Add smart light and sound effects to models and dioramas with this small-but-mighty RP2040-powered programmable controller board – now with wireless connectivity!

Tiny FX W is an effects controller for the LED dots and strips that can be found in third-party LEGO®-compatible lighting kits. These LEDs are connected up by thin, flexible wires that can easily be concealed around/behind/within your model. Typically they’re powered direct from an alkaline battery pack or USB, so the LEDs are lit all the time – and Pimoroni wanted their illuminated creations to have more smarts!

Adding a Tiny FX W means you can do fun stuff like:

• adjust the brightness of the LEDs
• simulate movement with dynamic lighting effects
• turn the lights on and off in response to environmental triggers/sensor readings or data from the internet
• pulse them atmospherically for spooky ambiance
• flicker them on and off to make cool fire effects
• accompany your light effects with appropriate sound effects (zhwhom)

Tiny FX W can drive six channels of two-pin mono LEDs and one channel of four-pin RGB LEDs*, and it has indicator LEDs so you can see what each channel is doing. It’s got an onboard amp and connector to attach a tiny speaker, a Qw/ST connector so you can add Qwiic or STEMMA QT breakouts, and an additional sensor connector for hooking up hardware like buttons, potentiometers or PIR sensors. It also comes equipped with an RM2

Tiny FX W is perfect for adding custom light and sound effects to your favorite construction kit models, dioramas, papercrafts, dollhouses, book nooks, and shadowboxes.

Features

• Powered by RP2040 (Dual Arm Cortex M0+ running at up to 133Mhz with 264kB of SRAM)
• 4MB of QSPI flash supporting XiP
• Raspberry Pi RM2 module provides 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity
• 6x 2 pin JST-SUR connectors for attaching mono LEDs, with white LED indicators
• 1x 4 pin JST-SUR connector for attaching RGB LEDs, with RGB LED indicator
• USB-C connector for power and programming (1A max)
• Reset and BOOT buttons (the BOOT button can also be used as a user button)
• 2 pin JST-SUR power input connector (1A max)
• 3.2W I2S mono amplifier with 2 pin (Picoblade-compatible) connector for attaching speaker
• Qw/ST (Qwiic/STEMMA QT) connector for attaching breakouts
• 3 pin JST-SH connector for attaching digital or analog sensors
• Fully-assembled (no soldering required)
• MicroPython firmware and library
• LEDs and other components are sold separately

* This board is not really designed for driving addressable LEDs/NeoPixels. Check out Plasma 2040 if you want a board for doing that!

Starter Kit Includes

The Tiny FX W Starter Kit also includes the shiny new PIR Stick so you can trigger effects based on motion. You’ll just need to supply your own AAA batteries. The kit includes:

• Tiny FX W
• Adhesive Backed Mini Speaker 8Ω (1W)
• 6x LED dots (cool white)
• 5x RGB LEDs (plus expansion board and cable)
• 3xAAA battery holder (batteries not included)
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• PIR Stick
• 3 pin JST-SH cable (for connecting PIR Stick)
• …all packed up neatly in a reusable Pirate-brand Loot Box.