[sparkytwd]

Super important whatever regulator you use, if you have many LEDs, you'll need filter caps. WS281x drivers are super sensitive to overvoltage and the briefest transient spike will ruin your strip. In 2014 we had a 5x120 LED display on our robot, and over the course of 3 competitions over 5 strips worth of LEDs.

If you go through my history you can find a board designed to power several thousand LEDs, though this year we decided to go with 16/2 scan panels, which are cheaper.