Month: October 2021

Due to WordPress’s abysmal handling of code blocks this blog post is now hosted at https://majenko.co.uk/blog/

A lot of the time on the Arduino forums we get questions regarding wiring things together. One common format is:

I want to connect my 12V powered LED strip to my Arduino but I can’t get it to communicate. I have checked all the connections and they seem fine. I have a 12V power supply for the LEDs and the Arduino is powered from the computer.

And 9 times out of 10 the first question we have to ask in return is:

Have you connected the grounds together?

And guess what the reply to that usually is? Yep:

No, do I need to? And isn’t that dangerous, connecting a 12V ground to the 5V Arduno ground?