Assembly is fairly simple for this project. Watch this video tutorial for a complete step-by-step.
Solder headers onto the QT Py and BFF to stick them together. If you're new to soldering headers, check out this How to Solder Headers guide.
The boards align back-to-back with the JST and USB connectors facing the same side. It's easiest to use a solderless breadboard and slot the headers in to hold the board in place while you solder.
Connector Swap
These lights come with a 3-pin connector, but it's not the correct one for the NeoPixel BFF so you will need to replace it with the 3-pin, 2mm Stemma connector.
First, verify which wire is which. The Stemma connector is handily color-coded: Red for power, black for ground, and white for data. However, the LED strips are not marked in any way, so it can take some trial-and-error to figure out which wire is which.
On my strands, with the resin bump facing me:
- Cut the FEMALE connector -- this is the IN end
- Left wire goes to Stemma Power (red)
- Middle wire goes to Stemma G (black)
- Right wire goes to Stemma Data (white)
Strip a bit of shielding from the wires and twist the 3 wires securely to the Stemma connector. They'll be in a different order on the LED strip and the connector. Before you solder, carefully be sure the bare wires are not touching each other, and then plug in the connector and power to be sure the lights come on.
Once you're sure you've got it right, solder the wires and cover the connections with heat shrink.
Plug the NeoPixel strip into the BFF using the NeoPixel port. Plug the QT Py into the power switch tail, add the male-to-male adapter, and plug into your USB battery.
Cut the male connector off the other end of your strip and seal up the ends with some hot glue and clear heat shrink to keep this end waterproof.
If you're using more than one strip for your shoes, I recommend cutting the connectors and hard-wiring the two NeoPixel strips together since the connectors won't fit through the boot lace loops.
Troubleshooting
If the lights don't come on here are a couple things to try:
- Open the WLED software and go to the LED Settings page. Make sure you have the correct pin (GPIO) entered here. The BFF's port is attached to A3, which corresponds to digital pin 15 (A3 is the analog pin number. Find this out in the pinout diagram in the QT PY guide).
- Your LED strip may have a different wiring configuration. Try swapping the wires around or try soldering the data connection to the other end of your strip.
- If it's still not working, head over to the NeoPixel Uberguide and try uploading some basic code, just to see whether the problem is with your wiring or with the software. If you can get the lights to come on using Arduino or CircuitPython, the trouble is with the software -- try reinstalling.
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