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@Another-Person1 Another-Person1 commented Dec 15, 2025

Updated 2027 Systemcore documentation for addressable LEDs to include additional LED types and clarify connections. Added notes on powering and best practices.

Updated documentation for addressable LEDs to include additional LED types and clarify connections. Added notes on powering and best practices.
@Another-Person1 Another-Person1 changed the title Revise addressable LEDs documentation for clarity Revise 2027 addressable LEDs documentation for clarity Dec 15, 2025
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The section after the first paragraph should be cleaned up; 5 admonitions in a row is excessive and some of the information there might be better to collect into its own section

.. note:: WS281x LEDs (with the exception of the WS2815, see below warning) are designed for **5V**, but Systemcore ports output **3.3V**. This may cause issues with some LED strips, and a logic level shifter is needed, such as the [Adafruit Pixel Shifter](https://www.adafruit.com/product/6066).

.. seealso:: For detailed information about powering and best practices for addressable LEDs, see the [Adafruit NeoPixel Überguide](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/powering-neopixels).
.. note:: The 300-500 ohm data line resistor and large 1000uF capactitor across the power pins are highly recommended. Also, use a VRM to power the LEDs, with the *grounds* tied together.
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I can't say I've seen teams using a capacitor on their LED strips.

The VRM is a specific (discontinued) product; teams can use any 5v regulator

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fair, i'll change that

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the idea was mostly to avoid powering long strips of LEDs off of the systemcore

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.. note:: The 300-500 ohm data line resistor and large 1000uF capactitor across the power pins are highly recommended. Also, use a VRM to power the LEDs, with the *grounds* tied together.
.. note:: The 300-500 ohm data line resistor and large 1000uF capactitor across the power pins are highly recommended. Also, use an external 5V regulator to power the LEDs, with the *grounds* tied together.

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I suspect the systemcore has a series resistor for current limiting that would make the data line resistor unnecessary (the roboRIO did)

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does it?

supposedly doubling up doesn't cause problems.

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other than the removal of the neopixel uberguide, which was already previously there you can make the changes you mentioned.

Co-authored-by: Dan Katzuv <31829093+katzuv@users.noreply.github.com>
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Made changes based on others' suggestions. If something is not working please let me know.

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sciencewhiz commented Dec 22, 2025

The section after the first paragraph should be cleaned up; 5 admonitions in a row is excessive and some of the information there might be better to collect into its own section

I agree, I think a wiring section could have a lot of the content and be more readable. There's also currently a rendering issue with one of them

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Made more edits and fixes

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Removed duplicate lines and hopefully fixed indent issue

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fixing docs issues

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Fixed more stuff and added a basic diagram

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Fixed image, should hopefully fix error


.. warning:: WS2815 LEDs (and maybe other products as well, **check the label**) are designed for **12V** but have **5V** data (see above note). The **backup line on the first strip** needs to be connected to **ground**, **not** connected to the data line despite what other guides may say.
Example wiring diagram:
.. image:: https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2f1d7f05-f11b-4bed-bb91-267134f04f23)
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.. image:: https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2f1d7f05-f11b-4bed-bb91-267134f04f23)
(insert one here in the future)

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removed wiring diagram, checking to see if it is fixed

.. note:: The 300-500 Ohm data line resistor and large 1000μF capacitor across the power pins are recommended, especially with larger quantities of LEDs. Also, use an external 5V regulator to power the LEDs, with the **grounds** tied together.

.. warning:: WS2815 LEDs (and maybe other products as well, **check the label**) are designed for **12V** but have **5V** data (see above note). The **backup line on the first strip** needs to be connected to **ground**, **not** connected to the data line despite what other guides may say.
Example wiring diagram:
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Example wiring diagram:
Example wiring diagram:

They allow teams to debug robot functionality from the audience, provide a visual marker for their robot, and can simply add some visual appeal. WPILib has an API for controlling WS2812, WS2812B, and potentially other LEDs that share the same protocol with their data pin connected to the SIGNAL pin of a SMART I/O connector. These types of addressable LEDs are also referred to as NeoPixels by other companies.

LEDs can also be controlled using this API while the robot is disabled.
.. note:: This **library only supports WS2812B-compliant addressable** LEDs. HUB-75 LED matrixes, DotStar LEDs, and other types of addressable LEDs are not supported by this API. In addition to that, some WS2812B-compliant strips with different timings (WS2815, etc.) may not work.
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.. note:: This **library only supports WS2812B-compliant addressable** LEDs. HUB-75 LED matrixes, DotStar LEDs, and other types of addressable LEDs are not supported by this API. In addition to that, some WS2812B-compliant strips with different timings (WS2815, etc.) may not work.
.. note:: This **library only supports WS2812B-compliant addressable** LEDs. HUB-75 LED matrixes, DotStar LEDs, and other types of addressable LEDs are not supported by this API. In addition to that, some WS2812B-compliant strips with different timings (WS2815, etc.) may not work.

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