LED Matrix kit, what would you prefer 8x8, 16x16, 8x32...

[blueroomelectronics]

Using discreet LEDs what sort of layout would you be most interested in?
All will be side to side (not top to bottom) extendable.

7x14 =98
7x28 =196
8x8 =64
8x16 =128
8x24 =192
16x16 =256

Remember more LEDs will make the kit more expensive and complex.

What sort of interface?
TTL
RS232
RS422
RS485
USB

 

[Marks256]

Are you going to make these? I would suggest 7x28 with RS232. You could also make a USB model.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

7x28 makes for a nice character display. USB will probably be popular but there is no way you can use the USB for powering that many LEDs.

With a 1:7 mux you'd only need 15ma or so per LED x 28 so about 420ma to run. Assuming efficent LEDs are used.

 

[Souper man]

I would have 4 kit sizes:
Small:8x8
Medium:7x14
Large:7x28
Rediclously Large:28x56
All have TTL interface

 

[blueroomelectronics]

There will likely on be one matrix kit as more advanced kits are on their way. Ethernet relays, thermostat with LCD...

 

[Suraj143]

What sort of interface?
TTL
RS232
RS422
RS485
USB

Hi what's the meaning of interface? Does it means how to program the chip or?

 

[Souper man]

lol i thought that the 28x56 was funny...

(over 1,500 LEDs)

 

[Gayan Soyza]

I prefer 7 X 28 design or 7 X 32 design.

Rows I chose 7 because it can balance the letter, if some one takes 8 rows the letter will be slightly unbalanced.
Columns 32 is good for me. It can drive from two16 bit shift registers or from four 8 bit shift registers.
But this column number can be determine by the shift register used by the user.

For a 28 or 32 columns it can display 5 letters at a time taking 5 columns per letter + space between for letters.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

Hi what's the meaning of interface? Does it means how to program the chip or?

It's how you would program / communicate with the display. Much more fun than no communications.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

lol i thought that the 28x56 was funny...

(over 1,500 LEDs)

Some thread on here a fellow wanted 3,200 LEDs (with 3,200 resistors!) Hey I don't mind soldering but there's a limit. Hey at 10ma each that's 32AMPs nice.

 

[Sceadwian]

8x8 sounds good for a borderless cell size for general graphics as it can be done using a couple shift registers and addressed easily. If the primary use is text with more limited graphics something like the Hitachi LCD's use might be better which is 8X5 (the letters end up being 7x5 because the line space takes up a bit) You could also do 8X6 which would allow better graphics in a hitachi style way as the 6th column in a Hitachi display is always blank. Makeing the interface similar to a Hitachi display would give the bulk majority of electronics users an already well developed library of routines and plug in applications for it.

 

[Marks256]

7x28 would allow for good looking text, yet plenty of room for displaying text without having to scroll. It would also allow for smooth scrolling.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

Well I gather everyone likes text more than graphics for these big LED displays.

 

[Andy1845c]

Some thread on here a fellow wanted 3,200 LEDs (with 3,200 resistors!) Hey I don't mind soldering but there's a limit. Hey at 10ma each that's 32AMPs nice.

lol, wait till I post some pictures of the fabled LED warning light I have been working on forever. I don't know how many hours I have in it soldering LEDs and resistors......

I'll vote for the 7x28 with RS232 or USB interface. Sounds like a really cool kit.

 

[Souper man]

More realistically, I would also put my vote for 7x28. You could awlays have a couple kit sizes too.

 

[Marks256]

I would be interested in buying a 7x28 with rs232. USB would be great, too, but with RS232, we could use really old machines to run the display. I would like to hook it up to my really old compaq lte 4/50e (runs at 66mhz)

Are you going to have opensource software? That way it could be cross platform (linux, winblows, and...crapple)

 

[Sceadwian]

I still think a basic 8X8 module would be best for flexibility and simplicity, you just have to make sure that it's modular and expandable. Maybe two types of modules, a master 'row' module that has an address latch enable, and a slave 'column' that just tacks onto the previous modules shift register overflow bit. You could toggle it using a clocked serial line and a couple control lines. Would give the greatest flexibility to the end user.

 

[Souper man]

I still think a basic 8X8 module would be best for flexibility and simplicity, you just have to make sure that it's modular and expandable. Maybe two types of modules, a master 'row' module that has an address latch enable, and a slave 'column' that just tacks onto the previous modules shift register overflow bit. You could toggle it using a clocked serial line and a couple control lines. Would give the greatest flexibility to the end user.

Dont forget he could have a few kit sizes, like a 8x8, a 7x28, and a 28x56. lol joking about the 28x56.

 

[blueroomelectronics]

Now where did I come up with 7x28? I meant 7x24 (3 bytes)

 

[Marks256]

Yes, 7x24, then.