I’m making a word clock about 24x24 inches using ws2812b strips cut up to

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I’m making a word clock about 24x24 inches using ws2812b strips cut up to illuminate it
I think with one led behind each letter that is about 2x2 inches it won’t be bright enough
So I am thinking to put 4 leds in a square configuration behind each letter to have a better backlight
Would it be a problem to have Arduino nano pin with data line going to four strands in parallel? I normally put a 470 ohm resistor between the Arduino pin and single strand. I would have all 4 strands originate off the same single resistor, again the intention is to have all four strands with same output displayed
Thank you for your help

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I know I’ve done at least two strands sharing the same data line and haven’t had any problems.

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You should be fine, but keep in mind that usually my neopixels are too bright, not, not enough :slight_smile: Did you actually try one strip at full brightness first?

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Definitely take Marc’s suggestion and do a few tests for brightness. Build a mock up out of cardboard. I would guess four would be way more then needed. Depending on how much diffusion is used (which does cut light transmission) I could see using two. A bit of testing should determine that quickly.

Also, if you don’t want to split the data line signal, and you have extra available pins, you could have additional addLeds lines that send the same data out to different strips, all using the same “leds”.

#define DATA_PIN 7
#define DATA_PIN2 8
#define DATA_PIN2 9
…

//these all use “leds” so each strip has the same display
LEDS.addLeds<WS2812,DATA_PIN,RGB>(leds,NUM_LEDS);
LEDS.addLeds<WS2812,DATA_PIN2,RGB>(leds,NUM_LEDS);
LEDS.addLeds<WS2812,DATA_PIN3,RGB>(leds,NUM_LEDS);
…

Can you share a sketch of how you’re thinking of running the strips behind the letters?

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I will do the mock up
Thanks for your suggestions

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Depending on the pixel spacing of the strips you use, the size of the letters you want to have, and how much light you want per letter, another option might be a vertical strip arrangement with two pixels per letter.