Starter Project: Mini-POV
My starter project was the Mini-POV, which stands for persistence of vision. The device contains a set of red LED (or light emitting diode) lights that can display a message that can be customized. Resistors and diodes are responsible for sending an accurate amount of energy from AA batteries to LED lights and deciding where the energy travels. The way the lights are turned on and off depends on the micro-controller’s programming (which can be programmed from a computer). In order to program it correctly, I had to download an extra file, for I had no Serial Port on my laptop. Process took longer and modifications had to be made to the instructions. Fortunately, there weren’t that many conflicts with the software.
Throughout this first project, I learned how to solder, (which is the way in how you plug and set everything in the PCB). Also, I had an introduction to how programming works and being able to practice it.
I had some conflicts with the programming however, my laptop couldn’t read the Mini-POV, which delayed my project to be finished.
Now, I’m moving to the main project, which is a Multi Colored LED Display.
Milestone 1:
For my first milestone, I had been working on the 8x8 LED Matrix and the Rainbowduino. This Rainbowduino works might have a different name, but the system works the same as an Arduino Duemilanove. The program was set to display fire-like show. Since the Matrix hadn’t arrived, I had to wait until it arrived and test this out. When it arrived, I had placed it the wrong way, which wouldn’t make the display work. Additionally, I forgot to upload the Rainbowduino’s libraries. Once that was fixed, I successfully completed the firmware for my main project.
Milestone 2:
For this last milestone, I’ve successfully completed my main project. Everything worked as planed, no problems with the Rainbowduino. Previously, I had explained how I’ve worked on the 8x8 Matrix, and how I set it up to display a camp-fire. Also, I mentioned I was in the process of finishing the box (where the matrix was going to be placed in). Throughout the days, I’ve made different displays on the matrix, and now I can program it to make multiple designs; such as fire of different colors, multi-light show, patterns, etc. In addition, I finished the screen that was missing, added the Rainbowduino with some screws, and painted the box (black from the inside and gray from the outside).
Making this project was exciting for multiple factors. I learned the basics for programming with Arduino. Some struggles I did faced where knowing the exact measurements and dimensions of my box, for the one I used was smaller than the one from the website. However, I was still able to finish it.
