pi-pm3/LED_MAPPINGS.md

Proxmark3 LED Mappings Reference

Proxmark3 Easy

Based on hardware testing with Proxmark3 Easy and LED_ORDER=PM3EASY:

LED Configuration

LED	Color	GPIO Pin	PWM Channel	Brightness	Effects	Physical Position
A	Green	PA0	PWM0	0-100%	All	1st (leftmost)
B	Red	PA2	PWM2	0-100%	All	4th (rightmost)
C	Orange	PA9	None	On/Off	Blink	2nd
D	Red2	PA8	None	On/Off	Blink	3rd

Physical LED order (left to right): Green, Orange, Red2, Red

GPIO Pin Details

From include/config_gpio.h with LED_ORDER_PM3EASY:

#define GPIO_LED_A    AT91C_PIO_PA0   // Green - PWM0 capable
#define GPIO_LED_B    AT91C_PIO_PA2   // Red - PWM2 capable
#define GPIO_LED_C    AT91C_PIO_PA9   // Orange - GPIO only
#define GPIO_LED_D    AT91C_PIO_PA8   // Red2 - GPIO only

Firmware Color Defines

From armsrc/util.h with LED_ORDER_PM3EASY:

#define LED_GREEN  LED_A   // PA0 - PWM capable
#define LED_RED    LED_B   // PA2 - PWM capable
#define LED_ORANGE LED_C   // PA9 - GPIO only
#define LED_RED2   LED_D   // PA8 - GPIO only

LED Bitmask Values

LED	Bitmask (decimal)	Bitmask (hex)	Binary
A	1	0x01	0001
B	2	0x02	0010
C	4	0x04	0100
D	8	0x08	1000
All	15	0x0F	1111

Standard Proxmark3 (Non-Easy)

With default LED ordering (no LED_ORDER_PM3EASY):

LED	Color	GPIO Pin	PWM Channel	Brightness	Effects
A	Orange	PA0	PWM0	0-100%	All
B	Green	PA8	None	On/Off	Blink
C	Red	PA9	None	On/Off	Blink
D	Red2	PA2	PWM2	0-100%	All

Note: Only LEDs on PA0 and PA2 can use PWM brightness control and PWM effects (pulse, fade) on any PM3 variant.

Usage Examples

Basic LED Control

# Green LED at 50% brightness (or --led g)
hw led --led green --brightness 50

# Red LED at 75% brightness (or --led r)
hw led --led red --brightness 75

# Orange LED on (no brightness control, or --led o)
hw led --led orange --on

# Red2 LED toggle
hw led --led red2 --toggle

# Both PWM LEDs at 30%
hw led --led green,red --brightness 30

# Letter names also work
hw led --led a --on
hw led --led a,b --brightness 30

LED Effects

Three effects are available: pulse, fade, and blink.

# Pulse effect (PWM LEDs only: green, red)
# Smoothly fades in and out
hw led --led green --pulse                        # 5 cycles @ 500ms default
hw led --led green --pulse --count 10             # 10 cycles
hw led --led green --pulse --speed 300            # Faster pulse (300ms cycle)
hw led --led red --pulse --count 0                # Infinite until button press

# Fade effect (PWM LEDs only: green, red)
# Starts at full brightness, fades to off
hw led --led green --fade                         # Default 500ms fade
hw led --led red --fade --speed 1000              # Slower 1-second fade

# Blink effect (ALL LEDs supported)
# Alternates on/off
hw led --led all --blink                          # All LEDs, 5 blinks
hw led --led orange,red2 --blink --count 20       # Non-PWM LEDs work too
hw led --led all --blink --speed 200              # Fast blink (200ms cycle)
hw led --led green --blink --count 0              # Infinite until stopped

Effect Parameters

Parameter	Description	Range	Default
--speed	Cycle time in milliseconds	50-10000	500
--count	Number of effect cycles	0-65535	5

Note: --count 0 runs the effect indefinitely until interrupted by:

• Pressing the button on the Proxmark3 device

Tune LED Visualization

LED brightness tracks antenna voltage in real-time during tuning:

# LF tune with green LED tracking voltage
lf tune --led

# HF tune with red LED tracking voltage
hf tune --led

Multi-Device Identification

Use brightness levels and effects to distinguish between multiple Proxmark3 devices:

# Device 1: Dim green
hw led --led green --brightness 20

# Device 2: Bright red
hw led --led red --brightness 100

# Device 3: Pulsing green (easy to spot)
hw led --led green --pulse --count 0

# Device 4: Fast blinking all LEDs
hw led --led all --blink --speed 200 --count 0

Hardware Testing Notes

• Confirmed via individual LED testing on PM3 Easy hardware
• During hw tune: Red (B) and Red2 (D) LEDs typically active
• During flashing: Orange (C) and sometimes Green (A) visible
• PWM polarity: AT91 PWM with CPOL=0 outputs LOW during duty portion, so duty cycle is inverted to achieve correct brightness

Code References

• LED definitions: armsrc/util.h lines 45-63
• LED macros: include/proxmark3_arm.h lines 91-102
• GPIO mapping: include/config_gpio.h lines 22-39
• PWM functions: armsrc/util.c
• LED control command: client/src/cmdhw.c (CmdHWLed)
• Tune LED integration: armsrc/appmain.c (CMD_MEASURE_ANTENNA_TUNING_HF/LF handlers)

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Last Updated: 2026-03-15 Hardware: Proxmark3 Easy with LED_ORDER=PM3EASY Features: brightness control, pulse, fade, blink, tune LED visualization