Wiring is easy, you can use any pin with a Serial or Software Serial output pin. We don't use the input of a Serial connection (since the Pixie is 'write only'). Dont forget to power the Pixie with a good 5V supply that can handle the current draw.
Our example code will use digital #6 but you can change this to any pin later
Download Adafruit_Pixie library
To begin reading sensor data, you will need to download the Adafruit Pixie library.
Open up the Arduino library manager:
Search for the Adafruit Pixie library and install it
We also have a great tutorial on Arduino library installation at:
http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-all-about-arduino-libraries-install-use
Load Demo
Open up File->Examples->Adafruit_Pixie->strandtest and upload to your Arduino wired up to the Pixies
That's it! You're ready to rock out to your bright lights
#include "SoftwareSerial.h" #include "Adafruit_Pixie.h"
Two #define's will determine which pin you're using for controlling the Pixie's and how many there are
#define NUMPIXELS 3 // Number of Pixies in the strip #define PIXIEPIN 6 // Pin number for SoftwareSerial output
Pixie's receive data via Serial. You can use hardware serial as well, but our demo is SoftwareSerial. Create a new SoftSerial device that transmits on the pixie pin
SoftwareSerial pixieSerial(-1, PIXIEPIN);
Then pass in the software or hardware serial device to create the Pixie strip
Adafruit_Pixie strip = Adafruit_Pixie(NUMPIXELS, &pixieSerial);
Start the Pixie object by setting the baud rate, it is 115200 so dont change that number
pixieSerial.begin(115200); // Pixie REQUIRES this baud rate
You can set the overall brightness, this is a one time 'nonreversable' setting, so once you set pixel colors they will automatically be scaled by the brightness. 0 is all the way off, 255 is all the way on. Default is 255.
strip.setBrightness(200); // Adjust as necessary to avoid blinding
Then you can set each pixel color with
strip.setPixelColor(n, red, green, blue);
Where n ranges from 0 to numberOfPixels-1 and red, green and blue are the RGB component color, ranging from 0 (off) to 255
For example, to set pixel #1 to full red:
strip.setPixelColor(0, 255, 0, 0);
To set pixel #5 to a dim green-blue
strip.setPixelColor(4, 0, 30, 30);
Once the pixel colors are set, you'll need to tell the pixie strand to update, call:
strip.show();
Page last edited March 08, 2024
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