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Parola for Arduino
1.0
Text effects for Parola modular hardware
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The modules are connected through a 4-wire serial interface (SPI), and devices are cascaded, with communications passed through the first device in the chain to all others. The Arduino should be connected to the IN side (shown in the figure below) of the first module in the chain.
The Arduino interface is implemented with 3 digital outputs that are passed through to the class constructor. The digital outputs define the SPI interface as follows:
Note that the LD signal is used to select the entire device chain. This allows separate LD outputs to control multiple Parola displays sharing the same DIN and CLK signals. The software needs to instantiate a separate object for each display.
The remaining interface pins are for +5V and GND. The power supply must be able to supply enough current for the number of connected Parola modules. The central position of the GND connector provides some protection for accidentally reversing the connector.
Separate Parola modules are connected by the plugging them together edge to edge, with the OUT side of one module plugged to the IN side of the next, as shown in the figure below.