

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' - so to control all the seven-segment LEDs you need 14 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! After all, 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!), 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 bit of soldering is required to attach the matrix onto the backpack but its 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. If you've been eyeing matrix displays but hesitated because of the complexity, his is the solution you've been looking for!
This board/chip uses I2C 7-bit address between 0x70-0x77, selectable with jumpers
Data sheet
Manufacturer BTC Korporacja sp. z o. o. Lwowska 5 05-120 Legionowo Poland sprzedaz@kamami.pl 22 767 36 20
Responsible person BTC Korporacja sp. z o. o. Lwowska 5 05-120 Legionowo Poland sprzedaz@kamami.pl 22 767 36 20
7-segment LED display, 1 13.20mm digit, green (575nm), 8mcd / seg (10mA), common anode, Pb-free. LED1-AS-B-05211BG
No product available!
4-digit 7-segment display with MAX7219 driver chip. Adafruit 1269
Module with 4-digit 7-segment display. The board is equipped with a TM1637 driver and communicates via a digital interface
7-segment LED display, 1 digit 20.40mm, green color (570nm), 15 mcd (10mA), common anode, Pb-free. LED1-AS-B-08011BMG
Module with 4-digit 7-segment LED display. The board is equipped with a TM1637 driver and communicates via a digital interface
8x8 matrix or a 4-digit 7-segment display. Matrices like these are \'multiplexed\' - so to control all the seven-segment LEDs you need 14 pins. Adafruit 878
4-digit 7-segment 0.56 "LED display. Built-in HT16K33 controller allowing communication via I2C bus. Equipped with STEMMA QT connector. Adafruit 5604
Candy-bar sized 4-digit seven-segment bright crisp display good for adding numeric output. Besides the four 7-segments there is a top right dot (useful as a degrees symbol) and two sets of colon-dots (for time-based projects). Adafruit 1264
7-segment LED display, 1 digit 20.40mm, two dots, red (640nm), 6000ucd (10mA), common anode, Pb-free. LED1-AS-B-08012BS
Module with 8-digit 7-segment LED display. The board is equipped with a 74HC595 driver and communicates via a digital interface
4-digit 7-segment 0.56 "LED display. Built-in HT16K33 controller allowing communication via I2C bus. Equipped with STEMMA QT connector. Adafruit 5599
7-segment LED display with four 0.56” high digits. In red. Q-5641ASK11
Module with a 4-element 14-segment display. The board is equipped with a Qwiic connector and communicates via the I2C interface. SparkFun COM-16918
Module with a 4-element 14-segment display. The board is equipped with a Qwiic connector and communicates via the I2C interface. SparkFun COM-16916
7-segment LED display, 1 number 14,20mm, green color (470nm), 6000 ucd (10mA), common anode, Pb-free. LED1-AS-B-05613BB
No product available!
Module with 4-digit 7-segment LED display. The board is equipped with a TM1637 driver and communicates via a digital interface
8x8 matrix or a 4-digit 7-segment display. Matrices like these are 'multiplexed' - so to control all the seven-segment LEDs you need 14 pins. Adafruit 880