Learn Robotics Programming

Logic levels

To attach an RGB LED strip to the Pi, we need to be aware that the Raspberry Pi GPIO pins operate at 3.3V, and the majority of these lights operate with logic at 5V. This logic level voltage applies to the high digital level. If we try to drive these directly from the Pi, at too low a voltage, the results may be inconsistent at best. If we are signalling back to the Pi, too high a voltage will damage it! This is a process we will need to get familiar with, as the next few sensors will also require this.

The simple answer to this is to use a logic level converter; the following photo shows two types of these:

Logic level converters ...