NeoPixels are magical things. It couldn’t be simpler…a single data wire from the microcontroller, linking pixel to pixel for as long as you need. When NeoPixel projects get really large though…hundreds of pixels or more…this simplicity starts to become a bottleneck…

• The standard NeoPixel data rate is a fixed 800 KHz, or 30 microseconds per 24-bit pixel. As projects scale into the hundreds or thousands of pixels, the time spent issuing all that data reaches progressively larger fractions of a second; animation becomes less smooth.
• While this data is being transmitted, all other processing on the microcontroller stops, including interrupts which keep track of time. This is why the millis() and micros() functions gradually drift in NeoPixel projects.

NeoPXL8 (pronounced “NeoPixelate”) is a hardware-and-software combo that works around these limitations to bring buttery smooth animation to large-scale NeoPixel projects.

NeoPXL8 splits the problem 8 ways: rather than one long strand of, say, 1,000 pixels*, eight strands of 125 pixels can operate concurrently in perfect sync. It’s like shoving two whole Kit Kats® in your mouth “the illegal way” instead of nibbling one bar at a time. Data transmission times are greatly reduced and animation can remain smooth.

* Hypothetical situation, not an imposed limit. Depends on available RAM, but most “M0” (SAMD21) boards might handle upwards of 2,500 pixels, with “M4” (SAMD51) and RP2040 potentially up to 15,000…but in reality, you’ll want some fraction of that, so your code has time to compute those pixels.

Additionally, NeoPXL8 uses direct memory access (DMA) to allow the CPU to continue with other tasks while these data transfers take place in the background. Your code could start processing the next frame of animation, or load data from an SD card. All interrupts and timekeeping functions operate normally, no drift.

The NeoPXL8 code relies on features unique to the SAMD21, SAMD51, RP2040 and ESP32-S3 microcontrollers — it should work on any Adafruit “M0” or “M4” board, the Arduino Zero, most RP2040 boards like the Raspberry Pi Pico, and most ESP32-S3 boards (but not S2, C3 or original ESP32). It will not work on other architectures.

The NeoPXL8 FeatherWing adapters provide 8 NeoPixel outputs with 5-Volt logic level shifting, and it stacks directly atop any of our M0 or M4 Feather boards — Basic Proto, Adalogger and so forth. (Note there are different versions for Feather M0 vs M4, they are not interchangeable!) With a minor change, the M4 version can work with the Feather RP2040. Either one works with Feather ESP32-S3.

The NeoPXL8 Friend breakout board provides similar functionality in a non-FeatherWing format, making it handy for use with boards like the Metro Express or ItsyBitsy M0 Express (and their respective M4 variants) or the Raspberry Pi Pico.