WS2812 Addressable-LED Driver (ESP32)
Drive a strip of addressable RGB LEDs.
- Track
- ACT
- Level
- L1
- Prerequisites
- 1
- Status
- Coming soon
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This board is on the bench. Leave your email and you'll be first in when it ships, and your interest helps decide what we build next.
What you'll build
Drive a strip of addressable RGB LEDs (WS2812 / NeoPixel) from an ESP32 using its hardware RMT peripheral for rock-solid timing. Along the way you'll solve the real-world catch: the ESP32's 3.3V logic is out of spec for 5V WS2812 data, so you'll level-shift with a 74AHCT125, run the strip at a lower voltage, or switch to SK6812 — and give the LEDs their own dedicated 5V rail.
It sits on the ACT track: driving the physical world with motors, servos, and high-power lighting under precise control.
Tools for this build
Free calculators that do the math this board needs. Each is worked from a real OTD board, with the formula and a cited source.
- WS2812 / NeoPixel power supply calculatorSize a 5 V supply for an addressable LED string from pixel count, per-pixel draw, and headroom. Grounded in the WS2812B datasheet figure.
- PCB trace width calculator (IPC-2221)Find the minimum trace width for a current at a chosen temperature rise (IPC-2221), for external or internal copper. Grounded in a real high-current board.
The build pipeline
Part of the path from your first board to a brain-computer interface. See the full skill tree →