# Wireless NeoPixel Controller ## Overview https://youtu.be/gHeHKsnjwZo Build a control box with a NeoTrellis and Feather M0 Radio and use it to wirelessly control multiple strands of NeoPixels. Use the FastLED library to add beautiful NeoPixel color effects. With no line-of-sight requirement (like with infrared remotes) and no pairing requirement (like with Bluetooth or WiFi), the LoRa radio control works over long distances and in crowded environments. It's hard to pair to a Bluetooth device when there are 200 phones in the vicinity cluttering up the bandwidth! This controller box will solve that problem. This project was created for onstage or performance environments, where a portable and easy-to-setup pixel controller can come in very handy. It can also be used to control your holiday lights display, to coordinate costumes at a festival, or for a zillion other applications where you want ultimate wireless NeoPixel control with no interference. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/069/339/medium800/wireless_neoTrellis_gradients.jpg?1547501827) ## Parts and Materials The essential parts for your controller are: - Packet radio Feather microcontroller and antenna as the brains of the transmitter. Your choice of 900MHz for US, 433MHz for ITU Europe, in either M0 or 32u4 processor variant. The RFM69HCW radios are the easiest to set up and a bit less expensive, while the LoRa boards are slightly more involved to set up, but longer range - NeoTrellis Button Pad & Elastomer buttons - OLED display FeatherWing - Rotary encoder for menu selection For the receivers you'll need: - Another Feather M0 microcontroller that exactly matches the one inside the transmitter - [Neopixels](https://www.adafruit.com/?q=neopixel) -- any format will work - A battery to power the NeoPixels ### Part: Feather M0 Packet Radio quantity: 4 Adafruit Feather M0 RFM69HCW Packet Radio - 868 or 915 MHz [Feather M0 Packet Radio](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3176) ### Part: NeoTrellis quantity: 1 NeoTrellis RGB Driver PCB for 4x4 Keypad [NeoTrellis](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3954) ### Part: Silicone Keypad quantity: 1 Silicone Elastomer 4x4 Button Keypad - for 3mm LEDs [Silicone Keypad](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1611) ### Part: Antenna quantity: 1 900Mhz Antenna Kit - For LoPy, LoRa, etc [Antenna](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3340) ### Part: Antenna Connector quantity: 1 uFL SMT Antenna Connector [Antenna Connector](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1661) ### Part: Battery quantity: 5 One for the Control box and one for each NeoPixel receiver [Battery](https://www.adafruit.com/product/328) ### Part: FeatherWing OLED quantity: 1 Adafruit FeatherWing OLED - 128x32 OLED Add-on For Feather [FeatherWing OLED](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2900) ### Part: Short Female Headers quantity: 1 Short Headers Kit for Feather - 12-pin + 16-pin Female Headers [Short Female Headers](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2940) ### Part: Short Male Headers quantity: 1 Short Feather Male Headers - 12-pin and 16-pin Male Header Set [Short Male Headers](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2940) ### Part: Rotary Encoder quantity: 1 Rotary Encoder + Extras [Rotary Encoder](https://www.adafruit.com/product/377) ### Part: Slide Switch quantity: 1 Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch [Slide Switch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/805) ### Part: Nylon Screws quantity: 1 Black Nylon Screw and Stand-off Set – M2.5 Thread [Nylon Screws](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3299) ### Part: Neopixel Strand quantity: 1 Adafruit NeoPixel LED Dots Strand - 20 LEDs at 2" Pitch [Neopixel Strand](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3630) ### Part: NeoPixels 60/m quantity: 1 Adafruit NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - White 60 LED - WHITE [NeoPixels 60/m](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1138) In addition to the parts listed above, you'll also need six screws to fasten the enclosure: - 4ea. [#6-32 1-1/4" hex drive rounded head screws](https://www.mcmaster.com/#92949a160/=17d7vxn) - 2ea. [#6-32 1-1/8" hex drive rounded head screws](https://www.mcmaster.com/#92949a860/=17d7wbg) And, if you're 3D printing the enclosure, you'll want some PLA filament for that, such as: - [1.75mm PLA white](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2067) - [1.75mm PLA black](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2060) - [1.75mm PLA red](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2450) - [1.75mm PLA/PHA blue](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2146) I found that black PLA works the best for the face of the controller.  White PLA lets a lot of light bleed through and the NeoTrellis looks better against a dark background. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/069/371/medium800/wireless_neotrellis_use_it.jpg?1547582331) - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/neotrellis-neopixel-controller/code-with-arduino.md) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit Feather M0 RFM69HCW Packet Radio - 868 or 915 MHz [Adafruit Feather M0 RFM69HCW Packet Radio - 868 or 915 MHz](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3176) This is the** Adafruit Feather M0 RFM69 Packet Radio (868 or 915 MHz)****. **We call these _RadioFruits** ,**_ our take on an microcontroller with a RFM69HCW packet radio transceiver plus built in USB and battery charging. Its an Adafruit... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3176) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3176/guides) ### Adafruit NeoTrellis RGB Driver PCB for 4x4 Keypad [Adafruit NeoTrellis RGB Driver PCB for 4x4 Keypad](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3954) By popular request, we've upgraded our popular Trellis elastomer button kits to now have a PCB with _full color NeoPixel_ support! You heard that right, no more single-color LEDs, you can now have any color you like under the fantastic rubbery button pads we sell. These 4x4... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3954) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3954/guides) ### Silicone Elastomer 4x4 Button Keypad - for 3mm LEDs [Silicone Elastomer 4x4 Button Keypad - for 3mm LEDs](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1611) So squishy! These silicone elastomer keypads are just waiting for your fingers to press them. Go ahead, squish all you like! (They're durable and easy to clean, just wipe with mild soap and water) These are just like the light up rubber buttons you find on stuff like appliances and tools,... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1611) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1611/guides) ### 900Mhz Antenna Kit - For LoPy, LoRa, etc [900Mhz Antenna Kit - For LoPy, LoRa, etc](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3340) This **LoRa Antenna Kit**  is meant for use with the [LoPy](https://www.adafruit.com/products/3339) LoRa, WiFi and BLE board or the SiPy Sigfox, WiFi and BLE board. But it's good for any 900MHz radio, including our No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3340) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3340/guides) ### uFL SMT Antenna Connector [uFL SMT Antenna Connector](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1661) uFL connectors are very small surface-mount parts used when an external RF antena is desired but a big bulky SMA connector takes up too much space. We use this part on our GPS and WiFi boards, they're great! Chances are your antenna doesn't use uFL as the main connector, in which case... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1661) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1661/guides) ### Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh [Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh](https://www.adafruit.com/product/328) Lithium-ion polymer (also known as 'lipo' or 'lipoly') batteries are thin, light, and powerful. The output ranges from 4.2V when completely charged to 3.7V. This battery has a capacity of **2500mAh** for a total of about 10 Wh. If you need a smaller battery, In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/328) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/328/guides) ### Adafruit FeatherWing OLED - 128x32 OLED Add-on For Feather [Adafruit FeatherWing OLED - 128x32 OLED Add-on For Feather](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2900) A Feather board without ambition is a Feather board without FeatherWings! This is the **FeatherWing OLED** : it adds a 128x32 monochrome OLED plus 3 user buttons to _any_ Feather main board. Using our [Feather Stacking...](https://www.adafruit.com/products/2830) In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2900) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2900/guides) ### Short Headers Kit for Feather - 12-pin + 16-pin Female Headers [Short Headers Kit for Feather - 12-pin + 16-pin Female Headers](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2940) These two  **Short**   **Female Headers**  alone are, well, lonely. But pair them with any of our [Feather](https://www.adafruit.com/categories/777) boards and you're in business! These headers are particularly cute and... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2940) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2940/guides) ## Related Guides - [Adafruit OLED FeatherWing](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-oled-featherwing.md) - [Adafruit NeoTrellis](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neotrellis.md) - [Split Ortho Keyboard with TCA8418 Matrix Expanders](https://learn.adafruit.com/split-ortho-keyboard.md) - [Magic Light Bag of Holding](https://learn.adafruit.com/magic-light-bag-of-holding.md) - [Remote Effects Trigger Box](https://learn.adafruit.com/remote-effects-trigger.md) - [Adabot Operation Game](https://learn.adafruit.com/adabot-operation-game.md) - [3D Print Ratcatcher 2 Controller Device](https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-print-ratcatcher-2-controller-device-wand.md) - [USB to Eurorack Power Supply](https://learn.adafruit.com/usb-to-eurorack-power-supply.md) - [GEMMA M0 Case](https://learn.adafruit.com/gemma-m0-case.md) - [LED Bullwhip with Motion & Sound Reactivity](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-bullwhip.md) - [Trellis 3D Printed Enclosure](https://learn.adafruit.com/trellis-3d-printed-enclosure.md) - [Sketch Drawing Toy with CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/sketch-drawing-toy.md) - [NeoTrellis MIDI Feedback Controller](https://learn.adafruit.com/neotrellis-midi-feedback-controller.md) - [Personal and Portable ESP32-S2 Web Server](https://learn.adafruit.com/wordle-personal-esp32-s2-web-server.md) - [Adafruit NeoTrellis M4 Express](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neotrellis-m4.md) - [Toy Car Speed Timer](https://learn.adafruit.com/toy-car-speed-timer.md)