Spinning LED Display

The Spinning light display uses a motor to spin the board at high speed while pulsing the lights to make patterns in the air as it zooms around. It is easy to build, easy to use, and fun to show off! It also has a header so that you can update the software on the chip to make it display text or different patterns.

 

This project was designed by microcontroled1204. You can get the kit from Gadget Gangster.  Build time is about 20 Minutes and it's an easy build.

Step 1: FAQ

How does it work?
The LED's on the PCB light up in a specific pattern. As the motor spins the board around, you're able to see the pattern - this is an example of the Persistence of Vision effect.

Does it take batteries?
Yes. The kit comes with a lithium cell battery to power the SX, but you'll need to provide 2 AA batteries to power the motor. The board is designed so you can mount it on other spinning things, like bicycle wheels, also.

Can I put it on something other than a motor?
Yes, the board has a set of holes on both ends, put a string or wire through the holes and you can tie the board to almost anything. I've tied it to my bicycle and it looks pretty cool.

What are the patterns?
You can see an example of the patterns that come pre-programmed in the video on the previous step. Arrows, animation, and text characters are all possible.

Can I change the patterns?
Yes.  You'll need an SX Blitz programming key, but otherwise it's pretty straightforward. The last step of this instructable has as link to the source code that you can modify.

The Spinning LED display was designed by microcontroled1204.

Comments

[mandy12x]

que programador usaste?

[techman9]

How hard is it to program it to display text

[Berserk87]

 Normally when working with 'persistence of vision' devices you need a sensor of some kind hooked up to the micro controller so it can calculate your RPM's and adjust the timing of the leds accordingly.

Seeing as i don't see any kind of sensor on this board, or a voltage mentioned that the motor has to be driven by, the 'persistence of vision' effect isn't going to work at all. 
correct?

[frollard]

from the look of the video there is a definite drift of the stuff moving around the circle each frame of animation.

[Berserk87]

 Clean install of win7, so i didnt have flash installed, but now that ive seen it i know what i said was correct.
Without the sensor for the timing calculations, there is no 'POV effect', just leds spinning.

[Gadget Gangster]

There's a bit of drift in the display, but it's timed with the particular motor (GM-3) and 3V.  It's hard to capture with a video, but there's definitely a persistence of vision effect. 

[frollard]

As Berserk brings up though, its really easy with a processor that strong to even just use a spare led as a light sensor, a reed switch, a hall effect sensor, or an optical encoder to figure out the rotation speed accurately.

[Gadget Gangster]

Okay - one more:

[Gadget Gangster]

I just made a quickie video that I think shows the effect better.  Again - it's hard to capture on video, but it gives you the idea;

[frollard]

I don't doubt the pov effect - its a proven concept.  I'm on about the drift, where it randomly changes with slight fluctuations in motor speed - which can be easily fixed with a simple sensor...There are even ways to sense the motor position by measuring the pulses in the current used by the dc motor as the commutator switches coils.