Assemble the TSOC_NeoLED Driver Board

The TSoC_NeoLED Driver board can either be used with Header Pin Strips, or you can solder wires directly to the board for attaching the LED strings.

Note that the power for LEDs (5 Volts @ 2-5 amps) is supplied separately using the barrel jack connector. For additional power, there is a second set of power pins provided, for those higher power applications (i.e. more LEDs).

There are eight (8) sets of three (3) pin JST connectors shown here, for supporting up to eight (8) strings of color LEDs.

Reprogramming the TSOC_NeoLED Driver Board

If you need to update the firmware in the TSOC_NeoLED board, or load your own custom firmware, you can use a USB to UART adapter, like the FTDI basic (the little red board) shown below:

To reprogram the TSOC_NeoLED board, you will need to install the Cypress PSoC Creator tool, and use the Bootloader Host application. Select the COM: port that FTDI adapter is connected to, your new .HEX file to upload, and select "Upload ".

WS2812 LED Strings

If the LEDs are RGB only type, then the Yellow channel is not used, however the addressing remains the same, that is to say, memory is reserved for the Yellow/White channel, even if it is not used.

If the LED string (or matrix panel) is less than 64 LEDs (i.e. string of 30 or 60), then the extra LED positions are not used, however the addressing remains the same, that is to say, memory is reserved for 64 LEDs per string, even if it is less than that.

The Default I2C address for the TSOC_NEOLED is 8 (Seven bits). The Arduino IDE example lights each color of each LED in sequence, from low addresses to high addresses.

TSOC_NeoLED Configurations

The TSOC_NEOLED (default configuration) can drive up to eight (8) panels of Adafruit NeoPixel Arrays, for a total of 512 color LEDs, arranged as an 64 x 8 pixel array.

The TSOC_NEOLED (default configuration) can also drive large numbers of Adafruit Neopixel Rings or standard strings of 30 to 60 LEDs per string.

Light the Ride - Example Application

We wanted to light up our tandem bicycle for a Portland group ride, and here's the TSoC_NeoLED in action:

Happy Hacking!

@PatternAgents Team