LED flasher

[TonyGeorgeJY]

I want to make a friend an led flasher for her birthday
So like it should read HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA and sequentialy flash up
as you can note the number of leds in each chain wil be different
someone please help

 

[audioguru]

I have seen the thing sold for about $20.00 and it is mounted on a car licence plate holder.
Cut away the licence plate holder and mount the circuit on whatever you want. I looked in Google images for Scrolling Licence Plate Holder.

A few years ago young teenagers wore a large belt buckle that scolled cursing.

 

[schmitt trigger]

I agree with Audio Guru.
Unless you have substantial expertise with microcontrollers and multiplexing, this is not a beginer's project.

The simplest and easiest you could do is to purchase something already made and modify it to your needs.

 

[TonyGeorgeJY]

I want to make a friend an led flasher for her birthday
So like it should read HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA and sequentialy flash up
as you can note the number of leds in each chain wil be different
someone please help

i knw its complex but it would be awesme if i cud develop it myself

 

[ikelectro]

may be you need something like this.

 

[audioguru]

The very simple "Running Message" looks very simple because the circuit simply lights one letter then adds the next letter then adds the next letter etc. Nothing moves. The circuit is wrong because the LEDs for a letter are all in parallel and NOTHING limits their current.

The complicated scolling message (the licence plate holder) looks much better because the entire message lights and moves.

 

[ikelectro]

The very simple "Running Message" looks very simple because the circuit simply lights one letter then adds the next letter then adds the next letter etc. Nothing moves. The circuit is wrong because the LEDs for a letter are all in parallel and NOTHING limits their current.

The complicated scolling message (the licence plate holder) looks much better because the entire message lights and moves.

the guy who create this thread told that he want it to create own.....if someone want this kind of thing without micro... then this can give an idea how to start.....

 

[audioguru]

the guy who create this thread told that he want it to create own.....if someone want this kind of thing without micro... then this can give an idea how to start.....

But it simply turns on the letters that can be done with simple switches. It does not SCROLL and it might burn out the LEDs!

 

[ikelectro]

But it simply turns on the letters that can be done with simple switches. It does not SCROLL and it might burn out the LEDs!

Then can you please give us the idea how this can be done without microcontroller... that'll be great if you share your idea... and also i'll great full.

 

[audioguru]

[MODNOTE]Deleted Abusive.[/MODNOTE]

 

[schmitt trigger]

The LEDs which compose each individual letter, must have current limiting resistors, which are not shown in the schematic.
Otherwise, your proposed schematic for a FIXED DISPLAY is good.

But.... a FULLY SCROLLING DISPLAY without a microcontroller is simply not feasible.
Consider this.... to display a character you require a 5X7 LED array.
You need to display 8 characters. That gives you a 40X7 LED array, plus at least an empty column between characters, so one ends up with a 48X7 array, which must individually be addressed....

 

[audioguru]

The LEDs which compose each individual letter, must have current limiting resistors, which are not shown in the schematic.

I said that but maybe I made a nasty comment about the designer so the moderators deleted my post.
The circuit from a country over there (I am not supposed to say which country) simply turns on one letter and burns out its LEDs then adds the second letter and burns out its LEDs then adds the third letter and burns ..... etc. Not a good design (I am not supposed to say anything bad about the design).
One student from "over there" spent a year of his free time designing and building a scrolling circuit with millions of descrete parts and it worked! (Except the LEDs were very dim).

 

[TonyGeorgeJY]

so acordng to audioguru the provided circuit wont work??? anyway of making it work???

 

[audioguru]

so acordng to audioguru the provided circuit wont work??? anyway of making it work???

I think the simple old circuit was designed to use incandescent light bulbs (Chrismas tree bulbs), not LEDs. LEDs will burn out in that circuit.

Don't you want a scrolling display where the letters move? The simple circuit simply lights up the first letter then adds the second letter then adds the third letter, etc which is too simple.

 

[TonyGeorgeJY]

not necessarily a scroling one.. i just need a few leds on a pcb that can light up in an animatd fashion

 

[audioguru]

i just need a few leds

With only a few LEDs then you can make a box with the letters cutout and covered in a translucent material and with a couple of LEDs behind. Boring.

Is lighting one letter then adding another lighted letter etc animated enough?

Maria will be thrilled to see your project scrolling a message.
The licence plate holder is inexpensive and the message is easily changed. Put it in your own enclosure then "you made it!"