“The service was excellent - parts arrived well packaged the next day. The 74AHCT125s - well, they're just the job to drive NeoPixels as, when powered from 5v, they'll work with 3.3v logic inputs from a RPi Pico or RPi and shift them to the 5v levels the NeoPixels like. Just remember to ground the enable inputs and any unused inputs.”
“I tried a couple of other logic level shifters (the Sparkfun and the Polulu) to go from 3.3v to 5v (to drive a SteppersOnline stepper motor driver) and they did not work - I'm not sure why, but it seemed like there was cross-talk between all the channels. The 74AHCT125 worked exactly as expected, giving a decent 5v signal. I used an external power supply for the 5v, and the Pi to supply the 3.3v.”
