Questions tagged [led]

An LED, a light emitting diode, is a light source often used as an indicator.

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7 answers
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How do I control the system LEDs using my software?

There are 5 LEDs on the RPi: OK, PWR, FDX, LNK, 10M. I'd like to know if it's possible to control any of these from software i.e. turn them on, or change intensity (or even change colour gasp). And ...
Maria Zverina's user avatar
43 votes
5 answers
109k views

What do system LEDs signify?

There are 5 status LEDs on the Raspberry Pi board. While I can guess what the POWER LED signifies (the power being attached), I am not sure about other four. So, what do OK, FDX, LNK and 10M signify?
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37 votes
3 answers
39k views

Why is a resistor needed for LEDs?

While looking for a basic task to get familiar with the Raspberry Pi and its GPIO pins, I decided that driving an LED sounded simple enough. While investigating how to go about this task I've noticed ...
Jason Whitehorn's user avatar
35 votes
1 answer
91k views

What do the LEDs on the B+ mean?

Not a duplicate of this RPi.SE question, as I'll explain in a moment. GPIO.RPI_REVISION returns 3. As far as I can tell, looking at my B+, there are no LEDs labeled: OK, FDX, LNK or 10M. There are ...
PythonNut's user avatar
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22 votes
3 answers
34k views

Why are some GPIO pins HIGH when the Raspberry Pi boots up?

I have an easy circuit wired up, with an LED connected to pin 18 on the BOARD reference. I run a simple program to put pin 18 to HIGH, which turns the LED on, and then a couple of seconds later, I set ...
Viktor Raspberry's user avatar
14 votes
4 answers
12k views

Wiring RGB LED's

I was wondering if it is possible to connect 8 individual RGB led's much like the adafruit strip. I saw the Pumpkin Pi project and would like to build one. I don't have any yellow or red LED's, but ...
atrueresistance's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
3k views

What do I need to simulate traffic lights using LEDs?

So I'm making a model that simulates traffic lights (Red, Amber, Green) so there will be three LEDS that need to be preferably extendable (I don't want them attached directly to the breadboard) but I ...
Phorce's user avatar
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13 votes
1 answer
8k views

Disable LEDs Pi Zero

Can I disable the yellow (PWR?) LED on the Pi Zero? I've tried setting the brightness to 0 of led1 (it starts life as 255) and led0 is already 0 but I still get the LED glow. Out of interest, I only ...
Toby's user avatar
  • 264
12 votes
2 answers
34k views

Controlling many LEDs with few GPIO pins

I successfully completed my hardware "hello world" using this guide: http://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/2012/06/control-led-using-gpio-output-pin/ Now I'd like to move on to bigger and brighter things,...
SkyNT's user avatar
  • 223
11 votes
3 answers
14k views

How can I turn the lights off on my pi?

I'd like to build a small internet radio out of my pi, but I'd like to use it at night, when the flashing LEDs would be disturbing. Is there any way to disable them?
Tom Medley's user avatar
  • 4,069
11 votes
2 answers
5k views

What's the Difference between Raspberry Pi and Arduino?

This question stems from a large lack of understanding, but it concerns a project I've wanted to do for a while. This is an Instructables page for an 8x8x8 led cube, and the 70th step addresses the ...
SomekidwithHTML's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
874 views

Visual/audio status/activity indicators

What, if any, indicators of system status or activity are available on the Pi? Audio - I'm talking about a beep when it's turned off, or a series of beeps indicating POST information, etc. Video - ...
stuffe's user avatar
  • 513
10 votes
2 answers
4k views

Controlling 400 LEDs from a raspberry pi

I have a client who has several large bronze signboards, each with 100-150 little light bulbs on it, totaling approximately 400 bulbs. The bulbs are turned on and off on a schedule, currently by hand ...
Moshe Katz's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
9k views

Is there any built in LED connected with GPIO pin?

In Arduino a built in LED is attached with number 13 Digital pin. Is there any LED like Arduino in Raspberry Pi,which I can use to test my code?
Sohan Arafat's user avatar
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8 votes
5 answers
28k views

How to blink LEDs on/off continually, while continuing execution of a script?

I've connected red and green leds via GPIO and I can successfully switch them on/off using RPi.GPIO - now I'd like to: start an led blinking on/off every 1 second have the script continue its ...
Stephen Lead's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
11k views

Are there other act_led_trigger options besides "mmc" and "heartbeat"?

/boot/overlays/README has this text: act_led_trigger Choose which activity the LED tracks. Use "heartbeat" for a nice load indicator. ...
Lucas Walter's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
25k views

Which addressable RGB LED strips are beginner friendly and Raspberry Pi friendly?

I'm programmer and my electronics knowledge and soldering skills are pretty basic. I want to find a bright, addressable (a.k.a. digital) RGB LED strip which can be attached to RPi and programmed ...
JustAMartin's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

Using jumper cables to turn on LEDs

Currently I have my LED's anode connected to the GPIO pin that controls it and the cathode is attached to a resistor and the other end of the resistor is on my breadboards - rail. How can I use jumper ...
kalenpw's user avatar
  • 205
7 votes
4 answers
14k views

Raspberry Pi LED current limit

I've got an Raspberry Pi and I want to control some LEDs. I've read that the maximum current at the GPIO pins should be less than 50mA. But each LED uses 20mA. Does that mean that even three LEDs are ...
tecmen's user avatar
  • 71
7 votes
1 answer
8k views

Is my Pi's GPIO damaged?

I am trying to test GPIO output on a Raspberry Pi, and I am wondering if it is broken. These setups work: 3v3 >> +LED terminal -LED terminal >> resistor >> GND (the LED is unusually dim here) 3v3 >>...
Daniel D'Souza's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why does sudo not work in this case?

I was playing with the raspberry pi leds (How do I control the system LEDs using my software?) Interestingly, on my pi the following command fails: sudo echo heartbeat >/sys/class/leds/led0/...
John Smith's user avatar
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6 votes
4 answers
7k views

Connecting blue LED (3.3V)

I've recently started doing basic diode connections (red and green diodes). I've also got blue diodes, but there's one thing that prevented me from connecting them already, namely - the specs say they'...
Bartosz's user avatar
  • 233
6 votes
1 answer
664 views

2nd LED not working when connected to different GPIO port

I am trying to make 2 LEDs flash but I have connected both to different GPIO ports. Both LEDs are being used with a 220 Ohm resistor. my red LED is connected to GPIO4 (Pin #7) while its ground is ...
tony9099's user avatar
  • 190
6 votes
6 answers
15k views

Using one Raspi to control long (>100ft) of 5V LED strip

I am using the below LED strip for accent lighting 5M WS2801 Blcak PCB 32LED 5050 RGB Digital LED Strip Individually Addressable 5V item: nonwaterproof black pcb ws2801 led strips Model: 5050RGB ...
puk's user avatar
  • 685
5 votes
4 answers
4k views

What is the maximum number of RGB LEDs that can be controlled individually?

I've read that 17 LEDs can be controlled individually with the 17 GPIO pins. Does that mean that only 5 (17 / 3 = 5.6) RGB LEDs can be controlled with one Pi? Would it be possible to individually ...
barro32's user avatar
  • 171
5 votes
3 answers
761 views

Is there an addressable LED product that I can wire to a Raspberry Pi where all the LEDs are separate?

I have a RPi project where I want to build but alas I'm a programmer, not an electrical engineer. I can solder things, but I couldn't tell you what resistor I needed to put where. Anyway, I looked ...
stu's user avatar
  • 153
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to indicate read / write disk operiation via LEDs connected to GPIO

I think I know how to connect LEDs to GPIO but I want to illuminate them when there is read / write operation to sdcard or other mass storage connected to Pi/ Is it possible ? I am doing little ...
zebik's user avatar
  • 69
5 votes
1 answer
631 views

I need to control 8 LED's but I can only control 3? [helpful pictures attached]

I'm very new to electronics in general, but I want to build a small project where I can individually control (from a GPIO pin) 8 LED's. From what I understand, each GPIO pin on the Pi (Pi2 model B V1....
Kenneth's user avatar
  • 53
5 votes
3 answers
9k views

How to use 2 x MCP23017?

I need to control 32 L.E.D's individually, now looking through the forum, the common solution is to use MCP23017 chips, as they can control 16 l.e.d's. With that in mind, I would require two chips. ...
EV-O's user avatar
  • 71
5 votes
2 answers
626 views

Board sign from LED strips

I'm trying to build a sign board made of LED strips, just like this I found a ton of examples on controlling a single strip and also examples using the adafruit premade led boards (16x32), but no ...
NickPR's user avatar
  • 151
4 votes
3 answers
16k views

Is it possible to connect an LED directly to the GPIO of the Pi?

I was wondering if it is possible to connect an LED directly to one of the GPIO pins of the Pi? The reason I ask is that, I have read from many sources that if I am not using some sort of break out ...
Jay's user avatar
  • 143
4 votes
1 answer
8k views

Why can't I turn on an LED through Python?

I have an LED connected to pin 11 on the Raspberry Pi header, (also known as BCM/GPIO pin 17, and GPIO0). I have installed the Raspberry Pi Python library according to these instructions. Attempt 1 ...
spuder's user avatar
  • 1,153
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

Pi Zero W - Switching camera LED from program or command line

So far failing to switch the camera LED either from Python using RPi.GPIO or from the command line using /sysfs/gpio... I've tried using both GPIO5 and GPIO32 as suggested from various online sources,...
Charemer's user avatar
  • 635
4 votes
1 answer
901 views

GPIO stuck in High Mode

I'm new to this whole RP world, and I'm trying to learn it. I've been trying to follow this post, and connected my Pi this image below Connection between Pi and Adafruit T-Cobbler Plus Wiring ...
code-8's user avatar
  • 177
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Powering WS2812B LED strip from Pi brownouts

I have a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B currently controlling and powering a strip of WS2812B LED's. A separate 5V 15A power supply powers the Pi through pins 2 and 6, while the LED's are powered off of pins ...
TJ Mazeika's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
6k views

How to calculate how many watts a resistor need?

I want to build the most simple circuit that connects my pi, the resistor and a LED. I looked up resistors but there are so many resistors 0.1W, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1W, 2W ,3W etc... Which one do I ...
Ivaylo Nikolov's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
17k views

Control WS2801 with Raspberry Pi

Anyone has managed to get raspberry pi connected to WS2801 RGB Led Strip? I have followed the connections here at adafruit: and tried to test the LED with pixelpi.py. The pixelpi.py runs without ...
Chen Zhenhao's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
5k views

Control 5m of WS2812 LED Strip: Wire it up

I want to control 5m of WS2812 LED Strip with my Raspberry Pi, which will be placed around two Ikea Billy shelves. I read some articles and tutorials regarding this topic: http://popoklopsi.github....
appcodix's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
740 views

Can't get LED to turn off

I'm a rookie with Raspberry Pi and electronics in general. I was able to get my LED to turn on when I plug it into the breadboard but i'm unable to get it to respond via Python or wiringPi. The LED ...
Catfish's user avatar
  • 193
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Powering and controlling hundreds of LEDs with a Raspberry pi

How do you utilize the Raspberry PI to be able to power hundreds of LED lights? Imagine I have Christmas Lights (LED) and I want to be able to control all individually (write a program on the ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 221
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

RGB LED is not lighting up

I connected an RGB LED(common anode) via the GPIO, and tried to get it to light up, but for some reason when I run the command, the LED does not light up. Here's the code I'm using import RPi.GPIO as ...
Idris's user avatar
  • 43
4 votes
1 answer
639 views

Troubleshoot MCP23017 and LEDs

Anyone have any tips to help troubleshoot turning a simple LED on connected through the MCP23017? I've installed i2c-tools, and smbus. Nothing in my blacklist.conf Added i2c-dev to /etc/modules. ...
KHibma's user avatar
  • 270
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

Read status of power led using sysfs

I want to read the status of GPIO35 on a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B using the sysfs on Raspbian with a 4.0.8-v7+ kernel. I can access other GPIO pins using /sys/class/gpio but the two leds are already ...
Joffrey's user avatar
  • 151
3 votes
3 answers
4k views

Lighting a LED slowly with GPIO

What is a good way to make an LED turn on and off slowly using a Raspberry Pi? Im trying to hook up an led to become a Tardis lamp, but since the Pi doesnt have ADC/DAC, Im kind of stuck. What are ...
calccrypto's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

Power LED from 3.3V Power Pin without Resistor

I tried wiring one white LED to the 3.3V pin on a Pi Zero W with a 330 Ohm resistor but it's not as bright as I would like. If I wire it up without a resister I get a good amount of brightness. Is ...
dikuw's user avatar
  • 198
3 votes
3 answers
61k views

Why Isn't My Ethernet Working?

I just got Pi Model B. I downloaded Wheezy on SD card and plugged in all of my cords. Everything works fine except the Ethernet port. The LINK LED flickers for a second while booting up, but then it ...
Gaurav's user avatar
  • 171
3 votes
6 answers
4k views

Turn off external LEDs on Raspberry Pi 3

I see there are quite a few posts about this already but none seem to work for me. I am running a pihole server on my RPi 3 and I would like to turn off the external power and LAN LEDs (green and ...
GiarcTNA's user avatar
  • 139
3 votes
2 answers
7k views

How to control 12V LED with the GPIO?

Heyo! How to control single 12V LED using Raspberry's GPIO? To be more exact, I need to connect 12V LED & push button to Raspberry Pi 3 B+ GPIO in order to control LED (on/off) and read button ...
greenback's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
388 views

Help lighting LED via GPIO pins

So I got an RPi and a canakit, I'm trying to follow a guide to get a simple program to make the LED blink. I have very little experience with RPis so it's probably a very simple error, but I can't ...
kalenpw's user avatar
  • 205
3 votes
2 answers
13k views

Want to run a simple C program on startup of pi

Im new to linux and the pi . Im stuck with this situation where Iv been trying to run a simple LED blinking C code as a test , so that it will be executed during startup Code works fine when its ...
jeffrey's user avatar
  • 31

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