LED Matrix MQTT Sign

howesfam · August 24, 2018, 11:48am

Hi,

Yes, MD_MAX72XX V3.0.1 and MD_Parlo V3.0.0.

Thanks for your help

keithh666 · August 24, 2018, 11:55am

Ok, mine are

Max72xx - 2.10

Parola - 2.6.5

So it maybe that either or both have changed the i/f after the ones I’m using.

howesfam · August 24, 2018, 11:56am

Thanks for that I’ll try rolling them back.

keithh666 · August 24, 2018, 11:59am

OK, I’ll also try compiling with the new versions and see what happens

howesfam · August 24, 2018, 12:08pm

Hi keithh66,

Success, verifies with your versions, I can carry on now, I’ve been bashing my head against this brick wall for a while.

Thanks for your help.

keithh666 · August 24, 2018, 12:19pm

OK, so the new libraries have changed the call method…

#define HARDWARE_TYPE MD_MAX72XX::PAROLA_HW <------------------ Add this line
#define MAX_DEVICES 11
#define CLK_PIN   13
#define DATA_PIN  11
#define CS_PIN    10

// HARDWARE SPI
//MD_Parola P = MD_Parola(HARDWARE_TYPE, CS_PIN, MAX_DEVICES);
// SOFTWARE SPI
MD_Parola P = MD_Parola(HARDWARE_TYPE, DATA_PIN, CLK_PIN, CS_PIN, MAX_DEVICES); <--------- add HARDWARE_TYPE, to this line

Then it should compile.

The hardware type will need to be changed to #define HARDWARE_TYPE MD_MAX72XX::FC16_HW, then it will work as before

vbh · August 24, 2018, 8:21pm

Hi, i really liked this project so i have made my own version with some tweaks:

Messages are completely controlled by putting content into MQTT topics. The controller does not generate any content itself.
There are 10 topics in total for 10 messages maximum. If a message is set to an empty string it is skipped automatically.
I use Node RED to set my messages, some examples: current date/time / todays weather / tomorrows weather / waste bin collection reminder / good morning message (randomly selected from a list) / random quotes / reminders for the kids (gym day, don’t forget your gym gear)
I use extra Node RED flows to automatically control the brightness (from lux sensor in room) and to shut down the display during the night.
Made some enhancements like being able to safely set new message content without the message being changed in the middle of the display.
I cleaned up the code and put in more comments

I also printed a nice enclosure on my 3D printer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2811071

If anyone is interested in the code let me know.

thundergreen · August 24, 2018, 8:43pm

I’m interested in the code and also the libs. Don’t wanna struggle with wrong libs …thanks in advance

BTW…where are u from? Would like having the nice box …

keithh666 · August 24, 2018, 8:50pm

Very nice, I’ve been designing the same type of box in Fusion360, it currently works for 3 modules (3 sets of 4 leds). I’m using a hook and pin type system, I’ll have a look at yours to see if it’s better

vbh · August 24, 2018, 9:23pm

My starting point is the same as @keithh666. This will mean you will need his upload for the libraries as he used an older version of Parola which i could not find in Arduino so i had to place it in the libraries directory manually. For now i only have a quick pastebin available for you: https://pastebin.com/ddNUfDZd

I will also try to clean up my node red flows and post them.

Update: no need for fiddling with old libraries: LED Matrix MQTT Sign

vbh · August 24, 2018, 9:40pm

This is an example of my Node RED flow. You can import it into Node RED. You need the “Moment” palette for the date formatting to work. And off course you will need to adjust the connection of your MQTT broker and HA instance.

Some texts are still in Dutch and some things will depend on things you probably won’t have available (for example i use Buienradar weather component which only makes sense for Dutch users). But you can use this as a starting point

https://pastebin.com/nBqmHtmM

thundergreen · August 24, 2018, 11:16pm

I still seem to have the old libraries… How would I archive to build this
?

keithh666 · August 24, 2018, 11:35pm

You would use the library manager to update the libraries in ide

Prathik_Gopal · August 25, 2018, 2:49pm

This is nice, i will try this too. thanks @vbh

Prathik_Gopal · August 25, 2018, 7:50pm

i recently updates some libraries, my bad…@vbh

Now i see a bunch of errors on compile, can you tell me what versions of libraries your running to compile them?

Prathik_Gopal · August 25, 2018, 8:18pm

Fantastic, it works out of the box.

vbh · August 25, 2018, 9:12pm

I have also updated my code to work with the newest versions (3.0.1 for both currently) of the MAX72xx and MD_Parola libraries you can install from within the Arduino editor.

Here’s the updated version: https://pastebin.com/qaaQbfdq

Prathik_Gopal · August 28, 2018, 6:36pm

Amazing thanks

ShadowDrake · October 11, 2018, 10:20pm

Hey @vbh

I’m getting around to building your project - what version of the PubSubClient library did you use? I’m having issues building your sketch with the latest PubSubClient from the Arduino library.

Edit: I got this working - you need to use the old version of the PubSubClient library which is attached by the OP of this thread. The newer version use a different command structure and that messes up the code. Got it up and running now with that change.

Jameshooper · October 14, 2018, 8:00am

Hey @keithh666

I have your project up and running. The text being displayed is unreadable though. I think I need to change the pins for my hardware? But I am not sure. I am very new with the esp and matrix boards.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.