air. During checkout, Express Post and International Methods will not be an option if you have that type of battery in your shopping cart.

International Orders - the following rates are for New Zealand and will vary for other countries:

$11+ for Pack and Track (3+ days, tracked)
$16+ for Express International (2-5 days, tracked)

If you order lots of gear, the postage amount will increase based on the weight of your order.

Our physical address (here's a PDF which includes other key business details):

Unit 18, 132 Garden Grove Parade
Adamstown
NSW, 2289
Australia

Take a look at our customer service page if you have other questions such as "do we do purchase orders" (yes!) or "are prices GST inclusive" (yes they are!). We're here to help - get in touch with us to talk shop.

Have a product question? We're here to help!