I am wanting to put some neo pixel rings on my sons gaming desk
What will I need to do this and how do I run them
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Hi Scott,
Welcome to the forums! 
You’ll need:
- the neo-pixels themselves,
- a power source,
- a way to control them, and,
- some wiring and tools to connect it all up.
If you’re just starting out with Maker gear, I’d recommend going with either a Raspberry Pi Pico (Also available with Headers once we do another run of soldering), or the classic Uno. Alternatively, a Raspberry Pi might be another great option.
We’ve got some tutorials on using WS2812 Leds (or Neopixels as Adafruit call them. Our Tradename is Glowbit, which are the latest WS2812 v5 LEDs)
We’ve got a few different addressable LED rings available which you can find on our site by doing a quick search for ‘ws2812 ring’.
I hope that info helps, and let us know if you’ve got any further questions.
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Thanks for that, can I run multiple rings from one or will I need one for each ring
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Hi Scott, Welcome to the forum 
One microcontroller should be able to drive the control signals for quite a few Neopixel rings, but the power supply is normally separate as they draw quite a bit of current. If you want them to do the same thing you can connect the NeoPixel rings all to the same digital output, or control them all individually with separate outputs.
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And once programmed I can disconnect from the PC is this correct
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Once programmed a microcontroller will hold its main program in non-volatile flash memory. So the microcontroller will need to be powered on but you don’t need to reconnect it to the computer while it runs or after each time it gets powered off.
The microcontroller will need to feed instructions to the NeoPixels continuously to make them come on and stay on.
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Thanks, I think this will be a fun learning experience
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Hi Scott,
That’s a great attitude to have and will go a long way to making sure any electronics project is a success.
Not to complicate things too much but I have one more suggestion for getting NeoPixels to run in a simple, learner-friendly way. The Micro:bit microcontroller is very popular in schools as the barrier to entry is the lowest and works well with alligator clips, but can still support multiple programming languages once you’ve built up your skills.
Our GlowBit Rainbow uses the same WS2812 (NeoPixel) LEDs and has a great beginners guide with videos you can find here:
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Thanks again, what power source do you recommend for the neo pixel rings
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I’d typically use a 5V plugpack as they are simple, cost effective, and it’s not too hard to connect some wires to a barrel jack adapter.
Be sure to estimate your current use based on the full power load of all LEDs in your project so that you know you won’t max out the power supply.
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