> **Source:** Core Electronics is an Australian maker-electronics retailer and manufacturer based in Newcastle, NSW, run by a team of makers and educators. We design and manufacture our own product lines (PiicoDev, CE originals) and are official retailers for iconic maker and industrial brands including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Adafruit, SparkFun and DFRobot. Orders ship Australia-wide from our Newcastle warehouse. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Pricing, stock and dispatch on this page are generated from the store's live catalog. Full machine-readable index: https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt # Adafruit Pixel Trinkey - USB Key for NeoPixel / DotStar Driving **Type:** Product page · **SKU:** ADA5953 · **Brand:** [Adafruit](https://core-electronics.com.au/brands/adafruit-australia) **Page:** https://core-electronics.com.au/adafruit-pixel-trinkey-usb-key-for-neopixel-dotstar-driving.html ([markdown](https://core-electronics.com.au/adafruit-pixel-trinkey-usb-key-for-neopixel-dotstar-driving.html.md)) Blast-off to Pixel Planet with the Adafruit Pixel Trinkey, a co-pilot for those who like to shine bright. This little microcontroller board plugs into... ## Pricing - **Price:** $17.50 (inc GST) — $15.91 AUD, exc GST - **Quantity discounts:** 10+ $15.44 (exc GST) · 50+ $15.11 (exc GST) ## Availability & dispatch - In stock, ships same business day if ordered before 2PM (Australia/Sydney). - We can dispatch 1 today; more stock is typically available with a 8–12 day lead time. ## How to buy - **Build a cart:** compose `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link?items=ADA5953:1` (comma-separated SKU:qty pairs) and share the link. Opening it shows a confirmation page with live pricing and stock before anything is added to the cart. - **Verify the cart first:** fetch `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link/ADA5953:1.md` for live line prices (inc & exc GST, quantity discounts applied), stock and dispatch estimates, and totals. Append `/to/{AU-postcode}` (or `/to/{country-code}:{postcode}`) before `.md` for delivery options and prices to that destination. Unknown, retired, or out-of-stock SKUs are flagged. (Query form `cart/link.md?items=...` also works but some robots parsers refuse query strings here.) - **Checkout** is completed on-site and includes a captcha at the payment step. Share the cart link; checkout takes it from there. - **Search the catalogue:** `https://core-electronics.com.au/search/{query}.md` (URL-encode the query; pages 2-3 at `search/{query}/{page}.md`; `search.md?q=` also works) - **Payment methods, purchase orders, policies and contact details:** https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt ## Description Blast-off to Pixel Planet with the **Adafruit Pixel Trinkey**, a co-pilot for those who like to shine bright. This little microcontroller board plugs into your computer's USB port and can drive tons of NeoPixel (SK6812, WS2812, etc) or DotStar (e.g. AP102) LEDs without having to do any soldering or complex wiring. The SAMD21 chip on board has 32KB of SRAM, that means thousands of pixels! All from the convenience of your computer with support for Arduino, CircuitPython or Windows 11's built-in [Dynamic Light Control](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/control-your-dynamic-lighting-devices-in-windows-8e8f22e3-e820-476c-8f9d-9ffc7b6ffcd2) NeoPixels and Dotstars are 'smart' LEDs that can display 24-bit color, they're bright, colorful, individually-addressable, and come in dozens of different shapes: from [flexible strips](https://core-electronics.com.au/components/leds/addressable/ws2812-rgb-led-strips.html), to [individual dots](https://core-electronics.com.au/adafruit-neopixel-led-dots-strand-20-leds-at-2-pitch.html), to [rings](https://core-electronics.com.au/neopixel-ring-16-x-ws2812-5050-rgb-led-with-integrated-drivers.html), and beyond. However, you need a microcontroller to drive them: something that can generate the exact pattern of data that they desire to set each pixel color. Normally folks use something like an Arduino, which will work just fine, but sometimes needs level shifting or separate power, or just has gangly wires. This board contains the microcontroller, plus level shifting in a compact package that pokes out an inch from your computer USB port. On the end is a screw terminal block that can accept stranded or solid-core wires 26 to 18 AWG with four ports: 5V power, Data, Clock and Ground. If you're using DotStars, wire up the 'input' side of your LEDs to the 4 pads. If you're using NeoPixels, you can have one or two strands, where the second strand uses the Clock pin as the data generator. Computer USB ports can provide up to 1A which Adafruit have found will drive about 150 pixels without difficulty as long as they are not all on full white at max brightness. If you need to drive a ton more pixels, simply disconnect the 5V power wire and use an external power source - just make sure that the ground wire from the external power is connected to the ground of the Trinkey+pixels. You can monitor the USB 5V line voltage thanks to a resistor divider on the board. If you want to add additional circuitry, such as an Infrared remote input, or potentiometer, or a button, there's a JST-SH 3-pin connector on board. Use a [JST SH 3-pin cable](https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=jst+sh+3-pin) to access the 3V, ground and pin D4. There's also a separate mini NeoPixel for status feedback if desired. ### Features - **ATSAMD21E18 32-bit Cortex M0+** - 48 MHz 32-bit processor with 256KB Flash and 32 KB RAM - **Native USB supported by every OS** - can be used in Arduino or CircuitPython as a USB serial console, MIDI, Keyboard/Mouse HID, and even a little disk drive for storing Python scripts - Can be used with **Arduino IDE** or **CircuitPython** - **0.1" / 2.54mm Terminal Blocks** - Attach LEDs with no soldering! Just use a common screwdriver. - On-board **RGB NeoPixel LED** - **JST SH 3-pin compatible connector** - For extra hardware connectivity - **Reset switch** to start your project code over or enter bootloader mode - **Open Source Hardware** so you have full control over your LEDs ## Images - [Product image 1](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/A/D/ADA5953-1.jpg)