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light_stripes:

This is a config file reference. Click for instructions.

This page is reference material which explains every setting and option for this section of an MPF yaml config file. See the instructions for config files for formatting and other details. See our guide to config file examples for more examples of real configs in action.

Valid in
machine config files YES ✅
mode config files NO 🚫

A light_stripes will create count leds for you starting the number at number_start. If you need a prefix or suffix for the number you can use number_template. All settings in led_template will be applied to all LEDs. The only difference between led_stripes and light_rings is how the x/y coordinates are computed.

In order to access single light in your strip you can use the following syntax schema (light_strip_name)_light_(light_number). Where (light_strip_name) is the name you have choosen for your light strip and (light_number) is the number of the light in the stip, keep in mind the numbering starts with 0 and not 1.

Required settings

The following sections are required in the light_stripes: section of your config:

count:

Single value, type: integer. Defaults to empty.

The integer value for how many LEDs are in the stripe.

light_template:

Single value, type: lights:. Defaults to empty.

This is a list of sub-settings (indented) that are regular settings from the /about/help_us_to_write_it section of your machine config. Any settings that are valid there are valid here, and they're applied to all the LEDs in the stripe.

Optional settings

The following sections are optional in the light_stripes: section of your config. (If you don't include them, the default will be used).

direction:

Single value, type: number (will be converted to floating point). Defaults to empty.

The angle (in degrees, 0-360) the this LED stripe is positioned on the playfield. This is used for the calculation of x/y positions of individual LEDs only.

distance:

Single value, type: number (will be converted to floating point). Defaults to empty.

The distance between individual LEDs (in relative size to the x/y coordinates of the start_x: and start_y: positions. This is used for the calculation of x/y positions of individual LEDs only.

number_start:

Single value, type: integer. Default: 0

The integer value for the number for the first LED in the stripe. (MPF assumes that all the LEDs in the stripe are numbered sequentially.)

number_template:

Single value, type: string. Defaults to empty.

MPF automatically configures the LEDs in a stripe. The first one uses the number_start: value, and then it counts up from there up through the count: value.

However, many hardware numbers for LEDs are not just vanilla numbers, rather they also include a board number or channel or something like that. The number_template: is where you specify what that number value looks like. Just use braces {} for the part you want replaced by a number.

The example config with a number template of 7-{} with a number start of 200 and a count of 5 will create 5 LEDs with the numbers 7-200, 7-201, 7-202, 7-203, and 7-204.

previous:

Single value, type: string name of a lights: device. Defaults to empty.

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start_channel:

Single value, type: string. Defaults to empty.

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start_x:

Single value, type: number (will be converted to floating point). Defaults to empty.

The "x" position of the first LED. (This is not used in MPF yet.)

start_y:

Single value, type: number (will be converted to floating point). Defaults to empty.

The "y" position of the first LED.

console_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full. Default: basic

Log level for the console log for this device.

debug:

Single value, type: boolean (true/false). Default: false

Set this to true to see additional debug output. This might impact the performance of MPF.

file_log:

Single value, type: one of the following options: none, basic, full. Default: basic

Log level for the file log for this device.

label:

Single value, type: string. Default: %

Name of this device in service mode.

tags:

List of one (or more) values, each is a type: string. Defaults to empty.

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