LED Matrix With Arduino Made Easy

I am gonna teach you how to use a MAX7219 Led Matrix with arduino UNO and the best part is that it is super easy.

Step 1: What You Need ?

The parts list:

1. MAX7219 LED Matrix

2. M/F Jumper Wires

3. Arduino UNO

4. USB cable for arduino

5. Computer

Step 2: Wiring

There are 5 pins on the module that are connected in a way :

Vcc to 5v

Gnd to Gnd

DIN (DataIN) to Digital Pin 11

CS (LOAD) to Digital Pin 10

CLK to Digital Pin 13

Step 3: Programming !!

MAX7219.ino is a sketch of scrolling text. You can change the text that is scrolling on the matrix by changing the line in the sketch shown in the picture and writing what you want. This the link for the MaxMatrix library https://github.com/riyas-org/max7219. From it put the folder named MaxMatrix in you arduino libraries folder which is located in the documents folder

Step 4: Testing Results

It is totally wicked !! It doesn't look half as good in the pictures as it really is. In the pictures it looks like that the leds are bright but they are diffused leds and you can see it only when you build it. So what are you waiting for !!

Step 5: Thinking Ahead

You can wire 8 matrices together and use them with arduino still only using 3 pins. The CS, CLK, 5v and Gnd of all matrices are wired together and the DataOut of the first matrix is wired to the DataIn of the next matrix and so on. The center header pin opposite to header pins near the ic is the DataOut.