WS2812B LED strip with NUCLEO-F401RE

Wiring for the WS2812B addressable LED strip on the NUCLEO-F401RE (STM32F401RE, 3.3 V logic), chosen with the same pin rules BoardPilot uses: default buses first, and no pins that are used for flash, USB, the debugger or booting.

Wiring

WS2812B LED strip pin	Role	NUCLEO-F401RE pin	Notes
5V	Power	5V	Use 5V for a few LEDs; a separate 5 V supply for more (up to 60 mA per LED)
DIN	Input to the part	D2 (PA10)	Data in. Add a 330 Ω resistor; a 3.3 V to 5 V level shifter makes it reliable
GND	Ground	GND

Check before you power it on

Supply: 5 V from the 5V pin.
Motors, servos, relays and LED strips can draw more current than the NUCLEO-F401RE’s pins or USB can give. Power them separately and connect the grounds together.

Test code (Arduino)

// Library: Adafruit NeoPixel
#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

Adafruit_NeoPixel strip(8, PA10, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);  // 8 LEDs

void setup() {
  strip.begin();
  strip.setBrightness(40);  // keep it low when powered from USB
}

void loop() {
  for (int i = 0; i < strip.numPixels(); i++) {
    strip.clear();
    strip.setPixelColor(i, strip.Color(0, 80, 255));
    strip.show();
    delay(100);
  }
}

Arduino board: STMicroelectronics:stm32:Nucleo_64:pnum=NUCLEO_F401RE. Plug the USB cable into the mini-USB port on the ST-LINK end. No button press is needed.

Questions

Which NUCLEO-F401RE pins do I use for the WS2812B LED strip?

5V → 5V, DIN → D2 (PA10), GND → GND.

Does the WS2812B LED strip work with the NUCLEO-F401RE at 3.3 V?

Yes: the WS2812B LED strip runs at 5 V and the NUCLEO-F401RE uses 3.3 V signals, so no level shifting is needed.

BoardPilot checks this wiring in 3D as you build it, and finds crossed or missing wires on the real board.

Download BoardPilot

Full NUCLEO-F401RE pinout · WS2812B addressable LED strip: all pins and data

The WS2812B LED strip on other boards

ESP32 DevKit Arduino Mega 2560 R3 Arduino Nano Arduino Uno R3 WeAct Black Pill STM32F411CE ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 Nordic nRF52840 DK Raspberry Pi Pico 2 Raspberry Pi Pico W Raspberry Pi Pico Teensy 4.1

Other parts on the NUCLEO-F401RE

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