Flexible 12V LED Strip – 480 LEDs per meter – 1m long – Blue

Here at Adafruit we love discovering new and exotic glowing things. Like moths to the flame, we were intrigued by these ‘chip on board’ ultra-flexible LED Strips with 480 SMT LEDs per meter, soldered side-by-side, and diffused with a silicone epoxy! They look a lot like neon or incandescent tubing or maybe really-nice EL wire, but without the need for expensive transformers, glass tubing, or inert gasses.

Unlike pixel-dot strips, these lights have a continuous, pure light source. Unlike our ‘Neon’ tubing, they’re much thinner and more flexible (but don’t have a chunky diffused look).

They are extremely flexible and bendy. This particular strip features a BLUE non-addressable LED strip with a solid chunk of translucent silicone rubber as a diffuser on top of the LEDs, encased in a sealed silicone tube that can be cut away. They look incredible, are super easy to use, and are a great way to make your projects light up!

The silicone makes for a strong, durable, weather-proof casing. It’s not guaranteed for dunking underwater or long-term outdoor exposure, but it’s durable enough for projects that have to survive the outdoors, like costumes, bike lighting, or festival decorations. Plus, with the adhesive backing, you can stick it where you please.

You’ll get a 1-meter-long strip with 2 wires: black and red. Provide 9V (bright) to 12V (very bright!), and the strip will start to glow. The whole strip draws about 800 milliAmps maximum at 12V. You can cut this strip down if you need to.

Note these are not ‘NeoPixel’ LED strips; you cannot turn on or off individual LEDs. This guide on analog RGB LED strip control will show you how it works – you’ll want a microcontroller with a PWM output, and N-MOSFETs or a ULN2803 to control the power to the entire LED element.

Specifications

• LED Strip Dimensions: 120mm length x 10.5mm width x 4.5mm height