Matrix Hexpansion

This is a hexpansion for controlling many LEDs on a secondary board with charlie-plexing, also serving as a generic breakout board for a CH32V003/006 processor and the hexpansion connector.

Electromagnetic Field 2026 I'll have a few of the lite-loop hexpansions for sale or trade (fedi post).

• lite loop complete hexpansion board overview and kit assembly instructions
• v2 base board pinout and reference documentation
• firmware and KiCAD projects (Github link; program your own patterns or make your own daughter boards)

The matrix output pins (and GPIO, data, and power pins in v2) are brought out as large through hole pads with 2.54mm spacing. This allows a second, much cheaper, board to be grafted onto this one. I hope this lowers the bar of entry to making (LED matrix or not!) hexpansion boards: those secondary boards do not require the expensive ENIG surface, or necessarily the soldering of tiny SMD parts.

To declutter this page, I've moved information about previous versions, progress updates, and comparisons to a separate page.