Chaining OzzMaker RGB LED panels
The arrow on the back of each LED panel shows the direction the flow of data takes across a chain of panels.
There is no limit to how many you can chain, we have successfully chained 83 panels.
When chaining a large number of panels, you need to be mindful of the power requirements.
The more panels you chain the slower the FPS will be. One panel connected to a Raspberry Pi can run at 454 FPS. With 83 panels, we were able to run at 41 FPS.
Each panel can use up to 800mA when used at maximum brightness and showing all white.
When running animations like the ones shown on this web site, which run at 60% brightness (which is plenty bright!), you can use a good quality 3A power supply and cable to power the Raspberry Pi and about 8 panels.
You will know when you don’t have enough power, either the Raspberry Pi will reboot or the last few panels along the chain will start to flicker.
If you need to provide more power to the panels along the chain, you can use the GND and 5V pads highlighted in red below.
If you need to break the 5V between panels, you can cut the traces between the pads highlighted in green below
Raspberry Pi connectors
We have two types of connectors which are used to connect the LED panels to a Raspberry Pi
- OzzMaker RGB LED Matrix Connector for Raspberry Pi
- OzzMaker RGB LED Matrix Connector for Raspberry Pi with Lipo/Li-Ion support
OzzMaker RGB LED Matrix Connector for Raspberry Pi
This connector sits on top of the Raspberry PI GPIO as shown below.
The connector includes a QWIIC socket for easy access to the I2C pins and we have also broken out the remaining GPIO pins, which can be used with a 2.54mm male header.
OzzMaker RGB LED Matrix Connector for Raspberry Pi with Lipo/Li-Ion support
⚠️ Important: Removing the battery
When disconnecting the battery from the JST connector, use a pair of pliers to gently grip the plastic JST housing on the battery cable and pull it straight out. Avoid pulling on the wires — this can damage the cable or pull the wires out of the connector. JST connectors fit tightly by design, so a firm, controlled pull on the housing is normal and safe.
Soldering panels together
Solder-joinable tabs to create a rigid display. Whether it is one long chain or a large square (64×64), you can use the tabs on the edge of the PCB to solder the panels together.
Line two panels up side by side, match the pads, and flow solder across them to join the panels together — a bit like spot-welding. The result is a single rigid display rather than a loose array of separate boards.
Software
hzeller’s rpi-rgb-led-matrix library is used to drive these panels, the same library used in our examples and demos.