NEW GUIDE: Level Shifting NeoPixels @adafruit @johnedgarpark #adafruit
Here’s a guide on you how to get your 3.3V microcontrollers — such as the Adafruit Feathers, Arduino M0 Pro, and Teeny boards — to control your 5V NeoPixels. Often, a mismatch of logic levels can cause strange behavior, such as dim or wrong-colored pixels — especially on longer wire runs or in projects that use large numbers of NeoPixels powered at 5V. Here comes a logic level shifter to the rescue!
There are lots of great microcontrollers that speak the language of 3v3 (3.3 volts) which can make it difficult for them to communicate with NeoPixel LEDs, which speak 5V. Thankfully, along comes a bi-lingual translator, the logic level converter — or level shifter — to save the day.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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