One way to tell by sight is that they do not have any driver chips that you can see on the strip (that would be digital!).ĭigital strips come with RGB LEDs and have a driver chip on the strip that control the LEDs individually.
All the LEDs on the strip will act as one, they are non-addressable. The LEDs that fade and blink together, stay together. For more information on how to power your strip, skip to step 3. All of the segments are wired in parallel, so they get all get the same amount of voltage all the way down the strip, but the current draw adds up depending on the length of the strip.
Usually strips use 30, 32, 60 or 120 LEDs per meter, which will change price and power consumption.įor each segment the LEDs are wired in series, which means the operating voltages are added up, giving the higher voltage needed. The strips shown here are segmented in 5cm and 10cm lengths, each segment containing 3 LEDs. The segments are marked by metal contact pads and sometimes have a scissors icon screen printed right on them (love those!). They are sold on reels and can be cut into small segments.
They are controlled differently, so it's good to know which one you need for your project.Īnalog strips come in mono (one color) or RGB (full color spectrum). There are two basic kinds of LED strips, analog and digital.
