We’re stocking this super-cute mini GPIO Xmas Tree for the Raspberry Pi this year as an uber-affordable way to add a little festive fun to your projects, as we all know that December can be expensive enough as it is!

The Mini GPIO Xmas Tree for the Raspberry Pi includes 5 LEDs that can be controlled from a simple Scratch or Python program. When programming your tree, you need to know the GPIO pin number associated with each LED (see below). Setting a GPIO to outputhighwill turn the LED on whilst setting itlowwill turn it off – easy!

The tree should be connected to the six GPIO pins as shown here. Ensure the LEDs are facing outwards like this:

The GPIO numbers for each LED are as follows:

Works with Scratch!

Do you want to use Scratch 3 to control the LEDs on your tree? If so, click theAdd an Extensionicon, findRaspberry Pi GPIO and click on it. You can then drag blocks to construct either of the sample programs shown below

Scratch Example 1

Scratch Example 2

Use with Python via Thonny

To control the tree using Python, open Thonny and enter this example code:

from gpiozero import LEDBoardfrom time import sleeptree = LEDBoard(26, 13, 6, 19, 5)while True: # illuminate the top and bottom LEDs tree.value = (1, 0, 1, 0, 1) sleep(0.5) # illuminate the middle row of LEDs tree.value = (0, 1, 0, 1, 0) sleep(0.5)

Compatible with Other Dev Boards!

Each LED is wired through a 330-ohm resistor, meaning you can use this with other development boards such as the Raspberry Pi Pico by simply connecting manually with jumper wires to your board’s GPIO pins and writing code to control the GPIO pins HIGH/LOW.

Circuit Diagram

Here is the circuit diagram for the tree:

Package Contents

• 1x Mini GPIO Xmas Tree

Raspberry Pi/wires not included