[Billfred]

Originally Posted by ABreyen

Hey CD! Our team bought these RGB LED Light Strips from AndyMark. Has anyone worked with something like a Raspberry Pi or Arduino to control them? I'm guessing the GPIO Pins on the rPi would work somehow? We might have to convert the 12V LEDs to 5V or something?

Also, is it possible to use the RoboRio to display the Alliance Color if we used these on the robot? I've heard that using a co-processor like a rPi or Arduino is illegal. If this isn't possible, how do teams use LEDs on their robot?

We were possibly thinking of somehow using our DriverStation to provide 5V Power on our control board. Would this be possible if we used a 5V -> 12V converter? On the board is where we probably would use a Raspberry Pi or Arduino.

Thank you!!

Hi, Billfred from AndyMark. Let's tackle a few things in no particular order:

• The prohibitions on Raspberry Pi or Arduino boards is in FIRST Tech Challenge, not the FIRST Robotics Competition. We brought these LEDs to market in particular because you could just hook up 12V and go.
• These LEDs aren't individually addressable--they all show the same color, based on the voltages applied.
• You could try to convert 5V to 12V, but I would highly recommend using a separate battery pack for driver station lights. Any unnecessary electrical loads on the Driver Station, to me as a mentor and coach, is tempting fate.
• If you just want red, green, or blue, it's just a matter of grounding that channel by wiring them straight in the PDP. Purple? Ground red and blue. White? Ground all three. For more precise mixing, you'd need a controller or a bunch of resistors. Speed controllers would work, or one of the thousands of off-the-shelf LED controllers if it met (or was made to meet) the no-wireless-communication rule.
• As always, read the electrical rules and the custom circuit rules in particular next year to make sure your application is compliant.