JANET LIUHow to Make (almost) Anything

## Neopixel Output For this week, I wanted to test using the Neopixels with the SAMD11 chips. I am planning to use Neopixels for my final project gameboard lighting, so wanted to learn how to write code with them and test out the wiring. ## Wiring up the Neopixels | SAMD11 I first tried using my SAMD11 chip from week 9. The Neopixels are super easy to use, since I only have to wire up 5V, Ground, and a digital input pin. The rest of the LEDs are all addressable. The image below shows where I was planning to solder the Neopixels onto. <figure><img src="../images/full/10/wiring_schema.png" width="500"/> </figure> After soldering on everything, I wrote some very basic code based off of [this website](https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/zanycadencedev/getting-started-with-arduino-and-neopixels-013360). The code is linked [here](../code/neo_test.ino). However, loading the code onto SAMD11 did not work. I knew it wasn't an issue with the chip, since I wrote some burner test to light up an LED that worked. Also, it had been correctly reading in input from the potentiometer. Nathan thought that there might just be some issues with the SAMD11 and the Neopixel library. We were hoping to test it out on a different board with the Neopixels wired in, but could not find a bootloader for the chip in the shop. ## Wiring up the Neopixels | ESP32 At this point, I had experienced a lot of issues with the SAMD11s and bootloading them. So, I decided to switch chips and try out something new: the ESP32 chips. I wanted to also use them so I could have some experience for the networking/communications unit. Rosalie graciously lent me one of the boards she had built using the ESP32 chip. I wired up a Neopixel to it, loaded on my code, and it worked great! <figure><img src="../images/full/10/final_neopixel_light.png" width="500"/> </figure> Now that I have a success story with Neopixels and ESP32 chips, I plan to stick with these for my final project. Yay!