Pebble Buddy 3 Guide

Overview

This board makes it super easy to add addressable LEDs and USB-C power
to your project. It's optimized for use with the Pixelblaze Pico LED
controller and Pebble-style LEDs, but can be used with any controller
and any 3-pin 5V addressable LED strip, strand, or PCB object!

These are especially nice to use in wearables, where you want a really small form factor, and to be able to swap out USB-C battery banks, or swap the controller between projects.

Controller Option 1 - Direct Soldering to a Pixelblaze Pico

This board can solder directly to the back of a Pixelblaze Pico to make a very compact form factor.


First, cover the back of the Pico with tape (we like kapton best for this) to insulate the exposed pads on the back of the Pico.
Next, solder the Pico and the Buddy together using the castellated edges.

Controller Option 2 - Connectorizing for a Pico or any LED Controller

Alternately, you can use the enclosed right angle 0.1" headers to connect the Pico to the Buddy. Since the Buddy provides power, we prefer using the sockets on this side, and the pins on the Pico/controller side. But you can do whatever works best for your project. You could even use a straight header (not provided) and plug the Buddy directly into a breadboard.  For LED controllers with a different pinout than the Pico, you can solder wires to the Buddy, or wire the included headers in whatever pinout you need.

Adding the LEDs

Pebble Buddy 3s are designed to use the most common type of Pebble strand, those with 3 pins: 5V, Data, GND.  These are available in 4 different options: black wires, clear wires, diffused lenses, and clear lenses.

LEDs Option 1 - Direct Soldering a Pebble Strand

First, find the "Data In" end of your Pebble strand.  Then determine which side have the lenses facing "up".  Strip this end and solder it with the lenses facing up directly to the pads on the Pebble Buddy 3.

LEDs Option 2 - Connectorizing for Pebbles or Other Strips or PCBs

First, solder the included JST connector to the Buddy.
Next, solder the included JST pigtail cable to your LEDs. You can cut the cable and strip the wires if you need a shorter length. The cable will solder to Pebble strands 1:1, meaning no wires will be crossed if your Pebble strand is lens-side-up and the connector is oriented so it plugs straight into the Buddy. Also note that the 5V wire is marked on all Pebble strands we sell.  However, you can also wire the pigtail to any addressable LED strip or PCB, just be sure to match up your 5V, Data, and GND signals to the connector.  


Note that the typical flex circuit / tape-style strips do NOT have the same pinout as Pebbles, and you will NOT be able to solder them directly to the pads.  You will need to wire them, keeping careful attention to match the signals.

Plug in a USB power source

If you've followed all of the instructions above, have connected an LED controller and all of your LEDs, just plug in a USB-C power source and you're ready to go! This will power both the controller and the LED strands. 

Downloads

How to download our BOM from GitHub:
1. Click the BOM button above
2. Right click over the raw data
3. Select save as and save the CSV file
Have any questions?  Contact us!