What is it?

A Raspberry Pi Cape "distribution board" and CAT-5/LED strip "header" for controlling and connecting eight DIY WS281x LED icicles (or other props). Each icicle/prop can be individually controlled.

• "Distribution board" 12V input with onboard DC/DC converter provides 20A 5V for powering both LEDs and attached Raspberry Pi
• Two "banks" (GPIO18 and GPIO19) provide a buffered "daisy-chained" WS281x data-stream from one icicle to the next (the data-out at the end of each icicle/prop is returned back to the distribution board, buffered, then daisy-chained out to the next icicle/prop)
• Each "bank" (powering four icicles) fused at 10A
• Connection to each icicle/prop through standard RJ45/CAT-5
• "Header" provides convenient connection and pin-out for the CAT-5 to each LED strip, and splits the data-signal for strips connected back-to-back

Some Assembly Required

• Sold as a single "distribution board" PCB and 9 "headers" (for CAT-5/LED strip connection)
• The RJ45 ports are NOT an ethernet connection--and will damage or destroy anything connected, other than the intended LEDs

Original Version (v2.0)

v2.0 is the "original" version that provides control of eight LED icicles, by daisy-chaining the data-signal from one icicle to the next. Icicles are connected to the main control-board through RJ45/CAT-5.

Next Version (v3.0)

The next version (coming soon) will provide control of six LED icicles, with each output being discrete (thus, no daisy-chaining), and the majority of the components will come pre-SMT assembled. Next version(s) may come in different configuration: one will be backward compatible with the current RJ45/CAT-5 configuration. The other may use a different connection entirely (to reduce overall costs).