Thank you for this information!
I have found another article somewhere (Arduino Playground - MAX72XXHardware) which seems to confirm what you just mentioned:
- Parallel the CLK and CS(Load) for all the MAX7219 chips (I guess we also call these two SLK and SS)
- Take the DOUT from one chip to the DLN of the next chip
And using just 3 wires to communicate with the whole thing? Wow, that's impressive!
There's one thing I'm not sure I understand in your explanation about how to program the whole batch of chips. You say that if I send packages of 16 bits multiple times, the bits are pushed from the nearest chip to the next one every time a new package is sent while SS is kept low. This is clear and wonderful. But you also wrote "Then you latch and that row gets committed". What does it mean to latch?
Sorry if I ask such beginner questions, but as I wrote, my knowledge in this area is merely starting to develop and I'm having a hard time understanding some of the basics...
As for how to divide the cube into layers, I guess you are right, it doesn't really matter that much, the software can handle it either way.
I don't really where to buy the MAX7219 chips from. As I wrote earlier, I found them on eBay, where you can buy 10 pieces for 5$. That would be nice, but I've read that they are not original and that must be true because Maxim is selling them for a lot more. I've also checked them in a local electronics parts store and here I could buy original ones, 10 pieces for 40$... I wonder if it's worth buying the original ones...
Thank you!