Adafruit Mini 8x8 LED Matrix w/I2C Backpack - Ultra Bright White

SKU: ADA1080 Brand: Adafruit
What's better than a single LED? Lots of LEDs! A fun way to make a small display is to use an 8x8 matrix or a 4-digit 7-segment display. Matrices like these are...
$27.20 AUD, inc GST
$24.73 AUD, exc GST

In stock, ships same business day if ordered before 2PM
Delivered by Tue, 2nd of Apr

Quantity Discounts:

  • 10-25 $23.74 (exc GST)
  • 25+ $23.00 (exc GST)
- +

2 from local stock, 1 supplier stock; your order will dispatch between Dec 1 to Dec 10. And yes, stock levels and lead times are accurate!

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  • $10+ Express (2+ days*, tracked)
  • FREE Pickup (Newcastle only - must order online*)

Shipping costs may increase for heavy products or large orders.

Exact shipping can be calculated on the view cart page.

*Conditions apply, see shipping tab below.

What's better than a single LED? Lots of LEDs! A fun way to make a small display is to use an 8x8 matrix or a 4-digit 7-segment display. Matrices like these are 'multiplexed' - so to control 64 LEDs you need 16 pins. That's a lot of pins, and there are driver chips like the MAX7219 that can control a matrix for you but there's a lot of wiring to set up and they take up a ton of space. Here at Adafruit Adafruit feel your pain! After all, wouldn't it be awesome if you could control a matrix without tons of wiring? That's where these adorable LED matrix backpacks come in. Adafruit have them in two flavors - a mini 8x8 and a 4-digit 0.56" 7-segment. They work perfectly with the matrices Adafruit stock in the Adafruit shop and make adding a bright little display trivial.

The matrices use a driver chip that does all the heavy lifting for you: They have a built in clock so they multiplex the display. They use constant-current drivers for ultra-bright, consistent color (the images above are photographed at the dimmest setting to avoid overloading Adafruit's camera!), 1/16 step display dimming, all via a simple I2C interface. The backpacks come with address-selection jumpers so you can connect up to four mini 8x8's or eight 7-segments (or a combination, such as four mini 8x8's and four 7-segments, etc) on a single I2C bus.

The product kit comes with:

A bit of soldering is required to attach the matrix onto the backpack but its very easy to do and only takes about 5 minutes.

Of course, in classic Adafruit fashion, We also have a detailed tutorial showing you how to solder, wire and control the display. They even wrote a very nice library for the backpacks so you can get running in under half an hour, displaying images on the matrix or numbers on the 7-segment. If you've been eyeing matrix displays but hesitated because of the complexity, his is the solution you've been looking for!

Technical Details

This board/chip uses I2C 7-bit addresses between 0x70-0x73, selectable with jumpers.

Backpack Dimensions:

  • 20mm x 28mm x 4mm / 0.8" x 1.1" x 0.2"
  • Mounting Holes: 12mm x 22mm / 0.5" x 0.9"

Datasheets, schematic, EagleCAD PCB files, and Fritzing available in the product tutorial

This product is listed in:

Components & Parts>LEDs>Matrix

Product Comments

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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)
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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.

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