“Unexpected” LED Matrix Display

If you need an LED matrix display, there are many options available from the likes of Adafruit and SparkFun, along with cheaper options if you’re on a very flexible time schedule. Seon, AKA “Unexpected Maker,” had a different idea however, and constructed his own matrix using seven programmable LED strips cut to a length of 25 modules each, for a 25x7 RGB LED display.

The “final” episode in this three-part build series can be seen below, where he first controls everything up with an ESP32 board, then switches to the popular Wemos D1 mini to avoid problems with random pixels. Of note here is that while he’s running the strips off of 5V USB power, control is via the 3.3V available from the Wemos board. This appears not to cause any problems; something to keep in mind for your next Internet-controlled LED device.

The diffuser was made the previous videos, where he paints, then selectively burns a piece of acrylic to generate square light pixels. As with the 3.3V control output, this looks like a great tidbit to remember, along with the fact that bleed-through performance is vastly different depending on which side you use — shown around 3:15 in the finale. The eventual plan is to make a version with smaller pixels, and use it as a sort of enhanced clock for his kids. The plan is that it will not only tell the time, but other information about the day and what’s next on the agenda.

Parts 1 and 2: