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I purchased a set of 4 NeoPixel ring segments and assembled them into a circle. I am trying to create a circular lamp that will be fitted inside a camper van in the ceiling and driven from a 12V battery.

I would like to add a dimmer switch to the lamp but my understanding is that I need to match the dimmer switch to the type of LED's that I am using.

How could I add a dimmer switch (and possibly a colour changer too) to a NeoPixel ring light?

(Note: the large neopixel ring that I have looks like this: enter image description here

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Neopixels are not like normal LEDs, they require some sort of a computer to send the data to tell them what color and brightness to display.

Typically people do this with a small and cheap computer like an Arduino.

You can also control the NeoPixels using a normal computer and a board like the FadeCandy...

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1689

The FadeCandy connects to the computer over USB and then you run a program on the computer to tell the NeoPixels what color to display.

I have not seen a commercially available, stand alone NeoPixel controller- although it would not be hard to make one.

If you want to control your NeoPixel ring, I think you are going to have to dig in make your own controller!

Here is a very cheap and popular tiny-computer (called the Teensy) that is very popular for driving NeoPixels...

https://www.amazon.com/SparkFun-Teensy-3-1/dp/B00NC42Y64/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=joshcom-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=WAVCBDPYGTR3YIZH&creativeASIN=B00NC42Y64

...but there are plenty of others.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ So no hope for just switching on the LED's with even a normal switch. Which LED ring should I have purchased for a circular light? \$\endgroup\$
    – motionpotion
    Commented Feb 25, 2015 at 20:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ Sorry, but each little NeoPixel LED is really like a little computer and it needs to receive a very special data stream to tell it what color and brightness to be. I have seen LED rings that use normal dim-able LEDs for use on microscopes, but they are very expensive. Get in touch with me directly and I'll send you a little board that will drive yuor NeoPixels... \$\endgroup\$
    – bigjosh
    Commented Feb 25, 2015 at 20:40

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