Home Sign Up!

Browse Community Submit

All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech

Make a 24X6 LED matrix

by Syst3mX on July 21, 2010

Table of Contents

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro: Make a 24X6 LED matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1: Getting All The Right Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 2: How it works? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3: Schematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 4: Soldering The LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 5: Programming The Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 6: We Are Done! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

Intro: Make a 24X6 LED matrix

After making a 8X10 matrix a lot of people asked me about expanding the matrix to some thing bigger, and some wanted to write stuff to the matrix via a PC, so one day I
looked at a pile of LEDs that I had leftover from a LED cube projected and I decided to make a bigger matrix with all the things people wanted.

So what are you waiting for? Get those LEDs out and heat up your soldering iron because we are about to make a 24X6 LED matrix!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
step 1: Getting All The Right Things
So you will need the basic set of tools for this project : a soldering iron, some solder wire, a cutter, a needle nosed plier,some wire, wire striper, and some desoldering
tools if you need them.

For the matrix you will:

1. 144 LEDs
2. 24 resistors( The value is determent by the type of LEDs, in my case 91 ohm)
3. 4017 decade counter
4. 6 1KOhm resistors
5. 6 2N3904 transistors
6. A long Perfboard
7. Arduino
8. 3 x 74HC595 shift register
10. some pin headers

step 2: How it works?

The tricky behind the display is multiplexing and the idea is the same as withe the 8x10 LED matrix: It is basically a way to split information in to little peaces and send it
one by one.
this way you can save a lot of pins on the Arduino and keep your program quite simple.

Now this time we have 3 shift registers which multiply the number of outputs and save lots of arduino pins.
Each shift register has 8 outputs and you only need 3 arduino pins to control almost an limited numbers of shift registers.
We also use the 4017 decade counter to scan the rows, and you can scan up to 10 rows with it because you have only 10 outputs but to control it you need only 2 pins.
The 4017 is a very useful chip and it's a good idea to know how to work with it(http://www.doctronics.co.uk/4017.htm)

Like I said the scanning is done with the 4017, by connecting one row at a time to ground and sending the right data via the shift registers to the columns.

Image Notes
1. 4017 With 6 transistors for scaning the rows
2. The 3 shift registers to control the rows

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
step 3: Schematics
The only thing I didn't specified in the schematics is the value of the current limiting resistors because they change from each type of LEDs, so you will need to calculate
them by your self.

Now to calculate the value of the 24 resistors you can use this site :
http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz
You should first get some specs on your LEDs, you should know their forward voltage and forward current, you can get this info from the seller. The circuit operates on
5V so your Source voltage is 5V.

Download the original file to see the schematics better.(press the "i" icon in the top left corner of the picture)

Image Notes
Image Notes 1. I didn't have room for the full matrix, So I hope you get the big idea
1. Arduino Pins
2. Arduino pins
3. Download the original file to see better.(press the "i" icon in the top left corner of
the picture)

step 4: Soldering The LEDs

Soldering 144 LEDs in a matrix formation can be a little tricky if you don't have a general idea how.
The last time I soldered a matrix I used lots of little wire jumpers which was a pain to solder, so this time I was a little more creative and came up with this way.

You need to bend the positive lead of the LED down towards the other ones and make a column, and snip off the leads you didn't use and try to make the connections as
low as you can get, and you do this to all of the positive leads.
Now the negative leads are connected in a column and thats make soldering tricky because the positive rows are in the way, so you will need to make a 90 degrees bend
with the negative lead and make a bridge over the positive row to the next negative lead, and so on to the next LEDs.

Now I will not explain how to solder the shift registers and all the parts because every one has hes own style and methods.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
step 5: Programming The Display
We are almost there, the only thing thats left is the program.
So far I wrote two programs for it that do pretty much the same thing.
I have added the program that gets a word or a sentence from the arduino IDE serial monitor and displays it on the matrix, my code is very basic and may be not the best
in the world but it does the work, and you are free to write your own code and modify mine as you wish.

I have added an excel file so you can create your own symbols and characters.
The way it works is like so:
You create the symbol you want pixel by pixel(don't worry it's very easy) and copy the output line like so - #define {OUTPUT LINE}

I will add in the future a code for animations and a nice game of snake as soon as I have more time on my hands.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
File Downloads

USB scrolling text.txt (13 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'USB scrolling text.txt']

Code maker(6x24).xls (25 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Code maker(6x24).xls']

step 6: We Are Done!

Congratulations you made yourself a 24x6 matrix and now you can display anything you like on the fly.
Now try to play with it and come up with a new program and a better interface.

Related Instructables

Interfacing
your arduino
Twitter with a C# Reading Digital
Getting status 64 pixel RGB Controlling an Controlled Build an program by Callipers with
through serial LED Display - Arduino with Arduino- Using a Dot 7654321chris an Arduino /
Another Cocoa (Mac OS Light-Bot by powered talking
monitor by Matrix LED with USB by j44
Arduino Clone X) or C# anonymouse197 robot head! by
zaghy2zy an Arduino and
by madworm (Windows) by xtremd Shift Register by
computergeek nevdull

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
Advertisements

Comments
38 comments Add Comment

cox181 says: Aug 4, 2010. 9:20 PM REPLY

How would I modify the coding for my matrix that is 18 columns by 5 rows????

cox181 says: Aug 2, 2010. 11:29 PM REPLY

I don't really understand some parts on your schematic..... Does the 4017 decade counter connect in any way to the shift registers?.....If the line coming off
of a pin on one of the chips has a square on the end...does that mean it is actually connected to the other chip pin with that same number and a square???

Syst3mX says: Aug 3, 2010. 12:45 AM REPLY

The square with the pin number means that you need to connect this pins to the arduino. So the 4017 CLK goes to pin 9, and the RST goes to pin 8 of
the arduino.

cox181 says: Aug 3, 2010. 2:23 AM REPLY

I'm actually talking about the tiny squares...for example...on the 4017 in the bottom right corner there are 5 lines with little squares at the end of
them...and they all have a number...do I attach these pins to the corresponding numbers on the shift registers??? Or are those pins not used on the
4017??? And one more question...on the side of the 4017 and the shift registers....some connections show a diamond and some show a square...and
some don't touch the side of the chip and some are inside the outline of the chip....are these different connections?

Syst3mX says: Aug 3, 2010. 2:30 AM REPLY

These pin are not used(with the little squares) except the 6 transistors that are connected to the 4017, they go to the LED rows. If there are 2 or
more lines that cross each other and there is no red point where they cross, there is no connection. And when there is a red dot they do.

cox181 says: Aug 3, 2010. 10:16 AM REPLY

OK. I think I have everything, but I just have couple more questiosn... On on shift registers..does the wire labeled Vcc run and connect to pin
10 on the shift register like it is illustrated in the picture? And then that wire continues onto the 5v supply on the arduino correct? And the
same with pin 13 labeled "G" on the shift register...does that connection connection with the ground connection of the shift register? And on
the 4017, does pin 13 labeled "ENA" on the 4017 connect to the ground of the 4017 as shown in your schematic?

Syst3mX says: Aug 3, 2010. 10:19 AM REPLY

Thats right

Black_Star says: Aug 1, 2010. 3:12 PM REPLY

realy good thing but i want make such a wach can you help me ?

Syst3mX says: Aug 2, 2010. 12:25 AM REPLY

Yep, just send me a privet massage.

shaadmahmud says: Aug 1, 2010. 9:00 AM REPLY

hey i have a big problem when i upload the sketch to the arduino,,,,,,it dosnt show any output.only the pin4 is HIGH and all other pin is low..pllzzzz reply as
soon as possible

Syst3mX says: Aug 1, 2010. 10:30 AM REPLY

The code is working, so the only thing that I can think of is your connections. And why pin4, there is no sign of it in the code, the shift registers much be
connected to pins 10,11 and 13.

Darmani says: Jul 28, 2010. 1:45 AM REPLY

Aaaa!!! ive always wanted to do a led matrix, but i havent found a good tutorial, but this one is really good, the only problem is that i cant get an arduino.... so
i guess im just going to keep wanting a led matrix haha... good instructable btw...

Syst3mX says: Jul 28, 2010. 2:05 AM REPLY

You can use any micro you want as long has it has 5 outputs.

farzadbayan says: Jul 28, 2010. 1:13 AM REPLY

144 !!!!!!!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
 pirarias says: Jul 27, 2010. 8:48 AM REPLY
used an Arduino 328?

Syst3mX says: Jul 27, 2010. 9:06 AM REPLY

Yeah , but a 168 will do as well

auquocphong says: Jul 27, 2010. 6:10 AM REPLY

very nice cool.thanks

dava_2 says: Jul 24, 2010. 5:50 AM REPLY

It is very nice, only problem is I don't have Arduino. But. I'm makin' one with LPT port, so except Instructable.

Black Hole Tim says: Jul 23, 2010. 11:10 AM REPLY

This instructable looks great. Do you know of a good resource for explaining shift registers.

Syst3mX says: Jul 23, 2010. 2:41 PM REPLY

Yes, I have the perfect site : http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ShiftOut

Black Hole Tim says: Jul 23, 2010. 3:42 PM REPLY

I am using a basic stamp 2 but the information about the shift register is very helpful, thank you. I am sure I can figure out the code when I get to that
point.

cstack89 says: Jul 21, 2010. 10:16 AM REPLY

Hi, very nice project. I was also trying to make a large array of leds but have been unable to find perfboard that is large enough. Can you tell me where you
got your perfboard from? Thanks!

Syst3mX says: Jul 21, 2010. 10:38 AM REPLY

I just bought it in my local electronics store, but there is a simple way to make it longer. You can connect to boards together by soldering the LEDs in the
middle of the connection, so the solder and the LEDs hold it all together, just make sure the edges of the boars are smooth and the distance from each
hole to hole is the same, and if not a bit of sending will do the trick.

NYFRAPRES says: Jul 22, 2010. 8:56 PM REPLY

What I would like to know is can the matrix be extended more than 24 inches and in creased in height as well? Also how much memory can be put
into this system to allow it to be more functional for use on the back of a car to act as a warning device? There are message boards out there that are
limited in their abilities when it comes to memory. Additionally they tend to glitch if there is a power fluctuation. Have you hed this type of problem with
this project? Also what type of controler did you use for changing the messages?

Syst3mX says: Jul 23, 2010. 12:27 AM REPLY

Well if you want to make the display bigger you are better of buying a ready made matrix from ebay or some where else because it's going to be
a lot cheaper and easier to make. I used the ATmega328 with the arduino bootloader so I started off with 30Kb of memory. And my program
takes about 5Kb so there are a lot of free space left. And there aren't any glitches with the project that can be caused by voltage change(not too
dramatic).

frollard says: Jul 22, 2010. 7:33 AM REPLY

*and you can make the board slightly oversize, and bolt the perfboard to something else as a substrate for strength :D

pennat05 says: Jul 22, 2010. 3:14 PM REPLY

What size leds did you use?

Syst3mX says: Jul 22, 2010. 11:57 PM REPLY

5mm

nbe says: Jul 22, 2010. 11:32 PM REPLY

Check this one out, it is a 16 X 48 LED sign, and it runs without Arduino, and is programmable via computer....Oh and you can link up to 4 of these
together..Really cool. http://www.c3inet.com/LEDTriks/LEDTRIKS_CONTROLLER_Version_0.3a.pdf I do like your design, I just want to make one a LOT
bigger. God Bless, Glenn

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/
 Syst3mX says: Jul 22, 2010. 11:56 PM REPLY
Yeah I saw some thing similar on ebay but a bit bigger of 32X32 and you can also link up 4, but you will still need a micro. I would love to make
something like this but I don't have much free space in my room :D

pdrpatnaik says: Jul 22, 2010. 9:40 PM REPLY

Hey, GOOD JOB !!!! Can I use the same one to display a digital clock? What modifications do I need to make? I want to use ATmega 16 MC.

Syst3mX says: Jul 22, 2010. 11:53 PM REPLY

Yeah you can make a digital clock out of this, but you will be missing the seconds. Like I said before the modifications come in the form of the code, and
to make a clock you would also need a real time clock IC.

mathman47 says: Jul 22, 2010. 11:16 PM REPLY

Great job. Now if I could only find my desk to do some work on. Multiplexing looks hard, but is really very simple once it gets explained. I'm trying to come up
with something for Christmas to display on my garage door. This will help. Thanks.

actionphoto says: Jul 22, 2010. 1:58 PM REPLY

I used a variation on this. I also soldered the positive leads by bending them down, but I alternated the columns of LEDs so that the leads on the LEDs were
swapped...that is, for each pair of columns, the negative leads didn't have to cross the positive leads to connect with an adjacent column. Then I jumped
across to the next pair with a protected wire. I still ended up with shorting problems, so I tried another solution: I purchased a perf board with no copper and
some 3M copper tape (1181 TAPE (1/4"x18 YDS)). I cut the tape into strips for the rows and columns (and sliced it down the middle to make them 1/8").
Then I soldered the positive leads to the strips on one side and the negative leads to the strips on the other.

pg89 says: Jul 22, 2010. 12:56 PM REPLY

i want to use avr microcontroller ATmega8 in place of Arduino what modification is required?

Syst3mX says: Jul 22, 2010. 1:15 PM REPLY

Well non except the code, if your not using the arduino bootloader.

xavtek says: Jul 22, 2010. 9:32 AM REPLY

The instructable is great and i'm really thinking of making such a led matrix. I think i can figure how to solder the leds together from the picture but a
schematic would much apreciated !!!

Syst3mX says: Jul 22, 2010. 9:53 AM REPLY

Thanks for the input, I will add another schematic today

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-24X6-LED-matrix/