DFRobot
Rainbow LED Ring V3 (Arduino Compatible)
The Rainbow LED Ring V3 features 12 individually addressable SMD RGB LEDs arranged in a ring, each controllable for brightness and colour. It comes with a pr...
The Rainbow LED Ring V3 features 12 individually addressable SMD RGB LEDs arranged in a ring, each controllable for brightness and colour. It comes with a pre-loaded bootloader containing several built-in LED animation scripts, so it works standalone without an external microcontroller.
Built around an ATmega168P, the ring can be programmed via the Arduino IDE (using the LilyPad board profile) through an FTDI breakout board. It supports I2C and serial communication, and multiple rings can be daisy-chained via I2C to create larger LED displays and art installations.
Key Features
- 12 RGB LEDs – Individually addressable SMD LEDs with per-LED brightness and colour control
- Standalone Operation – Pre-loaded animation scripts play without an external MCU
- Arduino Compatible – Program via Arduino IDE with FTDI breakout
- I2C Daisy-Chaining – Link multiple rings together for larger displays
- Two Push Buttons – On-board buttons for mode selection
- Firmware Upgradable – Update via Optiboot bootloader
Specifications
- MCU – ATmega168P
- Bootloader – Optiboot (Diecimila)
- Arduino Profile – LilyPad
- LEDs – 12× SMD RGB
- Interface – Serial, I2C, digital pins
- Supply Voltage – 5 V
- Diameter – 61 mm
- Buttons – 2× push buttons
Package Contents
- 1× Rainbow LED Ring V3
- 5× 90° pin headers
- 2× Straight pin headers
- 1× Jumper wire
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- Bootloader
- Small starter software on a microcontroller that lets new code be uploaded before the main program runs. Knowing how to enter bootloader mode matters when you need to program the board or recover it after a faulty sketch.
- breakout
- A breakout is a small circuit board that makes a tiny or hard-to-solder component easier to connect to with standard pins. It matters because this OLED module can be wired into a microcontroller project without needing to solder directly to the display’s fine contacts.
- Headers
- Rows of metal pins used to plug a module into a breadboard or connect it with jumper wires. Pre-soldered headers make the module easier to use straight away without needing to solder the pins yourself.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- IDE
- Short for Integrated Development Environment, a program used to write, run and manage code. It matters because some learners prefer a traditional coding workspace instead of a guided notebook-style lesson.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode is a small electronic component that lights up when current flows through it in the correct direction. In this kit, LEDs create the flashing effect, so polarity and correct soldering matter for the project to work.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- RGB
- Short for red, green and blue, usually referring to an LED that can mix those three colours. It matters because controlling an RGB LED teaches how separate outputs combine to create different colours.
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Supplier page — dfrobot.com
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Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
