.. _arduino_ws2812:

======================
1.1 WS2812 RGB LED
======================

Control the onboard WS2812 RGB LED on the ESP32-S3 multimedia board.

Overview
========

This example shows how to control the onboard WS2812 addressable RGB LED with the ESP32-S3 Arduino core. The sketch cycles through several colors and uses the built-in ``neopixelWrite()`` function, so no external LED library is required.

What You'll Learn
=================

* Using ``neopixelWrite()`` for WS2812 control
* RGB color model basics
* Timing with ``delay()``
* Simple brightness scaling to keep the LED comfortable to view

Before You Begin
================

Complete the setup steps in :ref:`preparation` before continuing.

.. note::
   Use the recommended Arduino IDE settings in :ref:`arduino_board_settings` unless this lesson says otherwise.

Open the example sketch from the code package: 

``LAFVIN-ESP32-S3-Multimedia-Kit-main/1.Arduino/1.WS2812/1.WS2812.ino``

This example uses the **onboard** WS2812 LED. No external wiring is required.

======= ========
Signal  ESP32-S3
======= ========
Data    GPIO 48
======= ========

.. note::
   If the LED does not light, confirm that you are using the kit's onboard hardware and that the correct board and serial port are selected in Arduino IDE.

Upload and Test
===============

#. Connect the board with a USB Type-C data cable.
#. Open ``1.WS2812.ino`` in Arduino IDE.
#. In the **Tools** menu, select ``ESP32S3 Dev Module`` as the board and choose the correct serial port.
#. Click **Upload**.
#. After the sketch starts, open **Serial Monitor**, set the baud rate to ``115200``, and watch the LED and serial messages at the same time.

After uploading, the onboard LED cycles through these states:

* Red
* Green
* Blue
* Yellow
* White
* Off

Each state lasts about 1 second. The Serial Monitor also prints the current color name.

How the Code Works
==================

The ESP32 Arduino core includes a built-in ``neopixelWrite(pin, r, g, b)`` function that handles the WS2812 timing protocol, so this example does not need Adafruit NeoPixel or other LED libraries.

.. code-block:: cpp

   // Set the LED to red
   neopixelWrite(48, 255, 0, 0);

   // Set to blue at half brightness
   neopixelWrite(48, 0, 0, 128);

In the provided sketch:

* ``LED_PIN`` is set to ``48``
* ``BRIGHTNESS`` is limited to ``25`` to avoid excessive brightness
* ``ledWrite()`` scales the RGB values before sending them to the LED
* The loop cycles through red, green, blue, yellow, white, and off, with a 1-second delay between states

Try This Next
=============

* Change ``BRIGHTNESS`` to make the LED dimmer or brighter
* Replace the fixed colors with your own RGB values
* Reduce ``delay(1000)`` to create a faster animation