microsoft / microsoft/pxt-maker
On Gemma M0 using code for the on-board RGB LED also creates external LED strip in simulator
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- Dominant language
- TypeScript
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- Avg merge
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Description
Describe the bug
As soon as any code is written for the Gemma M0 which uses the light blocks to set RGB LEDs then an external 4 wire DotStar LED strip will be added in the simulator and wired up to D0/D2 pins.
To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:
- Use a block from
LIGHTdrawer to set some colours on the default pixelso to '...' - Observe external RGB LED strip appear in the simulator on a breadboard below Gemma M0.
- Enter state of confusion
Expected behavior
I'd expect the default strip to be the single, on-board DotStar RGB LED. This is on an independent set of pins not exposed on the pads, see https://learn.adafruit.com/assets/49776
I'd only expect an external strip to appear if one was explicitly created. In the case of the 4 wire system this would be the APA102 strip.
Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):
- OS: Windows
- Browser: Chrome
- Version: 77.0.3865.120
Smartphone (please complete the following information):
- n/a
Additional context
This is on beta beta of https://maker.makecode.com/beta/
MakeCode Maker (Cortex class) version: 0.11.43
Microsoft MakeCode version: 5.26.4
codal-circuit-playground runtime version: v2.0.1
Here's the actual (trivial!) code:

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First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Reproduce the issue in the Gemma M0 simulator by using a block from the LIGHT drawer and observe the onboard and external LED behavior. Compare the default onboard DotStar with an explicitly created APA102 strip; done when only the onboard LED appears by default and the external strip appears only when explicitly created.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Domain
- embedded-iot
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100