Adafruit NeoPixel

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Draft

Introduction

In this article we describe the Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel version 2

See also:

The pixel

Main characteristics:

  • 12.5mm diameter
  • 2.5mm total thickness
  • 800 KHz speed protocol
  • Chainable design, meaning that you can connect several of these to one pin and chain them
  • 5-9VDC power (can run at 3.5V but color will be dimmed), constant current 18.5mA per LED (~55mA max total per pixel)

Hooking up a NeoPixel

According to Hook up alligator clips (retrieved Aug 2019), a NeoPixel must be connected with three wires to a FLORA-type board. Depending on the board, the wiring is bit different. E.g. on a GEMMA, the signal must be wired from A1.

Wiring with a GEMMA
Board NeoPixel
VOUT

Power output

+
GND

Grounding

-
D1 / ~A0

General Purpose Input Ouput

↑ (arrow pointing towards the inside)


Wiring with a Circuit Playground Express
Board NeoPixel
VOUT +
GND -
A1

General Purpose Input Ouput

↑ (arrow pointing towards the inside)

MakeCode example

Programming a strand of pixels

This also works with a single pixel...

Links

Official documentation (read this)