List of supported panels and distributors?

Hello PixelMatrix Community,

I have scoured this forum, the shield wiki page, and the FastLED user group and have not found a listing of supported panels and where to order other than Adafruit. Can anyone share their sources and success in securing panels outside of Adafruit? I figure a listing of panels that work and do not work would be a useful resource for this community.

Looking forward to getting some panels and playing with this.

Note: I have the SmartLED Shield V4 and will use a Teensy 3.5 or 3.6.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi Matt, great idea!

Just a caution: sometimes vendors, even otherwise reputable ones, will revise their products and a panel that worked before, or mechanically fit before, will have been revised and won’t work. Maybe there are some vendors that don’t do that, but in my experience it can happen and it’s good to double check with the vendor before ordering.

Here’s an easy link to start. SparkFun is now selling the SmartLED Shield and they have a few panels that are compatible. The panels are listed under their guide, search for “RGB LED Matrix Panel” under “Required Materials”

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/getting-started-with-the-smartled-shield-for-teensy#hardware-assembly

Thank you @Louis for your quick reply. I figured that was the reason a comprehensive list of displays was not readily available. I have been working in addressable LEDs for years and learned along time ago that it is best to cultivate a relationship with a seller no matter how small the order. We can all learn from one another.

Hey Matt, I really like your work! (Just realized who you were when you mentioned years of addressable LED work). I was trying to check out “Solar Hibernation” in person before I left NYC for Cambridge UK, but ran out of time.

I placed a few large orders from MDS Display Limited, but the last time was years ago for the SmartMatrix Display. I wasn’t using Aliexpress, but contacting via email and visited their factory once. They messed up big time once shipping a large order without adequate (or basically any) padding, but made it right. They’d be my first choice if I needed to place another large order, but like I said, it’s been years.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/317449?spm=2114.10010108.100005.1.311b455aLnAyom

@Louis thanks so much for the kind words and pointing me in the right direction. Looking forward to attempting a sculptural use for these panels. Happy to share progress as things come together.

Cheers,
matt