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ElectroMage

3,487 orders since Aug 01, 2017

Vancouver, WA, United States of America

Ships from United States of America.

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Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

5
91 4
24 3
1 2
1 1
0

Average Ratings

Product: (4.94)

Documentation: (4.74)

Shipping: (4.92)

Communication: (4.92)

All Reviews

John | Jan. 27, 2020

This is a pretty cool unit

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Having used many Arduino types of modules, I think this PixelBlaze might be my favorite.

It has saved me tons of time while lighting up my WS2812 strips.

Cody | Jan. 15, 2020

I love Pixelblaze

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

It is very easy to use and very intuitive interface that allows me to control the patterns in my LED project with more ease than say, an arduino. The fact that the code updates instantly as you write or change it is very helpful in learning how to write code for led strips. It's also nice to be able to mess around with the code or change the pattern from my cell phone or tablet rather than having to carry around a laptop. Plus it's wireless! Which saved me so much hassle of having to create a usb port in my project so I could update codes or switch out patterns. The forums on the ElectroMage website are super helpful and Ben himself is usually able to answer any questions, help troubleshoot, and he even takes suggestions for added features in future updates.
I give it a 9/10 and I'm looking forward to future updates which will essentially make it perfect.

Steve | Dec. 27, 2019

Amazing product, quick to setup, great flexibility

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I've been playing with LED systems for a while now and i'm really excited i came across the PixelBlaze V2. Super simple to connect and get up, and great flexibility in the system. There's a lot of great examples already loaded to give you ideas for programming your next animation. Great support through forums and examples.

The only "heads up" that i came across, when accessing the system through my phone, i needed to turn off my data in order to force the wifi connection to try and load the home page.

Super impressed, excited to use this more!

Claire | Dec. 20, 2019

Everything I've ever hoped for.

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

It works, it's fantastic, the interface makes me want to play with it all day and I'm not even a maths kinda person. Also I've sold stuff I've made for a living for 10+ years and I believe the price is extreeeemely rad and fair. I'm super stoked all around. LEDs are a love language of mine and I've been wanting a controller just like this to come along and make my life better for a really long time. Thank you, very very very much.

John | Dec. 18, 2019

Teriffic device

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

After years of driving LED strips with Arduino or cheap Amazon color wheel kind of controls, I can definitely say this is THE solution. Not only is the setup easy, but the web based interface is responsive and fast. I couldn't be happier!

Barry | Dec. 11, 2019

Great product & seller

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I purchased 2 of everything (Pixelblaze, Sensor Expansion, 8 channel driver), so I could experiment with all the options including Firestorm for network synchronization and would definitely be buying more of the Serial to 8 channel drivers to max them out for special displays. The whole product is fabulous. Very fast international delivery

Barry | Dec. 11, 2019

Great product & seller

For 4 meter spool of 60/m SK6812 (WS2812) RGBW LEDs

Great strip of lights to team up with the Pixelblaze V2. International delivery was very fast, well packaged

Barry | Dec. 11, 2019

Great product & seller

For 5 m (waterproof) of 30/m SK9822 (APA102) RGB LEDs

Great strip of lights to team up with the Pixelblaze V2. International delivery was very fast, well packaged

Lars | Nov. 29, 2019

Great Controller - even for LED Panels

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I am no electronic expert and this is my first LED project. Having some soldering experience I wanted to built a Eurorack case for modular synthesizer with lightning. Pixelblaze seemed perfect for this - and it is!
Just plugged the Panels in, connected to power, chose a sound expression and: wow!
Also Ben answered my question directly.
Just a hint: 512 LEDs need a lot more power than USB provides, so I bought a 150 Watt power supply. Calculate is wisely ...

Alexander | Nov. 22, 2019

Addressable LEDs made easy!

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

In the past I used my own NodeMCU systems to drive addressable LEDs like the WS2812. After getting tired of tracking down subtle errors and memory leaks, I decided to go with something that works out of the box so I could spend more time developing effects. The PixelBlaze was the perfect solution!

With its wifi captured-portal setup, it was a breeze to get on my network. Once connected, I can log in using my browser to edit any of the included effects (or make my own) and see the results in real time! In my mind this is THE ideal controller for driving these strips.

The fit and finish of the PixelBlaze is good; excellent solder work. Keep in mind you will need to solder on the screw terminals if you choose to use those; they're through-hole so even someone who is weak at soldering like myself should be able to do it no problem. If you have never soldered before, grab an iron, some lead-free solder, and a youtube video and you'll be ready to get to work with your pixel blaze in no time.

I even reached out to Ben with some technical questions and got some great advice on my desired use case for the PixelBlaze. Next year I will be purchasing several more of these to run different LED strips throughout my home.

Florian | Nov. 20, 2019

\o/ yay

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

This is a blast.
I built a hypercube (half-transparent glass + ledstrips) and started with my usual arduino approach.
It worked out alright, but once i started to add sound recognition i remembered that i always wanted to check out that pixelblaze board.
2 weeks later i got it and the matching sensor board in the mail (i am on the other end of the globe).
The community is great, the author responsive, the webinterface not only well designed but actually incredible.

I do a lot of blinkenthings myself and finished various projects with the ESP8266 in the past.
I had no idea that it can be so responsive.
That webinterface with live coding and websockets for instant display is so way out, please check it out.
Look at a youtube video for the webinterface, i promise you wont be disappointed.

The only "weird" thing is the logic that the scripts always calls a render(index) function for each pixel and you need to adapt to that logic to generate patterns.
But once you wrap your head around that concept it is AMAZING!
Another thing I don't like about the project is that it is closed source, but i understand why the author chose not to release the source (yet).
I sure hope he will release it in the future as this is a true treasure chest, a work of art.

The Sensorboard features its own MCU that does all the processing of the accelerometer, 5 analog inputs, a light sensor, a line in port and an on-board microphone.
It sends 16bit values over serial at 115200 baud constantly and is fast and super useful.
I will definitely use this in other projects.


6 out of 5 stars.
Will buy again.

Florian | Nov. 20, 2019

I love it!

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze Sensor Expansion Board

This board is really cool.
The features are as described.
It talks at 115200 baud over serial and has its own dedicated MCU to do all the processing of the accelerometer, microphone and 5 analog inputs.
It can be used with anything that speaks serial.

Took me some time to find the documentation, but it is pretty straight forward and well integrated with the pixelblaze board that i used it for.

Only drawback is the price, i think it is too expensive.
On the other hand high quality components are used and i bet the development took a lot of time.
Will buy again if the budget allows it.

Pete | Nov. 14, 2019

Simple to use and quite powerful

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Setup couldn't be simpler. Connect to the wireless network it creates and then tell it which wireless network to connect to and the password. Then connect to the device on my network. The web page it provides tells you all about programming it. I was able to add a motion detector and light sensor with no problems and make a program which responds to motion and lighting conditions.

Gavin | Nov. 1, 2019

Excellent

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Overall it's a great package. Not the sellers fault but I got stung for postage so this reasonably priced item ended up being fairly expensive (I'm in UK).

Brandon | Oct. 20, 2019

Cant recommend enough, whether youre an LED expert or novice

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Just to clarify, these might not satisfy the most expert-y of experts. Those folks will probably be willing to spend hundreds of hours building their own custom controllers and writing all the software themselves.

For anyone who doesn't want to do that, these are fantastic. There are built in patterns that are great. I've had great success with just deleting the patterns that didn't look good on my project. Now I've got my project mapped correctly and am building my own patterns and its even more incredible.

The ability to get up and running within a few minutes is just great. Recently I was building an LED project for an art festival and working on wiring everything together. I was actually using one of these just to test the connections on LED strips since its so easy to hook up. I planned to eventually switch it out for a PixelPusher so I could do some "deeper" custom patterns, but it looked so good that I just left this in and it turned out amazing. Very well received.

There is a piece of software called PixelBlaze Firestorm that allows synchronizing multiple PixelBlazes together so we'll be adding some more to our art pieces in the future to get that awesome synchronized effect.

The developer is very friendly and has helped me with various questions I've had, the support for the product really couldn't be better.

Anyway the price is great, get one (or a few) to have laying around to throw into your projects. It's a ton of fun just playing around with them and making them do cool stuff.

One more thing, I always wire it to 'back feed' the power from my LEDs, meaning I connect the 5v PSU directly to the LEDs (typically every ~50 LEDs), then have the PixelBlaze w/ a 4 pin connector (or 3 pin if your LEDs are 3 pin) plugged into those LEDs. That way you don't need to worry about how much power you're running through the PixelBlaze, or having 2 power supplies and grounding issues, or any of that. That's the easiest way, then I use a piece of double sided tape to stick it right into the inside of my project (it's super tiny). I've also got a tiny travel router that has the PixelBlaze assigned to a static IP address so when I plug in the power, the WiFi comes on, the PixelBlaze connects, and I can control it from my phone regardless of where the project is located. PixelBlaze works perfectly for this setup.

Keith | Sept. 11, 2019

First time pixel blazing

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I was looking for an easy to set up wireless control led and this fit the bill. A few solder points and I was ready to play around. Trying to teach myself some basic electronics and wiring. This is a good place to start. Connected to the WiFi Pixelblaze easily and the patterns that are preloaded are fun to play around with. The fact that you can copy patterns to modify, and you could do it with just your phone is amazing. I can physically build anything with plans but when it comes to coding I am lost, so to have that step temporarily removed from my hands is huge. Learning to code is next. If you have any suggestions of where to start to learn coding it would be appreciated.

Adam | Sept. 11, 2019

Great LED Controller

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Love the Pixelblaze controller. This last order was the 3rd one I have purchased so far. They have been perfect for my projects and I know I will be purchasing more in the future. Very easy to wire up and get the program running. Ben is super helpful when you have any questions as well. Thanks for making a great product!

Brett | Sept. 5, 2019

fun

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

So I got these for burning man because I was low on time, they shipped fast, I ordered with lights option which was not super clear as to which lights I was getting. The default set of light patterns it came with was cool, I made a few edits and had fun. The set up and instructions didn't get far, nothing in the box was helpful, didn't find any youtube videos for it. Luckily my buddy was able to face time me and help with a few things. Well worth it if you are in a rush.

Chris | Aug. 21, 2019

Best of the best

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze Sensor Expansion Board

They are selling a great product, provide excellent responsive support, and are friendly overall. I can't think of anything they could do better. On a recent order, my delivery was stolen from my mailbox before I could get it. I was sent a replacement right away at no cost. I've purchased three of their boards now over time.

Andy | Aug. 6, 2019

Fantastic

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Great communication with ElectroMage before and throughout the transaction. Prompt shipping and better than expected documentation for what is a really great product. Totally satisfied.

Jon | July 29, 2019

Simple, convenient, and great fun. This thing rocks!

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I found this while shopping for parts to build my own lighting controller. The Pixelblaze looked fun, and was inexpensive to experiment with, so I ordered one. And I'm glad I did. It's a nifty little device! Saved me a ton of time, plus the built-in integer Javascript-ish interpreter makes it really fun and easy to program patterns and animations.

My Pixelblaze is controlling a 32 foot strip of WS2812s with 600 LEDs total. It's fast and smooth. I'm integrating it with the rest of my living room lighting system -- using the Pixelblaze's websocket API, I've written a device driver for the Hubitat Elevation, and a Hubitat app which allows me to sync color changes with the rest of my Hue lights, and do various other cool home automation things. (It should be an easy port to the Samsung SmartThings hub too - I'll put it up on github later this week.)

Ben! This is a clever and convenient device! Thank you for making it!

Shawn | June 25, 2019

The perfect controller!

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Ben is awesome, these chips are perfect. Happy to have been connected to his work, and we will continue to put in regular orders! Thanks for making it easy.

Pierre | June 2, 2019

Easy to generate interesting effects on LED matricies

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I bought this controller to use as a quick way to test custom Neopixel based (SK6812mini and SK6805) LED matrix PCBs that I have been developing over the past year. The board is very easy to use thanks in large part to the web based interface which is well designed and very intuitive to use. Very happy with purchase and would happily recommend to anyone looking for an easy to use LED controller.

Tim | Jan. 30, 2019

I love it

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Very quick shipment. I love the board, powered it up, configured it, and off to displaying some neat stuff with my 2812s. Impressed with how small it is, how the sensor board interfaces with it, and the possibilities for interfacing to the board. Great job.

Brennan | Jan. 29, 2019

AWESOME!!

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Ben is VERY helpful and the pixel blaze is everything I ever wanted in life!!1!!! Still need to try out firestorm to control a number of these over the network!

Kenneth | Jan. 21, 2019

PixelBlaze V2 - Best Bang for the Buck

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Excellent product and most fun you will have immediately out of the box. Really look forward to see this continue to develop. Especially syncing several modules to a central server.

Eric | Jan. 21, 2019

Great product, great fun.

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Very well thought out product, with great FW. Sensor board is a nice addition.
Cherry on the cake would be a wrapper (Node-red, python, bash e.g.) to help using the API or a forum to ask for help.
But the cake is already good as it is :-)

Alex | Jan. 3, 2019

Pretty good

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Another reviewer mentioned that the markup on the hardware is a bit steep, which is true. If you're buying this product, you're buying it for the closed-source code flashed onto the chip and the documentation --both of which are fantastic. Knocking a star because the post for clamping wires was missing its screw, and the TX / RX designations on the PCB were wrong (should be reversed)
Avatar
Response from ElectroMage | Jan. 5, 2019
Hi Alex,
Sorry about the screw terminal! I'd be happy to ship you a replacement (shoot me an email with your order #). Glad you are enjoying Pixelblaze otherwise, and thanks for the feedback.
- Ben

Glenn | Dec. 28, 2018

Spectacular light show as soon as I powered it up !

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

Using Dot Star LED's, the Pixelblaze performed pefectly. Spectacular, colorful effects ! Hope to purchase the sensor board in the near future.

Alex | Dec. 18, 2018

Well worth the cost, even if you're hesitant.

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

It's almost unfortunate that the hardware of the Pixelblaze is so cheap and simple. Especially for "maker hardware" where you're sort of expecting to do a bunch of work, the "markup" seems rough. But 99% of the awesomeness is in the firmware, and BOY is it worth $30. The system makes it so easy to build patterns and even simple games. It took me about 8 hours to go from concept to polished game for https://www.instructables.com/id/W6-a-Drinking-Game-for-the-Indecisive/. That may seem like a lot, but about half way in, the only thing I could thing was "man, it would have sucked to have this much work, and still be responsible for the supporting framework too."

Pixelblaze offers a surprising amount of flexibility with respect to input, but it is, still, fundamentally more limited than rolling your own code with a library like fastled. Even if it's too limiting for your application, though, I'd suggest starting with a Pixelblaze prototype anyway, since it makes iterating on the details of the animation so much faster and easier.

Dave | Nov. 18, 2018

Great product and easy to setup and use

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I had cobbled together my own half baked solution for driving ~500 APA102 LEDs, but never really had the time to make it as flexible as I wanted. The Pixelblaze is amazing! Plugged it in, went through the web setup, and it immediately started driving my LEDs. The ability to write custom patterns in the web browser and see them work instantly is a game changer.

Daniel | Oct. 25, 2018

Fantastic device for light painting.

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

The documentation, features and the compact nature of this board makes it fantastic for all sorts of uses. I primarily bought it to make a light painting setup, within 10 minutes of mounting, setting up the AP and connecting the wiring it was good to go. The editor is fantastic along with the documentation and the pixel mapping feature even makes it possible to adapt it to NeoPixel ring setups. I love this thing and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to have endless fun with a wide array of lighting designs.

David | Sept. 24, 2018

Excellent Product

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

This is quite an amazing product which I found only AFTER developing my own DotStar lighting system on an Arduino MEGA. The Pixelblaze is much more powerful, the patterns incredible and you’ll save a LOT of time not having to constantly connect USB cables after each compile. You’ll need a bit of electronics knowledge and a fine-tip soldering iron to get up-n-running, but it’s minimal and worth the effort. Get one of these!!!

Jason | Sept. 13, 2018

Fantastic board, just what I needed...

For ElectroMage Pixelblaze V2+ WiFi LED Controller

I've been playing with LED boards for a long time...Flora, all the arduino family, various RPi versions doing multiple displays. But this is hands-down the easiest, fastest, and most fun I've had doing an LED project. Amazing product, the Pixelblaze is everything I wanted out of a board to drive LEDs. Finished an old project with it, and had requests for more of them!
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