Exhibit A:
![box of "Monster BASICS" Sound reactive RGB+IC Color Flow LED strip](https://scruss.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/monster_sound_reactive_RGB-smol.jpg)
also known as “Monster BASICS Sound reactive RGB+IC Color Flow LED strip”. It’s $5 or so at Dollarama, and includes a USB cable for power and a remote control. It’s two metres long and includes 60 RGB LEDs. Are these really super-cheap NeoPixel clones?
I’m going to keep the USB power so I can power it from a power bank, but otherwise convert it to a string of smart LEDs. We lose the remote control capability.
Pull back the heatshrink at the USB end:
![led strip with shrink tubing pulled back to show the +5 V, Din and GND solder tterminals](https://scruss.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/smol_PXL_20240703_190811616-768x1024.jpg)
… and there are our connectors. We want to disconnect the blue Din (Data In) line from the built in controller, and solder new wires to Din and GND to run from a microcontroller board.
![led strip with additional wires soldered to Din and GND contacts](https://scruss.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/smol_PXL_20240703_202628187-657x1024.jpg)
Maybe not the best solder job, but there are new wires feeding through the heatshrink and soldered onto the strip.
![led strip with two additional wires soldered in and heatshrink pushed back, all held in place by a cable tie](https://scruss.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/smol_PXL_20240703_203206699-768x1024.jpg)
Here’s the heatshrink pushed back, and everything secured with a cable tie.
Now to feed it from standard MicroPython NeoPixel code, suitably jazzed up for 60 pixels.
![a glowing multicolour reel of of LEDs](https://scruss.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/smol_PXL_20240703_210902885-772x1024.jpg)
A pretty decent result for $5!