ws2813 addressable led strip

This post is about the WS2813 LED strip, which is an addressable and breakpoint continue RGB LED strip. The information in this post also works with other similar LED strips, such as strips of the WS28XX family, Neopixel strip and others.

Introducing the WS2813 LED Strip

The WS2813 addressable LED strip comes in several varieties that differ in size, sealant or LED density. Choose the one that best fits your purposes.

Where to buy?

You can buy one here on WITOP.

In the following figure you can see my WS2813 LED strip. It is 5 meters long and the LEDs are enclosed in a weatherproof silicone. So, they can be left outside at the rain and dust without any problem.

In my opinion, this is the coolest type of LED strips. You can control the brightness and the color of each LED individually, which allows you to produce amazing and complex effects in a simple way.

This LED strip is made by WS2813 LEDs wired in series. These LEDs have a IC built right into the LED. This allows a communication via a one-wire interface. This means that you can control lots of LEDs using just one digital pin of your Arduino.

In the following figure you can see the chip inside the LED. The LED is an RGB LED and works like so.

This kind of strips are very flexible and can be cut to any length you want. As you can see, the strip is divided into segments, and each segment contains one RGB LED.
You can adjust its size by cutting the strip with a scissors in the right place (the proper places to cut the strip are marked).
These strips come with connectors at each end . I’ve decided to cut the connectors, and solder header pins. It’s more handy if you want to connect the strip to an Arduino or to a breadboard.

Powering the WS2813 LED Strip

The LED strip should be powered using a 5V power source. At 5V, each LED draws about 50mA, when set to its full brightness. This means that for every 30 LEDs, the strip may draw as much as 1.5 A. Make sure you select a power source that matches the strip’s needs.

ws2813 led chip like this:

If you end up using an external supply, don’t forget to connect the power supply ground to the Arduino ground.

The image is mainly about the difference between the work principle of WS2812 and WS2813 LED strip. The most obvious difference is: when the led one of the WS2812 was broken, it will affect the other led working, but the WS2813 will not appear above situation.

Generally speaking, WS2812 has two versions: WS2812 and WS2812B. WS2812B is an upgraded version of WS2812. They are an integrating control circuit and the intelligent external control LED source of the light-emitting circuit, which looks similar to the 5050LED. It internal included intelligent digital port data latch and signal reshaping amplification drive circuit. Also include a precision internal oscillator and a 12V voltage programmable constant current control part, effectively ensuring the pixel point light color height consistent. They can be applied to the full-color module, full color soft lights a lamp strip, led decorative lighting and the indoor/outdoor led video irregular screen. The features and benefits between WS2812 and WS2812B is the WS2812B has intelligent reverse connect protection and the power supply reverse connection does not damage the IC.

Now WS2813/cs2803 LED come out ,you can think it is ws2812b updated version , WS2813 LED can use same controller as WS2812B LED , WS2813 led have 2 data signal ,so when you use those led chip to make led strip , one led broken will not affect another led unless two consecutive led is broken , so WS2813 led make digital led project is more reliable than before .The capatior and die is packaged in 5050 RGB LED chip , then it will not need another capatior to make led strip again.

But for the cs2803 addressable led strip,the capatior is outside and the die is packaged in 5050 RGB LED chip,and same function with ws2813.and the price will be more reasonable than ws2813 led strip.

WS2812B only one data signal when one led broken may affect another led working . Only die is pacakge in 5050 RGB LED Chip

In summary Compare WS2812B LED chip,

Common:

1) The control circuit and the LED share the only power source.

2) Built-in electric reset circuit and brown-out reset circuit.

3) The color of the light was highly consistent, cost-efficient.

4) WS2813 LED can use same controller as WS2812B LED.

5) When the refresh rate is 30fps, cascade numbers are not less than1024 points.

6) Send data at speeds of 800Kbps and so on.

Difference:

1) WS2812 only one data signal when one led broken may affect the other led working, which only die is package in 5050 RGB LED Chip. But WS2813 led have 2 data signal, any pixel’s failure won’t affect signal transfer and its total emitting effect, unless two consecutive adjacent LED are Broken. WS2813 adopted the upgraded chips led so WS2813 led make digital led project is more reliable than before.

2) Integrated circuit chips enable the circuit control simpler, neater and more reliable without any extra components.

3) 250us or more of reset time, it won’t cause wrong reset while interruption, it work on the lower frequency and inexpensive MCU.

4) Refresh Frequency updates reach to 2 KHz, Low Frame Frequency and no Flicker appear in HD Video Camera, improving excellent display effect.

WS2813 /cs2803 LED have the following advantage:

Any pixel’s failure won’t affect signal transfer and its total emitting effct. Unless two consecutive adjacent LED is Broken l

Integrated capatior and resistance enable the circuit of pcb is more simple ,easy to make .

250us or more of reset time, it won’t cause wrong reset while interruption, it work on the lower frequency and inexpensive MCU. l Refresh Frequency updates reach to 2KHz, Low Fram Frequency and no Flicker appear in HD Video Camera, improving excellent display effect.

Compare with the former, WS2813 both have some places similar to WS2812, and have its own unique features：

Here is their PIN configuration and physical map:

WS2813:

ws2813-led-chip