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Project Notes

#557 LED 8x8 Module

Building and using an 8x8 LED matrix with MAX7219 driver module.

Build

Here’s a quick demo..

clip

Notes

These MAX7219 8x8 LED dot matrix modules are very common and quite cheap. Usually they come assembled, but one can find sellers offering them as a “DIY” kit. The DIY option is not necessarily cheaper, but they are a nice quick little soldering project and may be more convenient if the plan is to daisy-chain multiple modules.

The kit is basically just the 1088AS LED matrix and a PCB for the MAX7219, pin headers, a pull-up resistor and decoupling capacitor.

kit

8x8 LED Matrix

  • Part Number: 1088AS
  • Face Color: Black
  • Type: Row Cathode Column Anode
  • Wavelength : 625 ~ 630nm
  • Emitted Colour: Red
  • Forward Voltage : 2.1V ~ 2.5V
  • Forward Current: 20mA
  • Dimesions: 32mm x 32mm x 8.0mm

1088AS_module 1088AS_schematic

Construction

Breadboard

Schematic

Build

Example Sketch

LED8x8Module.ino is a simple Arduino sketch that uses the LedControl library to sequence through all rows and columns to verify that addressing is correct and that all LEDs are functioning correctly.

Credits and References

About LEAP#557 8x8 LEDArduino
Project Source on GitHub Project Gallery Return to the LEAP Catalog

This page is a web-friendly rendering of my project notes shared in the LEAP GitHub repository.

LEAP is just my personal collection of projects. Two main themes have emerged in recent years, sometimes combined:

  • electronics - usually involving an Arduino or other microprocessor in one way or another. Some are full-blown projects, while many are trivial breadboard experiments, intended to learn and explore something interesting
  • scale modelling - I caught the bug after deciding to build a Harrier during covid to demonstrate an electronic jet engine simulation. Let the fun begin..
To be honest, I haven't quite figured out if these two interests belong in the same GitHub repo or not. But for now - they are all here!

Projects are often inspired by things found wild on the net, or ideas from the many great electronics and scale modelling podcasts and YouTube channels. Feel free to borrow liberally, and if you spot any issues do let me know (or send a PR!). See the individual projects for credits where due.