how to tell 6803 from 2801

[Robert]

I've recently purchased a 5m,150 RGB LED, Ribbon Light Strip. My question is,how do you know if you have the 2801 or 6803?


You can cut these strips in 3 node sections. Each section has 3 small chips. there are 2 chips with 131 and 1 chip with 301 on it per 3 node section.


There are 4 wires for the strip,White,Black,Red,and green


Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[David_AVD]

It's written on the chip. The chip also has a different number of legs. I can look up which is which if you like.

 

[fasteddy]

first off would be the dimming ability, the 6803 is 5 bit and the 2801 is 8 bit. So the 6803 will only have 32 dimming steps per colour as apposed to 256 dimming steps.

Also the chips look different, so do some research on both the 6803 and the 2801 IC and see what differences you need to look at.

 

[David_AVD]

Just checked; WS2801 chips are 14 pin and 6803 chips are 16 pin.

 

[Robert]

Thanks for the help. I knew the differences of the chip, just couldn't find any pics. Maybe I have neither on the strip? The chips are small and have solder on the ends,so i cant see pins on the chip.

 

[BrianJ]

sounds more like resistors, maybe you have "dumb" rgb strip?

 

[fasteddy]

Is it 2801 that you have or 2811 because the new batch of 2811 strips are now coming with the IC inside the LED and as so you will only have a couple of resistors

 

[Robert]

Just found a pic of a 2801. You can see the pins on the chip.


These are the ones i got: http://www.amazon.com/Tech%C2%AEWaterproof-Changing-SMD5050-Lighting-16-4ft/dp/B007VDTTJC/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

 

[fasteddy]

This looks like dumb strip, so the whole strip is controlled as one and there would be no IC only 3 resistors and 3 leds per section.

 

[Robert]

It probably is a dumb strip? But,I couldn't pass it up for the price.

 

[David_AVD]

Yep, that's dumb strip for sure. You'll need a DMX DC controller to use with your computer.