In case anyone is looking for smaller LEDs, check out the SK6812mini.

In case anyone is looking for smaller LEDs, check out the SK6812mini. They’re a WS2812 compatible RGB chip in a slightly smaller 3537 package. So far they seem pretty nice, they have the same 1.2KHz refresh rate that the regular SK6812 chip has, and seem to work fine with FastLED (just as a WS2812- I haven’t tried out the SK6812 profile yet).

Should be useful for builds where space is a major constraint, though the drawback is that the power capacity of the strip is lower. They should be available now or soon from the usual suspects. Data sheet is here:

Ah! Nifty.

Where are you finding them for sale on-line and how are the prices compared to the 10mm 5050 strips?

5050 is 5mm x 5mm

@Tomasz_M
The strips are usually 10mm wide

Yeah, I was referring to the widths noted in the image above: the ‘normal’ 5050-based strip is marked as 10mm wide.

@Mark_Kriegsman
We got them direct from a supplier (I’m living in China), their English website is: http://www.pixel-leds.com/

I ordered a bunch to sell through our US store as well.

Oh- prices are about the same, probably a small premium since they were just released.

Cool. But I always wonder… Do they really need to print the labels on the face of these strips? They could look cleaner without all that…

They don’t need to have the labels- the strip we designed for the BlinkyTape doesn’t have any writing on the top surface. I think the largest volume customers of this strip don’t care much about the appearance because they are being used for architectural lighting where the LED strip isn’t exposed directly.

Here’s a link to our presale site, if it’s not kosher feel free to delete it :slight_smile:

Thanks, that’s actually great. I note you have 1m and 2m lengths there. Are you going to make anything longer available? (Do you know if they’re making 4m / 5m spools? I presume yes…)

Yeah- they are also available in 4 and 5m spools. We weren’t sure how great the longer lengths would be, since there is so much less copper on the thin strips. The 2m versions show consistent whites from end-to-end at 1/3 brightness (need to check it at full power!), but the ends seems to flicker a little bit more. Of course a longer reel would be good for cutting into smaller pieces, or for applications where not all the lights need to be on at the same time.

Thanks for info and for sharing it all!

I just purchased 10m from AliExpress for $49, about what I would pay for 5 m of the 5050s

@Roger_Kolasinski - could you share a link to what you bought?

I was a little off on the final price $59… But still only $10 mire than I pay for 5m

SK6812 BLACK 5050 LED bead; individually addressable pixel strip;BLACK PCB;30 leds/m ;DC5V input; IP30 NON-waterproof;5M long;
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/SK6812-BLACK-5050-LED-bead-individually-addressable-pixel-strip-BLACK-PCB-30-leds-m-DC5V-input/32505624305.html

@Roger_Kolasinski Those look like 30px/m 5050’s on 10mm wide strip.

I’ve been playing with APA102’s in this 3.5mm size. Good stuff.

Agh. I haven’t tried apa102s yet

Do these come in APA102 variety and in the 144ppm?? I would order loads if that was on offer

@Garrett_Mace Where did you find APA102’s in 3.5mm? My life is 37% better since moving to APA’s…