LED Module CH32V203

noknok LEDs

A USB-controlled ring of 8 WS2812b RGB LEDs for the noknok ecosystem. The Raspberry Pi Pico drives it as a USB host; it can also be driven directly from a PC.

Features

• 8× WS2812b RGB LEDs (ring)
• CH32V203G6U6 microcontroller, USB 1.1 (CDC) device
• USB-C power + data; 2× Qwiic / STEMMA QT compatible I2C pass-through connectors
• Unique per-unit USB serial derived from the chip UID — so the Conductor can tell identical modules apart and map them to roles (the USB counterpart of the I2C UID)
• Rich control: per-LED colour/brightness/timed-off in one command, plus 6 built-in animations (rainbow, breathe, theatre chase, colour wipe, twinkle, sundown)

Status

• Firmware: v1.8.2 — complete (see firmware/readme.md for the full command protocol, flashing instructions, and version history)
• Hardware: v1.0

How it's controlled

From a Raspberry Pi Pico (USB host) — the noknok Conductor

The Pico hosts the module over PIO-USB (D+ → GP16, D− → GP17, behind a powered hub such as the DataHub). The NoknokLEDs driver lives in brain-Pico/software/noknok_usb.py and is discovered by the Conductor:

from noknok import Conductor

c = Conductor()
c.enumerate_usb()          # brings up the USB host port, finds all LED modules
# (use c.enumerate_all() for a product that mixes I2C + USB modules)

leds = c.leds[0]                                  # or c.by_uid("<serial>"), or c.role["lamp"]
leds.set_all(255, 0, 0)                           # all red
leds.set_pixel(3, 0, 255, 0)                      # LED 3 green
leds.set_brightness(128)                          # global brightness
leds.set_led(0xFF, 0, 0, 255, brightness=200, duration_ms=1000)  # all blue 1 s, then off
leds.play_preset(leds.PRESET_RAINBOW, speed=40)  # non-blocking animation on the module
leds.play_preset(leds.PRESET_SUNDOWN, speed=30, r=0, g=0, b=255)  # 30 min fade to off, blue
leds.off()

Each module carries a unique serial, so multiple LED modules on one hub are addressed individually. See Ecosystem → enumeration.md (USB Module Discovery & Identity) and roles.md (role assignment — this is an output module, assigned by cue-and-confirm).

From a PC

PowerShell / Python helpers in tools/ (noknok_leds.ps1, noknok_leds_pc.py) auto-detect the module and expose the same commands.

Repository Structure

• /hardware — KiCad files, schematics, 3D models
• /firmware — source (src/), built binaries (bin/), and the firmware change record (readme.md)
• /tools — PC control scripts

Trademarks

noknok is a registered trademark in Switzerland (Swissreg 1300007033).

Qwiic is a registered trademark of SparkFun Electronics, Inc. STEMMA QT is a trademark of Adafruit Industries, LLC. Both are named here only to state connector compatibility - noknok is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either company.