I think most of us know what it looks like, but if you want to see take your phone camera and point it at different displays out in the wild and see which flicker. it can be a fun experiment
My confession is that I understand absolutely nothing about electricity or how anything electrical works. It could be magical moonbeams for all I know. Yet your videos make me feel that I can somehow understand a little into how this all works, even for a fleeting moment. So thank you so much, I look forward to learning more!
That's why I love your channel, one Friday I'll get to see nice mushrooms and volunteer squashes and on the next I see 16 segment display prototyping. Keep up the variety and do what you like, always looking forward to it
I got my electronics degree back in 1988 and this takes me back to the days when I built projects like this. No internet to buy parts and you had to look up part data sheets at the library in books published by the part manufacturers. It so much easier for people to learn this stuff now. I think you are doing fine job explaining the concepts involved with creating this project. Can't wait to see more.
I remember building a BCD (binary coded decimal) to seven segment decoder from discrete gates during my apprenticeship. It was quite fun, if a bit futile. Nobody builds these from scratch. Not even then. It WAS a good training in boolean algebra.
Me too! I was on a YTS 'tech' scheme. We had to draw a truth table then figure out the logic, then build it, then the teacher told us that BCD decoder ICs exist
Reminds me when we had to code an audio filter in C for some not very powerful microchip. After we were already an hour and half over the planned end of the lab session and still nobody had gotten beyond static noise or stuttering output, I went "screw this shit", packed up and left. About ten minutes later the prof finally decided he had proven his point and we could leave now, writing a report on why that had been an exercise in futility as homework. I had already come to terms with failing the course when he told me the next day …
I was stuck on site in Birmingham replacing an encoder on a press, The original had a Gary scale BCD output, The replacement was straight binary, All I had was a box of diodes, Got it working in time for the Nightshift.
I think the 16 segment display has a similar retro charm to Nixie tubes. Although it does feel extremely weird for things to have gone all the way from 'futuristic' to 'retro' in the space of my lifetime
A lot went over my head but some I could understand and enjoyed. Thank you for sharing. Best wishes for Christmas to you and Mrs Shrimp and of course Eva
I am entirely too ill and sleep deprived at the minute to understand how any of this stuff works, but it was fun to watch all the same and I'm looking forward to seeing where this project goes. Thanks for the video!
A lovely exploration video of a fun "little" sign project, explained in a way that even electronics novices can understand. Looking forward to seeing your progress in part two.
I love how I watch one channel and you end up mentioning another channel that I watch. Do you also watch Electroboom and Big clive? Theres loads more of "Back yard scientists" I could list but they are probably 2 of the biggest I can think of with my festive "spirit" fuelled head at the moment lol. Anyway Mike, I sincerely hope you and your loved ones have a blessed Christmas. (I thought I would use some scambaiting language in there for you lol) Your channel has genuinely made me look forward to watching what ever it is when ever you release a new video. Even my Mrs who isnt into CZcams likes the stuff you make as it is a little bit different to what everyone else does and more down to earth than most channels out there.
In the early nineties I worked for a systems integration company that needed a programmable message board for a big USPS job. Our in-house software and hardware departments put their heads together to design and cost it out. Came to about ten thousand dollars for design, construction and debug. Then the shop foreman saw just what we needed on sale at a big box store for fifty bucks. Now, I get that you’re doing this to understand and share how these things work, and I’m here for it. If nothing else your viewers will come to appreciate how much design sweet and tears goes into such things.
As a photosensitive person I really appreciate the warning, sometimes I get caught up in my art and don’t realise flashing is happening until to late since most warnings are in post effects and are just text of the screen but the verbal warning was incredibly helpful to me thank you
Great video. Always good to see someone else interested in these type of displays. Great to point out Fran and the various interesting displays on her channel. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Always love your electronics projects, can't wait for the next part. I've always known these as starburst displays, sounds more fancy than sixteen-segment 😊
Maybe if I watched this a few times I'd pick up something of what you are explaining. I know with the awesome thought and visuals you've put in the video, there may be some chance. No reflection on your remarkable ability to explain stuff, none whatsoever. It's all me.😄
Looks like a fun project. I've made a few similar displays, possibly the best one being a scrolling display where users could input their own messages via a little keypad (think texting like it's 2002). For such a (relatively) simple thing, people seemed to enjoy using it a lot more than I ever thought possible. Interestingly - left to their own devices - people would alway enter rude messages to scroll.
My favourite CZcams chaps are Mike, and Kris Harbour. And I just realised that what they share in common is a love of learning and self-education. Every moment is a learning opportunity.
Thanks for the tip on the surplus stock 16-segment LEDs. They look interesting and I plan to use them in a project or two. Andit looks like they normally cost a lot more.
Very nice! I was thinking of making something similar such as a display that showed my current subscriber count using 7 segments or perhaps an OLED display.
Writing as a somewhat superannuated BSEE who should know this stuff (but I made my living writing software for the last 30 years) - your presentation of design concepts is superb ... crystal clear. Just never lose that tablecloth! 😅
Ahh, I have spent a few years playing with Arduinos & various LED displays. I rather prefer the 64 LED version you showed. If you have a long row of them, you can shift the message one column at a time, thus making for a fairly smooth moving display. The 16 segment LED signs scroll 1 full character at a time. This whole display topic is interesting. It is like Art. What does each individual like best? So, looking forward to more of YOUR art project.
Yeah, I did think about a matrix display but then there seems no reason not to just get a premade addressable matrix, but also without scan multiplexing, one shift register per dot column seems a bit excessive
I don't know how cultural this is, but i think that for me, the only way i have ever hand written a four, is as it is in a seven segment display. Honestly, i feel pike the typical font 4 is a bit like the lonwercase letter a with the long tail. I've been exposed to it enough that i don't question it, but i would never write it like that unless i was deliberately trying to make my writing fancy.
@@AtomicShrimp I suppose that depends on your handwriting. Just to check, I cashed out a few 4s on a whiteboard, and found that if the lines fully crossed, it was because I looped up to do the down stroke. Really enjoy the videos by the way. Quite enjoy the casual, "just doin' whatever I'm doin'" vibes.
@@AtomicShrimp I also write the 4 like on the display and I usually write it with a single stroke, so it looks more like a "u" with an elongated tail, no horizontal crossing. Most people around me do the same
A very crude but effective way to debounce switches is to put a capacitor across the switch contacts, something around 100nF to 1uF works, depending on how bouncy the switches are.
Interesting trivia. Led clocks had one resistor on the common line. This was done to keep the total illumination and hence room brightness always the same and hence not wake you as you try to sleep
For some reason, this brought to mind a memory from the distant past of adolescent boys showing their favorite number on calculators, 58008. which was best viewed upside down.
HaHa, can’t believe this. I have been building and programming 5 4 digit 16 segment LED displays for the Harrier GR5/7/9 ODU over the past few months and had taken a sabbatical as it was doing my head in. Fran Blanche was a great help. I also have been working on 26 digital inputs through shift registers with a 10 digit 16 segment display and two 2 digit 16 segment display working of one Arduino UNO for the UFC. So my favourite wildlife, walking, cooking, have a go content creator suddenly pops up with a digital display, best Yuletide present I ever had!
These kind of videos are what makes Mike's channel a wonder, you never know exactly what he'll come up with next. Will it be a "budget challenge"? another collab with Africa Everyday? another wander thru the woods with Eva and Jenny foraging for edibles? Perhaps a video carving a giant spoon? I don't actually CARE, every single one is a calming ,informative, utterly charming "slice of life" from Atomic Shrimp. I enjoy building my PC rigs (but now that I'm old and feeble, I prefer to let people I trust to actually put the pieces together while I do the tinkering to maximize performance) but the things YOU get into are outside my "wheelhouse". The odds of us ever crossing paths are slim as I'm in Colorado while you're in the UK, but if it were to ever happen, I'd be honored to share a dram of whisky with you. Give Eva a pat and a little bit of toast, and a respectful salute to Jenny. Thank you Mike, I wish you, Jenny, and Eva wonderful, relaxing and joyous Christmas!.
The two cathode connections make them easier to multiplex with an easily obtained micro. Having more than 8 segments to think about at a time is harder than if there are less than 8.
I thought that intro was very Fran-like. Just missing the "ca-chunk" of the relays, or whatever goes on with those neat displays she has 😂 I'm now on a mission to find one of those little power boards you used with the breadboard, I'm still pretty green with messing around with mine.
Well above my grade of understanding but very interesting to try & follow along. Will interest many but just not me. Keep up the variedness of the channel, thank you.
It's useful to think of switch debouncing as literally bouncing the connector, but that's not strictly the case. I mean, it does happen, especially when a human is actuating the switch, but it also is caused by downstream components reacting non-instantaneously to a voltage change, and the voltage source itself not reacting perfectly. Most projects fix the issue in software (read, wait, read again), but my recent forays into analog-only circuitry for synthesizers has required hardware-only solutions. The simplest I've found that still works is using a small capacitor to the opposite voltage level (e.g. to ground if +5v is being applied) that needs to be filled before the voltage downstream can match upstream, effectively a low-pass filter. It'll also work on the open circuit side, needing the capacitor to drain before the downstream line reaches 0v. You might also, in the near future, run into an issue with shift registers, if you haven't already. Many of them have a maximum output current, and driving a lot of LEDs off them at once can be an issue unless you're happy with very dim displays. Going over the limit could burn out the chip, or cause the same sort of dimming you'd see with using a single shared cathode resister. There's a couple fixes, but one common one is to invert their logic, so that you connect the LED to +5v and switch them to 0v through the shift register, as many shift registers (and ICs in general) can sink a lot more current than they can source.
Being a total idiot on electronics, I still enjoy watching these kind of videos hoping I could understand a little bit more than nothing. It didn’t work out for me this time ( the understanding bit) but I’m amazed by your skill to explain these things. Er is een goede leraar verloren in jou. ( literally: there’s a good teacher lost in you). Take this as a compliment. 😉 Being medically skilled, your finger is well taped. Hope it heals soon.
Flash back to when I was 12 years old! No Arduino or anything like that, but I played around with the segments like you were here. The coolness factor was a lot higher since having LEDs in things was fairly new.
To solve the bounce issue, just put a capacitor between the button and ground. Just find a small capacitor value, shouldn't matter too much what size you use. Best of luck!
One reason for the two common connections and the seemingly random pin assignments is so that the display can be put in "upside-down" and the pins still match the right segments.
I have a concept for a nine-segment display that can show all of the letters and numbers, and even some punctuation. I don't know how to make a prototype, so this video seems pretty timely for me!
You can make your code a bit more efficient by representing each character as a 16 bit integer. Place them in an array and index the digits from 0 to 9, followed by the letters. The letters can be indexed by their alphabet position plus a fixed offset.
Love your take on electronics tutorials. If I can suggest two things, first is please keep going, and give the Teensy microcontrollers a try! They’re arduino compatible but decently cheap and they come with a huge library of example code on top of the typical arduino stuff. Also worth mentioning, they allow you to compile your own code via the included makefile, so you could one day do the job with raw C code for a comparison!
I have been converted to Teensy but still like to do direct port manipulation, I avoid Libraries when I can. They are so fast and Paul Stoffregen did such a great job with the mapping and registers and ports and such if you dig through the cores it's all laid out for you
If you want to connect a momentary switch as an Input, you need also connect a 10K OHM Pull-Down Resistor in between the Contact and Ground to avoid double or tipple clicks.
If I had to guess, the common ground is probably a mix of current carrying capacity (if the entire display were lit there's a large asymmetry between the conductors going in and out) and, perhaps more importantly for low power devices like this, redundancy, so the entire thing doesn't instantly fail if one of the grounds is somehow disconnected
FACE REVEAL of the clock that flickers on video!!! It's a Christmas miracle! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS MIKE!! Same to EVERYONE in the comments as well!
My poor brain stopped at the piece called Shift Registers. I thought I was going to learn more, but you lost me there. I don't know about 8 random things I'd want to display, esp. when it's O's and 1's.
Wonderful video! Thanks! I've spent some time having fun with projects like this, and I've always had a soft spot for 7+ segment displays. Years ago, I made myself a couple of typefaces... a 7-segment one which turned out really well (I think), and a 14-segment which was kinda meh. I guess I shoulda done a 16-segment. I spent a lot of time similar to yours figuring out how to make all the letterforms, which was a fun little challenge at the time.
I've had this idea in my head since I was little about having these on vehicles cos it's easier than making like hand signals out the window or whatever
I've often thought I would like an illuminated readable sign in the back window of the car to tell tailgaters to back off or whatnot. Probably best I don't though.
And if they were released to the public there would of course be people who use them for purposes that aren't quite kosher...maybe it's better as a 'what if' for now. I enjoyed your video!
Good Job, your code is not spaghetti, more like unrefined. If this were release code, there would be at least one bit of code functioned out. Good job with the coding from an experienced developer.
Yeah, the production version will be a bit more refined. Ultimately I want to create a really simple markup language so the text to be displayed can be edited on an SD card and include structure for various display effects and timing etc
@@AtomicShrimp Wouldn't that be a "mark sideways" language? :) :) 16 segments gives you 65536 possible characters. I think you are going to want to define all the easy ones and then add a code that lets you spec any bit pattern you want. I would make it have some way to add comments too.
@@kensmith5694 yeah, I want it to be simple enough that someone could just type text into a file on an SD card and have it display that. I think it should be simple enough to have escaping in the text parser so that it can be passed the bytecodes directly too
That oven clock gag made me so irrationally angry that I had a good laugh at my own silly feelings.
SHOW US THE OVEN CLOCK
But... it flashes
😂
Tbf, he forgot the overlay a few cooking videos back, and it really does flicker badly. Not as badly as Big Clive's AC power monitor though
Thought we were finally going to see that oven clock flash and the man trolls us like the dogs we are.
I think most of us know what it looks like, but if you want to see take your phone camera and point it at different displays out in the wild and see which flicker. it can be a fun experiment
My confession is that I understand absolutely nothing about electricity or how anything electrical works. It could be magical moonbeams for all I know. Yet your videos make me feel that I can somehow understand a little into how this all works, even for a fleeting moment. So thank you so much, I look forward to learning more!
First tip : don't touch live bare wires with your tongue.
@stonecodfish2365 it seems complicated but once you have the hang of it (spend some time with a breadboard) seems like second nature
That's the secret, IT IS magical moonbeams
@@Totalinternalreflection- the first rule of magical moonbeams: never talk about…
You're underestimating yourself. This is actually quite some knowledge here. If you can understand it, you already have a solid grasp on the topic
You have a gift to explain complicated things in very understandable manner! Thank you for that 😊
That's why I love your channel, one Friday I'll get to see nice mushrooms and volunteer squashes and on the next I see 16 segment display prototyping.
Keep up the variety and do what you like, always looking forward to it
I got my electronics degree back in 1988 and this takes me back to the days when I built projects like this. No internet to buy parts and you had to look up part data sheets at the library in books published by the part manufacturers. It so much easier for people to learn this stuff now. I think you are doing fine job explaining the concepts involved with creating this project. Can't wait to see more.
I remember building a BCD (binary coded decimal) to seven segment decoder from discrete gates during my apprenticeship. It was quite fun, if a bit futile. Nobody builds these from scratch. Not even then.
It WAS a good training in boolean algebra.
Me too! I was on a YTS 'tech' scheme. We had to draw a truth table then figure out the logic, then build it, then the teacher told us that BCD decoder ICs exist
@@AtomicShrimp (and cost the same as a hex inverter)😂
Reminds me when we had to code an audio filter in C for some not very powerful microchip. After we were already an hour and half over the planned end of the lab session and still nobody had gotten beyond static noise or stuttering output, I went "screw this shit", packed up and left. About ten minutes later the prof finally decided he had proven his point and we could leave now, writing a report on why that had been an exercise in futility as homework. I had already come to terms with failing the course when he told me the next day …
I was stuck on site in Birmingham replacing an encoder on a press, The original had a Gary scale BCD output, The replacement was straight binary, All I had was a box of diodes, Got it working in time for the Nightshift.
Discrete building is always just for understanding. But it does a great job of teaching
Nice to see some 16-segment display appreciation
Agreed
I think the 16 segment display has a similar retro charm to Nixie tubes.
Although it does feel extremely weird for things to have gone all the way from 'futuristic' to 'retro' in the space of my lifetime
love the FranLab reference :)
0:26 I don't know why I laughed at "if you exist..." but I did.
Love that you linked Posy's video on segmented displays, it's honestly awesome and whimsical
Well, a lot of gobblegook passed right over my head and I was all ready to mention the lovely Fran Blanch then, whaddya do but mention Fran!
A lot went over my head but some I could understand and enjoyed. Thank you for sharing. Best wishes for Christmas to you and Mrs Shrimp and of course Eva
Thanks for pointing me to Fran! Merry Christmas Mike.
You covered a lot of stuff in this video in a clear and concise way. Well done!
Love the display
I love your channel
Love the Franlab reference.
I am entirely too ill and sleep deprived at the minute to understand how any of this stuff works, but it was fun to watch all the same and I'm looking forward to seeing where this project goes. Thanks for the video!
A lovely exploration video of a fun "little" sign project, explained in a way that even electronics novices can understand. Looking forward to seeing your progress in part two.
The way you described the theory behind this project was perfect. Reminded me of my favourite Electronics lecturer last year!
I love how I watch one channel and you end up mentioning another channel that I watch. Do you also watch Electroboom and Big clive? Theres loads more of "Back yard scientists" I could list but they are probably 2 of the biggest I can think of with my festive "spirit" fuelled head at the moment lol.
Anyway Mike, I sincerely hope you and your loved ones have a blessed Christmas. (I thought I would use some scambaiting language in there for you lol)
Your channel has genuinely made me look forward to watching what ever it is when ever you release a new video. Even my Mrs who isnt into CZcams likes the stuff you make as it is a little bit different to what everyone else does and more down to earth than most channels out there.
In the early nineties I worked for a systems integration company that needed a programmable message board for a big USPS job. Our in-house software and hardware departments put their heads together to design and cost it out. Came to about ten thousand dollars for design, construction and debug.
Then the shop foreman saw just what we needed on sale at a big box store for fifty bucks.
Now, I get that you’re doing this to understand and share how these things work, and I’m here for it. If nothing else your viewers will come to appreciate how much design sweet and tears goes into such things.
Excellent presentation! Love watching Franlabs, too.
Your joke about the strobing light display made me guffaw very loudly - very well done Mike!!
As a photosensitive person I really appreciate the warning, sometimes I get caught up in my art and don’t realise flashing is happening until to late since most warnings are in post effects and are just text of the screen but the verbal warning was incredibly helpful to me thank you
Great video. Always good to see someone else interested in these type of displays. Great to point out Fran and the various interesting displays on her channel. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Always love your electronics projects, can't wait for the next part. I've always known these as starburst displays, sounds more fancy than sixteen-segment 😊
*Pokes nose in...* "Yes this looks like a nice rabbit hole to explore for a bit... Thank you."
Really enjoyed this. Would love to see a bit more detail on the programming of it though
Thanks! - I'll make sure I cover the programming more in the next part
You have been my favourite CZcamsr for years, you're just the best
Maybe if I watched this a few times I'd pick up something of what you are explaining. I know with the awesome thought and visuals you've put in the video, there may be some chance. No reflection on your remarkable ability to explain stuff, none whatsoever. It's all me.😄
Looks like a fun project. I've made a few similar displays, possibly the best one being a scrolling display where users could input their own messages via a little keypad (think texting like it's 2002). For such a (relatively) simple thing, people seemed to enjoy using it a lot more than I ever thought possible. Interestingly - left to their own devices - people would alway enter rude messages to scroll.
Beautiful homage to Franlab.
This reminds me of watching Open University science programmes on TV years ago - soothingly incomprehensible. ❤
I just love these videos and the thing you bring to us
My favourite CZcams chaps are Mike, and Kris Harbour. And I just realised that what they share in common is a love of learning and self-education. Every moment is a learning opportunity.
I am glad you have a shout out to Fran, although I i was also expecting one to Ben Eater and his 6502.
I've got a z80 build tentatively planned for some future point. I expect I'll be taking a lot of inspiration from Ben Eater
Thanks for the tip on the surplus stock 16-segment LEDs. They look interesting and I plan to use them in a project or two. Andit looks like they normally cost a lot more.
Very nice! I was thinking of making something similar such as a display that showed my current subscriber count using 7 segments or perhaps an OLED display.
I'm thinking the same thing ,. Thankfully I only have 3 figures to cater for my 237 subscribers
God bless you, Mr Shrimp! Have a nice xmas xx
Writing as a somewhat superannuated BSEE who should know this stuff (but I made my living writing software for the last 30 years) - your presentation of design concepts is superb ... crystal clear. Just never lose that tablecloth! 😅
Bonus points for 16-segment display is an ability to represent the Union Jack in case it shorts
Ahh, I have spent a few years playing with Arduinos & various LED displays. I rather prefer the 64 LED version you showed. If you have a long row of them, you can shift the message one column at a time, thus making for a fairly smooth moving display. The 16 segment LED signs scroll 1 full character at a time. This whole display topic is interesting. It is like Art. What does each individual like best? So, looking forward to more of YOUR art project.
Yeah, I did think about a matrix display but then there seems no reason not to just get a premade addressable matrix, but also without scan multiplexing, one shift register per dot column seems a bit excessive
I don't know how cultural this is, but i think that for me, the only way i have ever hand written a four, is as it is in a seven segment display. Honestly, i feel pike the typical font 4 is a bit like the lonwercase letter a with the long tail. I've been exposed to it enough that i don't question it, but i would never write it like that unless i was deliberately trying to make my writing fancy.
Even in an 'open' 4, the horizontal bar crosses the vertical. It doesn't just stick out of the side
@@AtomicShrimp I suppose that depends on your handwriting. Just to check, I cashed out a few 4s on a whiteboard, and found that if the lines fully crossed, it was because I looped up to do the down stroke. Really enjoy the videos by the way. Quite enjoy the casual, "just doin' whatever I'm doin'" vibes.
@@AtomicShrimp I also write the 4 like on the display and I usually write it with a single stroke, so it looks more like a "u" with an elongated tail, no horizontal crossing. Most people around me do the same
I love Posy, he's my spirit animal
I'm super excited for the next part in the series!!!!
A very crude but effective way to debounce switches is to put a capacitor across the switch contacts, something around 100nF to 1uF works, depending on how bouncy the switches are.
Interesting trivia.
Led clocks had one resistor on the common line.
This was done to keep the total illumination and hence room brightness always the same and hence not wake you as you try to sleep
That is interesting, thank you!
For some reason, this brought to mind a memory from the distant past of adolescent boys showing their favorite number on calculators, 58008. which was best viewed upside down.
Oh this is is going to be intetesting!
HaHa, can’t believe this. I have been building and programming 5 4 digit 16 segment LED displays for the Harrier GR5/7/9 ODU over the past few months and had taken a sabbatical as it was doing my head in. Fran Blanche was a great help. I also have been working on 26 digital inputs through shift registers with a 10 digit 16 segment display and two 2 digit 16 segment display working of one Arduino UNO for the UFC. So my favourite wildlife, walking, cooking, have a go content creator suddenly pops up with a digital display, best Yuletide present I ever had!
Wow. This is totally over my head🤯But very interesting to watch. 🙂
These kind of videos are what makes Mike's channel a wonder, you never know exactly what he'll come up with next. Will it be a "budget challenge"? another collab with Africa Everyday? another wander thru the woods with Eva and Jenny foraging for edibles? Perhaps a video carving a giant spoon? I don't actually CARE, every single one is a calming ,informative, utterly charming "slice of life" from Atomic Shrimp. I enjoy building my PC rigs (but now that I'm old and feeble, I prefer to let people I trust to actually put the pieces together while I do the tinkering to maximize performance) but the things YOU get into are outside my "wheelhouse". The odds of us ever crossing paths are slim as I'm in Colorado while you're in the UK, but if it were to ever happen, I'd be honored to share a dram of whisky with you. Give Eva a pat and a little bit of toast, and a respectful salute to Jenny. Thank you Mike, I wish you, Jenny, and Eva wonderful, relaxing and joyous Christmas!.
My favourites light board so far was the “Gone tomorrow” on the ear video.
Great Video. The Intro reminds me of FranLab
He did it on purpose
The two cathode connections make them easier to multiplex with an easily obtained micro. Having more than 8 segments to think about at a time is harder than if there are less than 8.
showing the stoves flicker gave me a good belly laugh lmao
I thought that intro was very Fran-like. Just missing the "ca-chunk" of the relays, or whatever goes on with those neat displays she has 😂 I'm now on a mission to find one of those little power boards you used with the breadboard, I'm still pretty green with messing around with mine.
Really into this kind of content
Well above my grade of understanding but very interesting to try & follow along. Will interest many but just not me. Keep up the variedness of the channel, thank you.
Winamp nostalgia activated! ;)
It's useful to think of switch debouncing as literally bouncing the connector, but that's not strictly the case. I mean, it does happen, especially when a human is actuating the switch, but it also is caused by downstream components reacting non-instantaneously to a voltage change, and the voltage source itself not reacting perfectly.
Most projects fix the issue in software (read, wait, read again), but my recent forays into analog-only circuitry for synthesizers has required hardware-only solutions. The simplest I've found that still works is using a small capacitor to the opposite voltage level (e.g. to ground if +5v is being applied) that needs to be filled before the voltage downstream can match upstream, effectively a low-pass filter. It'll also work on the open circuit side, needing the capacitor to drain before the downstream line reaches 0v.
You might also, in the near future, run into an issue with shift registers, if you haven't already. Many of them have a maximum output current, and driving a lot of LEDs off them at once can be an issue unless you're happy with very dim displays. Going over the limit could burn out the chip, or cause the same sort of dimming you'd see with using a single shared cathode resister. There's a couple fixes, but one common one is to invert their logic, so that you connect the LED to +5v and switch them to 0v through the shift register, as many shift registers (and ICs in general) can sink a lot more current than they can source.
Being a total idiot on electronics, I still enjoy watching these kind of videos hoping I could understand a little bit more than nothing. It didn’t work out for me this time ( the understanding bit) but I’m amazed by your skill to explain these things.
Er is een goede leraar verloren in jou. ( literally: there’s a good teacher lost in you). Take this as a compliment. 😉
Being medically skilled, your finger is well taped. Hope it heals soon.
Flash back to when I was 12 years old!
No Arduino or anything like that, but I played around with the segments like you were here. The coolness factor was a lot higher since having LEDs in things was fairly new.
To solve the bounce issue, just put a capacitor between the button and ground. Just find a small capacitor value, shouldn't matter too much what size you use. Best of luck!
Arduino + shift register + leds = knight rider car kit. Essential early learning project 👌
Maybe I'm old but I really appreciate the Winamp screenshot
Lost me totally, but I still enjoy listening to you!
One reason for the two common connections and the seemingly random pin assignments is so that the display can be put in "upside-down" and the pins still match the right segments.
The two ground pins are on the same side - pins 12 and 17, so not reversible
@@AtomicShrimp I did consider checking the pinout before posting, then thought Nah, it'll be just like the 7-seg versions. Oops!
@@rpdom I didn't know the 7 segment displays were reversible though, so I learned something
I have a concept for a nine-segment display that can show all of the letters and numbers, and even some punctuation. I don't know how to make a prototype, so this video seems pretty timely for me!
Shout out to - Franlab!
You can make your code a bit more efficient by representing each character as a 16 bit integer. Place them in an array and index the digits from 0 to 9, followed by the letters. The letters can be indexed by their alphabet position plus a fixed offset.
Do you have a background in electronics or are you self taught?
I did a bit of this at college and as a hobby when I was younger
really good and interesting video
Love this so much!❤
Can't wait to see this continue
as an embedded software engineer I have to say you did great :)
Love your take on electronics tutorials. If I can suggest two things, first is please keep going, and give the Teensy microcontrollers a try! They’re arduino compatible but decently cheap and they come with a huge library of example code on top of the typical arduino stuff. Also worth mentioning, they allow you to compile your own code via the included makefile, so you could one day do the job with raw C code for a comparison!
I have been converted to Teensy but still like to do direct port manipulation, I avoid Libraries when I can. They are so fast and Paul Stoffregen did such a great job with the mapping and registers and ports and such if you dig through the cores it's all laid out for you
@@foxfyre3600he and his fellow contributors have done wonderful things, truly!
Awesome! Thanks for this, I learnt a lot
That trolling about the flickering though... :(
This is sooo cool 😎 👍🏼
If you want to connect a momentary switch as an Input, you need also connect a 10K OHM Pull-Down Resistor in between the Contact and Ground to avoid double or tipple clicks.
I would love to see you design and etch a PCB for this project.
Wish you get well soon for your finger injury.
Always a fan of tinkering!
If I had to guess, the common ground is probably a mix of current carrying capacity (if the entire display were lit there's a large asymmetry between the conductors going in and out) and, perhaps more importantly for low power devices like this, redundancy, so the entire thing doesn't instantly fail if one of the grounds is somehow disconnected
good job!
You could add a debouncing capacitor to make the buttons work
FACE REVEAL of the clock that flickers on video!!! It's a Christmas miracle!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS MIKE!! Same to EVERYONE in the comments as well!
Here I am with my sadly non vast knowledge thinking what the final product will look like. Shout out to Fran as well.
My poor brain stopped at the piece called Shift Registers. I thought I was going to learn more, but you lost me there. I don't know about 8 random things I'd want to display, esp. when it's O's and 1's.
I gotta suggest mathematician comedian Matt Parkers video on the segment displays for some fun using segments and a good rundown
Wonderful video! Thanks! I've spent some time having fun with projects like this, and I've always had a soft spot for 7+ segment displays.
Years ago, I made myself a couple of typefaces... a 7-segment one which turned out really well (I think), and a 14-segment which was kinda meh. I guess I shoulda done a 16-segment. I spent a lot of time similar to yours figuring out how to make all the letterforms, which was a fun little challenge at the time.
I've had this idea in my head since I was little about having these on vehicles cos it's easier than making like hand signals out the window or whatever
I've often thought I would like an illuminated readable sign in the back window of the car to tell tailgaters to back off or whatnot. Probably best I don't though.
And if they were released to the public there would of course be people who use them for purposes that aren't quite kosher...maybe it's better as a 'what if' for now. I enjoyed your video!
Good Job, your code is not spaghetti, more like unrefined. If this were release code, there would be at least one bit of code functioned out. Good job with the coding from an experienced developer.
Yeah, the production version will be a bit more refined. Ultimately I want to create a really simple markup language so the text to be displayed can be edited on an SD card and include structure for various display effects and timing etc
@@AtomicShrimp Wouldn't that be a "mark sideways" language? :) :) 16 segments gives you 65536 possible characters. I think you are going to want to define all the easy ones and then add a code that lets you spec any bit pattern you want.
I would make it have some way to add comments too.
@@kensmith5694 yeah, I want it to be simple enough that someone could just type text into a file on an SD card and have it display that. I think it should be simple enough to have escaping in the text parser so that it can be passed the bytecodes directly too
The clock is the Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase of the Atomic Shrimpverse
Oh Shrimp, you tease.
I always thought this would be great as a high stop light on a cars back windscreen
You can use Charlieplexing to drive 15 of them with 16 pins, or 17 with 17 pins.
The next step in this project would be a custom PCB (using free KiCad software). A custom PCB for your project would cos maybe 10-15$ (from China).
I remember that old MP3 player, WinAmp.