Subsea RGB LED Indicator Guide

The Subsea RGB LED Indicator is a great way to add a status light to underwater enclosures or other hardware. It uses a WS2812B LED and is compatible with most existing WS2812B software libraries. This guide will show you how to install and use the Subsea RGB LED Indicator.

Installing the Indicator

The Indicator uses our M10 bulkhead penetrator form factor. It’s important to note that the entire LED assembly is not waterproof—it must be installed through a bulkhead to seal out water.

As shown in the diagram above, only the top lens portion is sealed and designed to be exposed to water. The side where the wires exit the Indicator is not sealed and water will enter this side if exposed.

The Indicator can be installed in any M10 hole in a Watertight Enclosure end cap or Watertight Box. You can also install the Indicator in custom hardware, as long as the mounting surface has:

• An M10 hole
• A smooth, flat surface for the bulkhead O-ring to create a watertight seal.

When making an M10 hole for the Indicator, you can create either an unthreaded clearance hole or a threaded hole:

• Unthreaded Hole: Drill a 10 mm to 10.2 mm diameter hole.
• Threaded Hole: Drill an 8.5 mm hole, then tap it using an M10x1.5 thread tap.

To install the Indicator bulkhead in the hole:

1. Check the included bulkhead O-ring for any dirt or damage before installation.

2. Apply a thin layer of silicone grease to the O-ring and place it in the groove on the underside of the bulkhead.

3. For unthreaded holes:

• Insert the bulkhead into the hole and fasten the included bulkhead nut on the opposite side.
• Tighten the nut by hand until finger-tight, then use an M10 bulkhead wrench (or another suitable tool) to fully secure the connection.
• When properly installed, the bulkhead should be fixed in place with no rotation, and you should not be able to loosen it by hand.

4. For threaded holes:

• Thread the bulkhead into the hole until it is finger-tight.
• A bulkhead nut is not required on the back of the bulkhead.
• Use an M10 bulkhead wrench (or another suitable tool) to fully secure the connection.
• When properly installed, the bulkhead should be fixed in place with no rotation, and you should not be able to loosen it by hand.

Wire Connections

The Indicator wires terminate in 0.1″ (2.54 mm) header pins, making them compatible with most microcontroller pins and jumper wires. The pinout is shown below.

Power wires:

• Connect the red (V+) wire to 3.5–5.5 VDC
• Connect the black (V-) to ground
• The Indicator should share a common ground reference with the serial data source

Data in:

• Connect the green (Data in) wire to the microcontroller serial data output
• The Data in voltage should be within ±0.5 V of V+

Data out:

• The white Data out wire is used to daisy-chain Indicators. This allows you to control multiple Indicators from a single serial output pin
• Connect the Data out wire to the green Data in wire of the next Indicator in the series to daisy-chain
• If not using the Data out wire, use the included heat shrink to cover the exposed header pin

Code Libraries

The Indicator is compatible with most WS2812B software libraries. We’ve used and tested the following libraries:

• Adafruit NeoPixel Library
• FastLed
• WLED

Arduino Uno Example

This example code uses the Adafruit NeoPixel library to control one Indicator. It changes the LED color to red, green, blue, then runs through a rainbow cycle. You will need three male-to-male jumper wires to connect the Indicator wires to the Arduino Uno pins.

1. Use the jumper wires to connect the red wire to the 5V pin, the black wire to a GND pin, and the green wire to pin 6 on the Arduino. The white wire isn’t used in this example, you can cover it using the included heat shrink.

2. Connect the Arduino to your computer.

3. Open the Arduino IDE Library Manager, search for “neopixel”, and install the Adafruit NeoPixel library.

4. Download the following file and extract the sketch folder. Open the sketch in the Arduino IDE or copy and paste its contents in a new sketch.

• RGB-INDICATOR-TEST (zip)

5. Upload the sketch to the Arduino, the Indicator should begin changing colors.

Feedback

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