# Neon LED Signs ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/026/medium800/led_strips_adabotNeon01.jpg?1533922108) https://youtu.be/G1ip1O2j1eM Make your own neon-style signs without any of the glass, gas, and high voltage! These neon-like LED strips have a great look, are easy to shape and splice, and you can drive them with just 9V to 12V DC. We'll learn how to control them for blinking and animation using a microcontroller and a Darlington transistor driver. ## Parts You can decide how many strips you need depending on the sign you're making. The parts listed below are for the Adabot / Lightning bolt sign I made. ### Part: Adafruit METRO M0 Express quantity: 1 designed for CircuitPython - ATSAMD21G18 [Adafruit METRO M0 Express](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3505) ### Part: Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip quantity: 2 1 Meter - Ice Blue [Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3861) ### Part: Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip quantity: 2 1 Meter - Blue [Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3867) ### Part: Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip quantity: 1 1 Meter - Pink [Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3862) ### Part: Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip quantity: 1 1 Meter - Cold White [Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3865) ### Part: Proto-ScrewShield WingShield quantity: 1 Kit for Arduino and METRO [Proto-ScrewShield WingShield](https://www.adafruit.com/product/196) ### Part: ULN2803: 8 Channel Darlington Driver quantity: 1 (Solenoid/Unipolar Stepper) - ULN2803A [ULN2803: 8 Channel Darlington Driver](https://www.adafruit.com/product/970) ### Part: 12V 5A Switching Power Supply quantity: 1 UL listed [12V 5A Switching Power Supply](https://www.adafruit.com/product/352) ### Part: 2-Pin Wire Joints quantity: 3 3 pack [2-Pin Wire Joints](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3786) ### Part: Waterproof Polarized 4-Wire Cable Set quantity: 1 Set of two cables - one plug and one jack, 16" total [Waterproof Polarized 4-Wire Cable Set](https://www.adafruit.com/product/744) ### Part: 16mm Illuminated Pushbutton quantity: 1 Yellow Momentary [16mm Illuminated Pushbutton](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1441) ### Part: 16mm Illuminated Pushbutton quantity: 1 Red Latching On/Off Switch [16mm Illuminated Pushbutton ](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1442) ### Part: Through-Hole Resistors - 220 ohm 5% 1/4W quantity: 1 Pack of 25 [Through-Hole Resistors - 220 ohm 5% 1/4W](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2780) ### Part: Heat Shrink Tubing Pack quantity: 1 High-grade flexible polyolefin material [Heat Shrink Tubing Pack](https://www.adafruit.com/product/344) ### Part: Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire quantity: 1 2m 26AWG White [Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1882) ### Part: Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire quantity: 1 2m 26AWG Black [Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1881) ### Part: Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire quantity: 1 2m 26AWG Orange [Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1883) ### Part: Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire quantity: 1 2m 26AWG Gray [Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1884) ### Part: Hook-up Wire Spool Set quantity: 1 22AWG Solid Core - 10 x 25ft [Hook-up Wire Spool Set](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3174) ## Materials In addition to the parts above, you'll also want a large piece of black foam core board to mount your sign. This will vary depending on size -- I used a 32" x 40" piece for the backboard, and two 20" x 30" pieces for mounting the two sign halves. You'll use clear zip ties to mount the neon tube strips. ## Tools You'll need wire strippers for stripping insulation from wire ends. You'll need a soldering iron and solder to put the circuit on the Proto ScrewShield. Alternately, you can keep the circuit on a breadboard if you don't want to do any soldering! # Neon LED Signs ## Build the Sign Driver We're going to power and control the neon LED strips with a Metro M0 Express microcontroller. The Metro M0, like all microcontrollers, is designed to power low voltage devices with a small current draw -- such as individual LEDs -- from it's digital output pins. We can't run high current devices such as solenoids, motors, and neon LED strips from the Metro M0's pins directly. So how can we do it? No fear! The answer in this case is the Darlington driver! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/809/medium800/led_strips_970-01.jpg?1533858818) The Darlington driver is a DIP chip with eight addressable Darlinton transistor pairs inside. By sending a small 3.3V control signal to one of the Darlington's input pins, it can switch on and off a high-voltage, high-current flow to it's paired output pin. In fact, we use a Darlington driver on our Crickit boards to power the solenoids and electromagets and the like that you can plug into the Crickit's Driver ports! Here's the breadboard diagram of our circuit. In it you can see, for example, the yellow wire running from the Metro M0's digital output pin 12 to the Darlington's pin 1 (input 01). When this pin 12 is sent high, the teal neon LED strip that has its ground plugged into the Darlington's pin 18 (output 01) will suddenly flow with 12V current and turn on! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/913/medium800/led_strips_neonfrit02.jpg?1533876042) Primary: Danger: Rather than building it on a breadboard, we'll solder the chip and circuit wiring to a Proto ScrewShield as shown here. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/953/medium800/led_strips_neonfrit03.jpg?1533876816) Info: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/813/medium800/led_strips_parts_neon_2k.jpg?1533868760) ## Preparation If you haven't done so already, solder together the Proto ScrewShield [following these instructions](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-proto-screw-shield/solder-it). ## Solder the Circuit ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/819/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4251_2k.jpg?1533868981) ## Solder the Darlington Driver to the ScrewShield   - Place the chip on the ScrewShield as shown -- note the orientation of the chip, it is critical to have the half circle at the top of the chip facing left as shown - Bend the legs down as shown - Solder the legs in place ![led_strips_IMG_4245_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/815/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4245_2k.jpg?1533868931) ![led_strips_IMG_4246_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/816/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4246_2k.jpg?1533868939) ![led_strips_IMG_4247_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/817/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4247_2k.jpg?1533868951) ![led_strips_IMG_4249_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/818/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4249_2k.jpg?1533868962) ## Power & Ground Next, we need to provide power and ground from the Metro M0's **VIN** and **GND** to the Darlington's legs **10** and **9** respectively. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/864/medium800/led_strips_darlingtonPinout.png?1533870287) - Place a small jumper wire from the GND strip on the ScrewShield to pin **9** on the Darlington as shown - Solder the wire in place -- note how the wire is bent over to contact the pin before soldering to the Darlington pin - Solder the other end of the wire to the GND strip - Clip any excess wire with diagonal cutters - Repeat this process for power, running a wire from **VIN** to pin **10** ![led_strips_IMG_4253_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/823/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4253_2k.jpg?1533869592) ![led_strips_IMG_4254_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/824/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4254_2k.jpg?1533869602) ![led_strips_IMG_4255_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/825/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4255_2k.jpg?1533869611) ![led_strips_IMG_4258_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/826/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4258_2k.jpg?1533869621) ![led_strips_IMG_4260_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/827/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4260_2k.jpg?1533869629) ![led_strips_IMG_4262_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/828/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4262_2k.jpg?1533869653) ![led_strips_IMG_4263_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/829/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4263_2k.jpg?1533869705) ## Digital Pins to Darlington Inputs We'll trigger each of the transistor pairs in the driver by sending digital pins high on the Metro M0 using the following connections: (you can add more if you want to control more neon strips separately for animations) - **D12** to **Input 1** - **D11** to **Input 2** - **D10** to **Input 3** ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/833/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4267_2k.jpg?1533869943) Solder the wires to the digital pins' holes as usual and then bend their other ends onto the Darlington's pins before soldering. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/848/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4269_2k.jpg?1533870025) ## Output to Screw Terminals Now, you'll solder jumper wires from the Darlington's output pins to the ScrewShield's W, X, and Y terminals. It is here that we'll connect the neon LED strips later through a cable. - **Darlington Output 01 (leg 18)** to **Y** - **Darlington Output 02 (leg 17)** to **X** - **Darlington Output 03 (leg 16)** to **W** ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/879/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4271_2k.jpg?1533870470) ## Power Output The three outputs we just connected are for the ground wires of three neon LED strips. Now, we need a convenient way to share the common 12V line. We can do this by soldering a jumper from the **VIN** connection we made already at Darlington leg **10** over to the ScrewShield **Z** terminal. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/880/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4273_2k.jpg?1533870634) ## Add the ScrewShield to the Metro M0 Now we get the very satisfying task of inserting the ScrewShield into the Metro M0! Just like that, all of the Metro M0's pins are connected to all of those screw terminals and to our pre-wired Darlington circuit! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/881/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4279_2k.jpg?1533871964) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/882/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4283_2k.jpg?1533871985) ## Wire the Buttons We'll use two buttons to control the sign -- an on/off latching button and a momentary button to control the animation of two of our neon LED tubes. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/883/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4285_2k.jpg?1533872179) These buttons are special -- they each have an LED built into them. So, we'll wire them so that we have a nice little cable bundle per button for ground, digital input to the Metro M0 to read the button state, and digital output from a Metro M0 pin to light the LED. We'll even solder in a 220 Ohm resistor inline with each button's LED power pin so the wires can be plugged directly into Metro M0 pins via ScrewShield terminals! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/885/medium800/led_strips_buttonPinsB.jpg?1533872907) ## Wire the Red On/Off Button   - Solder a jumper wire from the **LED GND** pin to the **Switch contact to GND** pin, this ground can be shared. There's no need in this case to run four wires to the board when three will do - Solder one end of a 220 Ohm resistor to the **LED Power** contact on the button - Solder a length of grey stranded wire to the other end of the resistor -- this is the wire that will connect to the screw terminal at **D9** - Add some heat shrink tubing to insulate the connections - Solder a length of black wire to the **Switch contact to GND** contact - Solder a length of blue wire to the **Switch contact to digital pin** contact - Add heat shrink to these two connections - You can optionally use a piece of wider diameter heat shrink to neaten up the base of the button as shown ![led_strips_IMG_4288_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/886/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4288_2k.jpg?1533872997) ![led_strips_IMG_4292_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/887/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4292_2k.jpg?1533873020) ![led_strips_IMG_4306_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/888/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4306_2k.jpg?1533873121) ![led_strips_IMG_4311_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/890/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4311_2k.jpg?1533875301) ![led_strips_IMG_4316_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/891/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4316_2k.jpg?1533875348) ![led_strips_IMG_4317_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/892/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4317_2k.jpg?1533875355) ![led_strips_IMG_4321_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/893/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4321_2k.jpg?1533875512) ![led_strips_IMG_4326_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/895/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4326_2k.jpg?1533875536) ![led_strips_IMG_4328_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/896/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4328_2k.jpg?1533875575) ![led_strips_IMG_4329_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/897/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4329_2k.jpg?1533875586) ![led_strips_IMG_4330_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/898/medium640/led_strips_IMG_4330_2k.jpg?1533875635) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/909/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4331_2k.jpg?1533875691) Repeat this procedure for the yellow momentary button, this time with these color connections (to make it easier to follow the schematic above): - Jumper between **LED GND** and **Switch contact to ground** - **Black** to **GND contact** - **White** to 220 Ohm resistor to **LED Power** contact - **Orange** to **Switch contact to digital pin** ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/921/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4333_2k.jpg?1533876290) ## Connect Buttons to ScrewShield Now you can insert the button wires into the ScrewShield screw terminals. Follow the diagram above and this drawing.  Note that you can twist the two black wires together and have them share a single GND terminal. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/930/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4343_2k.jpg?1533876407) ## Four Wire Cable We want a good way to connect the neon LED strips to the Metro M0 that is solid, secure, and polarized to avoid plugging things in the wrong way. Enter the 4-wire polarized cable set! Screw the wires of the female receptacle half into the W, X, Y, and Z terminals as shown in the schematic and the photo below. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/941/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4344_2k.jpg?1533876627) The board circuit and wiring is complete, time to program it with MakeCode! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/966/medium800/led_strips_IMG_4345_2k.jpg?1533876888) # Neon LED Signs ## Code with MakeCode MakeCode isn't just for Circuit Playground Express, it can program a variety of boards, including Metro M0 Express, Trinket M0, Feather M0 Express, and Gemma M0 by using this URL: [maker.makecode.com](https://maker.makecode.com) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/968/medium800/led_strips_metroMaker01.jpg?1533879516) Click on the Metro M0 Express board on that page, and then click on the New Project button. (If you're new to MakeCode in general, [this guide](https://learn.adafruit.com/makecode) is an excellent place to get started!) This is the program I built to control neon LED strips. This allows us to use the two buttons to control the sign -- turn the red button on and all of the tubes are lit. Click the yellow button and the two tubes on pins **D11** and **D10** will alternate blinking every second. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/967/medium800/led_strips_neonMakeCode.png?1533877048) [Open the Neon LED Sign code in MakeCode](https://makecode.com/_Ca94dA2PmD9t) If you'd like to open this program in your browser, click the button above. Then, you can press Download in MakeCode to save the .uf2 file to your computer. Plug in your Metro M0, press the Reset button to enter bootloader mode, and then drag the .uf2 file onto the METROBOOT drive. The M0 Express will restart and your program is running! We'll do a more complete test on the next page as we connect the neon LED strips, but for now you can test the program by clicking the buttons as shown here. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/970/medium800thumb/led_strips_neon_buttons02.jpg?1533882700) # Neon LED Signs ## Build the Neon Sign Before we build the full sign, it's a good idea to test out the board by plugging in three strips and running the board through its paces. Using the 2-pin wire joints, connect the wires as shown below: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/980/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0261.jpg?1533883922) You can see we're sharing power by connecting the three red wires from the neon LED strips to a single connector. Each strip's ground is connected to a different control wire coming from the 4-wire cable. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/981/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0260.jpg?1533883934) Plug the male end of the 4-wire cable into the female receptacle end that's connected to the ScrewShield and Metro M0. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/982/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0268.jpg?1533883946) Plug in your 12V power supply to the DC jack on the Metro M0, and turn on the small on switch on the Metro M0. Press the red button to turn on the neon! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/983/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0269.jpg?1533883957) Now, press the yellow button to start the blinking! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/979/medium800thumb/led_strips_neon_coils.jpg?1533883512) ## Build Signs Now we can get creative! Time to start laying out your neon LED strips onto foam core board. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/984/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0233.jpg?1533885045) To secure the strips, use a small screwdriver to poke pairs of holes through the foam core board, and then secure the strip at that point with a small, clear zip tie. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/986/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0236.jpg?1533885100) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/985/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0237.jpg?1533885092) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/987/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0238.jpg?1533885149) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/988/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0240.jpg?1533885167) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/989/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0241.jpg?1533885179) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/996/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0245.jpg?1533885346) ## Splicing Neon LED Strips Sometimes you may want to use short lengths of the neon LED strip -- that's great, simply cut the strips right along the black lines you can see inside of the tubing on the back side of the tape. To then use the cut off end -- or even to join multiple strips together to create multi-color lengths -- you will need to solder leads onto the exposed pads. Use heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to finish off the job neatly. - Cut the strip at any one of the black marks - Peel back a bit of the silicone covering to reveal the solder pads - If you look at the other side, the markings around the LED shows you which side is ground -- the black rectangle has a diagonal mark in one corner, that's the ground side - Tin the pads - Solder a black wire to **GND** and red wire to **+** - Finish it off with some electrical tape ![led_strips_IMG_0276_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/007/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0276_2k.jpg?1533920185) ![led_strips_IMG_0277_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/008/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0277_2k.jpg?1533920193) ![led_strips_IMG_0291_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/009/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0291_2k.jpg?1533920209) ![led_strips_IMG_0281_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/010/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0281_2k.jpg?1533920337) ![led_strips_IMG_0282_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/011/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0282_2k.jpg?1533920348) ![led_strips_IMG_0284_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/012/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0284_2k.jpg?1533920358) ![led_strips_IMG_0290_2k.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/014/medium640/led_strips_IMG_0290_2k.jpg?1533920500) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/015/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0286_2k.jpg?1533920523) Now, you can add this short, darker blue length to the design! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/016/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0292_2k.jpg?1533920559) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/991/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0246.jpg?1533885221) You can create holes to push the wiring through to the back side of the board as shown. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/058/992/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0248.jpg?1533885234) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/018/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0293_2k.jpg?1533920591) You can see here how the 2-pin wire joint connectors are used to daisy chain the neon LED strips. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/019/medium800/led_strips_IMG_0296_2k.jpg?1533920602) You can add more elements to your sign -- here I stacked two boards to make assembly easier, and to create options for displaying Adabot with or without a cool lightning bolt/pink curve in shield logo! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/059/029/medium800/led_strips_signcover.jpg?1533923067) ## Action! OK, now you can plug in the four wire connector to the Metro M0 and ScrewShield, plug in the 12V 5A DC power, and fire up your own custom neon LED strip sign! https://youtu.be/G1ip1O2j1eM ## Featured Products ### Adafruit METRO M0 Express - designed for CircuitPython [Adafruit METRO M0 Express - designed for CircuitPython](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3505) Metro is our series of microcontroller boards for use with the Arduino IDE. This new **Metro M0 Express** board looks a whole lot like our [original Metro 328](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2488), but with a huge upgrade. Instead of the ATmega328, this Metro... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3505) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3505/guides) ### Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip in Various Colors [Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strip in Various Colors](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3902) Here at Adafruit we love discovering new and exotic glowing things. Like moths to the flame, we were intrigued by these fresh  **Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strips**! They _look_ a lot like neon, but without the need for expensive transformers, glass tubing or inert... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3902) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3902/guides) ### Proto-Screwshield (Wingshield) R3 Kit for Arduino [Proto-Screwshield (Wingshield) R3 Kit for Arduino](https://www.adafruit.com/product/196) The next generation Proto-ScrewShield is a dual-purpose prototyping shield. Not only does it have a large 0.1" grid prototyping area but it also extends the Arduino pins to sturdy, secure, and dependable screw terminal blocks. You even get a few bonus terminals for extra GND and four... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/196) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/196/guides) ### 12V 5A switching power supply [12V 5A switching power supply](https://www.adafruit.com/product/352) This is a beefy switching supply, for when you need a lot of power! It can supply 12V DC up to 5 Amps, running from 110V or 220V power (the plug it comes with is for US/Canada/Japan but you can use any plug adapter for your country, or just replace the cable with a standard 'figure-8'... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/352) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/352/guides) ### ULN2803: 8 Channel Darlington Driver (Solenoid/Unipolar Stepper) [ULN2803: 8 Channel Darlington Driver (Solenoid/Unipolar Stepper)](https://www.adafruit.com/product/970) Bring in some muscle to your output pins with 8 mighty Darlingtons! This DIP chip contains 8 drivers that can sink 500mA from a 50V supply and has kickback diodes included inside for driving coils. This will let your little microcontroller or microcomputer power solenoids, DC motors (in one... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/970) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/970/guides) ## Related Guides - [Adafruit Metro M0 Express](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-metro-m0-express.md) - [CircuitPython Essentials](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-essentials.md) - [Adafruit DS3502 I2C Digital Potentiometer](https://learn.adafruit.com/ds3502-i2c-potentiometer.md) - [Using DS18B20 Temperature Sensor with CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/using-ds18b20-temperature-sensor-with-circuitpython.md) - [CircuitPython I2C and SPI Under the Hood](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-basics-i2c-and-spi.md) - [CircuitPython Basics: Digital Inputs & Outputs](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-digital-inputs-and-outputs.md) - [Installing CircuitPython on SAMD21 Boards](https://learn.adafruit.com/installing-circuitpython-on-samd21-boards.md) - [Adafruit Proto Screw Shield](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-proto-screw-shield.md) - [CircuitPython Hardware: PCA9685 DC Motor & Stepper Driver](https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-hardware-pca9685-dc-motor-and-stepper-driver.md) - [Using Piezo Buzzers with CircuitPython & Arduino](https://learn.adafruit.com/using-piezo-buzzers-with-circuitpython-arduino.md) - [RGB LED Matrix Basics](https://learn.adafruit.com/32x16-32x32-rgb-led-matrix.md) - [Stand-alone programming AVRs using CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/stand-alone-programming-avrs-using-circuitpython.md) - [Ninja Timer: Giant 7-Segment Display](https://learn.adafruit.com/ninja-timer-giant-7-segment-display.md) - [CircuitPython Hardware: ILI9341 TFT & FeatherWing](https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-hardware-ili9341-tft-and-featherwing.md) - [Adafruit VCNL4040 Proximity Sensor](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-vcnl4040-proximity-sensor.md) - [DMA-Driven NeoPixels](https://learn.adafruit.com/dma-driven-neopixels.md)