# Adafruit DotStar FeatherWing ## Overview A Feather board without ambition is a Feather board without FeatherWings! This is the **DotStar FeatherWing, a 6x12 RGB LED Add-on For All Feather Boards**! Using our [Feather Stacking Headers](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2830) or [Feather Female Headers](http://www.adafruit.com/products/2886) you can connect a FeatherWing on top or bottom of your Feather board and make your Feather board strut like a peacock at a rave. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/813/medium800/adafruit_products_3449-00.jpg?1506909048) Put on your sunglasses before staring into these 72 configurable RGB LEDs, they are super bright! Arranged in a 6x12 matrix, each 2mm by 2mm sized RGB pixel is individually addressable. Only two pins are required to control all the LEDs. On the bottom we have jumpers for the Data and Clock lines so you can change them from the defaults. **Works with any/all of our Feathers!** You can cut the default jumper traces and use any pins you like ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/812/medium800/adafruit_products_3449-02.jpg?1506909041) To make it easy to start, the LEDs are by default powered from _either_ the USB power line or Battery power line, whichever is higher. Two Schottky diodes are used to switch between the two. This power arrangement is able to handle 1 Amp of constant current draw and maybe 2A peak, so not a good way to make a flashlight. It's better for colorful effects. A power MOSFET is set up and connected to the ENABLE pin on the Feather so that when the Feather is disabled, the wing will also cut power. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/811/medium800/adafruit_products_3449-01.jpg?1506909035) # Adafruit DotStar FeatherWing ## Pinouts The DotStar FeatherWing is pretty easy to use, there's only one data pin and one clock pin. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/814/medium800/adafruit_products_pinout.jpg?1506909372) # Power Pins There are four power-related pins: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/815/medium800/adafruit_products_power.jpg?1506909392) The **B** attery and **U** sb power pins are used to power the many DotStars. There's a lot of pixels and you can't really run them from the 3.3V regulator. Two 1A Schottkey diodes will automatically select whichever voltage is higher. That means, if USB is plugged in, you'll get ~5V USB power. If the feather is running off of battery power, say a LiPoly battery, you'll get 3.7-4.2V power. While this is a little lower than spec, DotStars are only a little dimmer. The **E** nable pin is tied to an inverter + MOSFET and will cut power to the matrix when low. By default, all Feather's have this pin pulled high The **G** round pin is common data/power ground. # Data Pins Unlike NeoPixels, DotStar LEDs require _two_ pins - a data and clock. While it's best if these are on a hardware SPI port for speed, you can use any two pins with Arduino or CircuitPython. By default, these are the **D** ata and **C** lock pins: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/816/medium800/adafruit_products_datapins.jpg?1506909562) But - it's very easy to change the connections. On the bottom, you can cut the two jumper traces near those two pins, then solder wires from the **CIN** and **DIN** pins to the available square pads ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/817/medium800/adafruit_products_back.jpg?1506909667) Note there is no logic level shifter for Clock and Data - we have not found that these chips require a level shifter, they work nicely at 3.3V logic even with 5V+ power # Adafruit DotStar FeatherWing ## Usage ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/878/medium800thumb/adafruit_products_3449_giffriend.jpg?1506973415) Once you've soldered headers on, check out [https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds/](../../../../adafruit-dotstar-leds/)for everything you could possibly ever want to know about DotStars. It's a handy guide for timing information, power calculations, etc. # DotMatrix Usage Here's a demo to get you started. Once you've installed the Adafruit DotStar and DotStar\_Matrix libraries ([you can get more info on how to that here](../../../../adafruit-dotstar-leds/)) This example, when loaded onto your Feather will give you the pretty ADAFRUIT! scrolling demo. We've added a 5-pixel tall font so you can easily make scrolling messages! https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_DotStarMatrix/blob/master/examples/dotstar_wing/dotstar_wing.ino With the DotStarMatrix library, we're using Adafruit\_GFX, our graphics underpinning library. That means you can draw lines, dots, text, triangles, rectangles, bitmaps, what-have-you very easily across all Adafruit displays. For more details on Adafruit GFX, check our the learning guide at [https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gfx-graphics-library/](../../../../adafruit-gfx-graphics-library/) # Adafruit DotStar FeatherWing ## Downloads # Files - [EagleCAD PCB Files on GitHub](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-DotStar-FeatherWing-PCB) - [Fritzing object available in the Adafruit Fritzing Library](https://github.com/adafruit/Fritzing-Library) # Schematic Click to embiggen ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/818/medium800/adafruit_products_schem.png?1506911491) # Fabrication Print Dimensions in inches ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/046/819/medium800/adafruit_products_print.png?1506911498) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit DotStar FeatherWing - 6 x 12 RGB LEDs [Adafruit DotStar FeatherWing - 6 x 12 RGB LEDs](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3449) A Feather board without ambition is a Feather board without FeatherWings! This is the **DotStar FeatherWing, a 6x12 RGB LED Add-on For All Feather Boards**! Using our [Feather Stacking Headers](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2830) or  No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3449) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3449/guides) ## Related Guides - [LOVE Light](https://learn.adafruit.com/love-light.md) - [Adafruit DC Power BFF](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dc-power-bff.md) - [Adafruit ESP32-S3 TFT Feather](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-s3-tft-feather.md) - [Tombstone Prop-Maker RP2040](https://learn.adafruit.com/tombstone-prop-maker-rp2040.md) - [Adafruit Fruit Jam](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-fruit-jam.md) - [Arduino Prototyping Mounting Plate](https://learn.adafruit.com/arduino-prototyping-mounting-plate.md) - [LED Matrix Necklace Pendant](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-matrix-necklace-pendant.md) - [Adafruit 2.8" TFT Touch Shield v2 - Capacitive or Resistive](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-2-8-tft-touch-shield-v2.md) - [Adafruit DC and Stepper Motor HAT for Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dc-and-stepper-motor-hat-for-raspberry-pi.md) - [Fisher-Price USB Foot Pedal](https://learn.adafruit.com/fisher-price-usb-foot-pedal.md) - [MicroPython Displays: Drawing Shapes](https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-displays-drawing-shapes.md) - [Adafruit MAX31865 RTD PT100 or PT1000 Amplifier](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-max31865-rtd-pt100-amplifier.md) - [LedGames - a BeagleBone Black 64x64 LED Game](https://learn.adafruit.com/ledgames-beaglebone-black-64x64-led-game.md) - [Adafruit Ultimate GPS HAT for Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-ultimate-gps-hat-for-raspberry-pi.md) - [NeoPixel Novelty Cufflinks with Scrolling Text](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-novelty-cufflinks-with-scrolling-text.md)