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\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nAlright, now for the nitty gritty. In reality though, it’s not really that gritty.<\/p>\n
I got some free samples from Maxim-IC a while back, and among them were two MAX6956 I\/O Port Expander \/ LED Driver chips. These two chips can be programmed with a unique address, so that I can use the same two wires from the arduino to control both of them. Via this, I can control 20 pins on each chip. (40 total between the two.)<\/p>\n
They also have a built in current limiting mode for driving LEDs so you don’t burn them out. This is set via the external resistor seen in some of the pictures.<\/p>\n
I programmed the arduino to keep time, and then turn on and off the appropriate pins to create the numbers on the segments. Pretty simple really. It was actually a lot harder getting all of those little wires through the holes in the back board all at the same time.<\/p>\n
The whole assembly is run by four conductor phone line which carries the power lines, and the two data lines.<\/p>\n
Really though, the clock function wasn’t my plan for this little project. It was just a test to make sure it worked, and enjoy my handiwork while I finished my other project. The goal is to have it be a voltage display on a power supply I’m building. I won’t spoil the next blog post which should be about that. (Theoretically I’m close to finishing it.) However, it’s safe to talk a little bit about it.<\/p>\n
I got most the parts for it from the same free stuff pile that I got these little displays from, and the same one I got the EL Display from. (Yes, he had a lot of stuff)(Also, for credit where credit is due, the girly pointed it out to me on craigslist, and tolerates my massive piles of electronics crap. Thanks hon!)<\/p>\n
Anyway, the last I’ll say about it, is that it’s massive, both physically and electrically. So it goes without saying that I’m excited to see the results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We’re all familiar with the classic old “7 Segment” displays. You know, the little red numbers you could get from radio shack. Anyway, I had a few extra parts laying around, and had an idea for what I could use … Continue reading
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