We will be playing with NeoPixels in this chapter. I have NeoPixel rings and some individual breadboardable NeoPixels. Even on the ring each individual NeoPixel has a miniature micro controller embedded in it. These “listen” for commands from our Arduino to change color and brightness. One of the things that makes NeoPixels totally awesome is that you can literally have hundreds of them attached to a single pin on your Arduino.
You can find complete directions and tutorials for how to use NeoPixels in all their varied forms over at Adafruit.com. In this chapter I will provide some simplified instruction to get you started. My instructions should help get you going and will make it easier to understand Adafruit’s full instructions in case you decide you want to tackle a more ambitions project using these incredibly useful LEDs.