Adafruit Mini 8x8 LED Matrix w/I2C Backpack - Red

What's better than a single LED? Lots of LEDs! A fun way to make a small display is to use an 8x8 matrix or a 4-digit 7-segment display. Matrices like these are 'multiplexed'—to control 64 LEDs, you need 16 pins. That's a lot of pins, and there are driver chips like the MAX7219 that can control a matrix for you, but there's a lot of wiring to set up, and they take up a ton of space.Here at Adafruit, we feel your pain! Wouldn't it be awesome if you could control a matrix without tons of wiring? That's where these adorable LED matrix backpacks come in. We have them in two flavors—a mini 8x8 and a 4-digit 0.56" 7-segment. They work perfectly with the matrices we stock in the Adafruit shop and make adding a bright little display trivial.The matrices use a driver chip that does all the heavy lifting for you. They have a built-in clock, so they multiplex the display. They use constant-current drivers for ultra-bright, consistent color (the images above are photographed at the dimmest setting to avoid overloading our camera!) and 1/16 step display dimming, all via a simple I2C interface.The backpacks come with address-selection jumpers, so you can connect up to four mini 8x8's or eight 7-segments (or a combination, such as four mini 8x8's and four 7-segments, etc.) on a single I2C bus. The product kit comes with a fully tested and assembled LED backpack, an ultra-bright 8x8 red matrix, and a 4-pin header.A bit of soldering is required to attach the matrix onto the backpack, but it's very easy to do and only takes about 5 minutes. Of course, in classic Adafruit fashion, we also have a detailed tutorial showing you how to solder, wire, and control the display. We even wrote a very nice library for the backpacks so you can get running in under half an hour, displaying images on the matrix or numbers on the 7-segment.