Trying to learn how I can make a 8 digit 16 segment display. Using these for their nice old style as a calendar, I want to display day date month like Wed 18 Oct which will look pretty nice.
Found the digits I want - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/led-displays/7192474/
They are common anode.
Can I drive these with HT16K33?
Any advice or further reading would be great. I have a design in my head of how it will look but little knowledge of how it will work
Yes. Ht16k33 is what I would choose. But choose common cathode displays,
Have a look at Adafruit's breakout board and libraries.
For some reason the 20mm ones only come in common anode in orange and I can't find anything else available in the U.K. I'd rather abandon the idea than use a different colour.
What are my options for common anode drivers?
Cheese_Monkey:
I'd rather abandon the idea than use a different colour.
A bit melodramatic. Why?
And must any component suggestions be available in the UK? (Even though they are all made in China anyway?)
Instead of the ht16k33, you could drive the displays with shift registers. For the common anodes, you could use MIC5891. For the cathodes, 2 X TLC5916/TLC5917. But the Arduino would have to perform the multiplexing. Not a problem for the Arduino, but more of a coding challenge for a beginner.
I'm pairing it up with a Nixie tube clock that has a beautiful orange glow. Nothing else will cut it for me!
The digits are available elsewhere but the price difference is staggering -£2 here for a single CA digit versus £17 shipped for a CC from US. Looks like the CC has been discontinued.
Thanks for the advice. I will get looking at them. I have done a little coding but nothing complex. I'm going to get a LED matrix set up to have a go at learning the basics of multiplexing at least, then hopefully build on that.
I would spend more time looking for CC displays. I now understand the colour requirement, and it seems price Inc P&P is important, rather than location. How critical is size? Would 14 segment be suitable?
Sure, I thought about what you said so I went and checked the digit height on the tubes. The come out at just under 3/4" at 18mm. The 16 segment displays I'm looking at come in 3/4" and 1/2". I was thinking matching the sizes would of been perfect. Sketching it out it looks 1/4" under is fine and will keep the tubes more prominent which is great. Also, the 1/2" are available in CC (although in packs of 19)! So back to the HT16K33.
Cant find any suitable 14 segment. Yes in no rush for it so price point is important to get right, I'm no stranger to Chinesium parts when appropriate, unfortunately.
Could you recommend a starter breadboard project with Arduino and the HT16K33 to get me going?
I think I would just buy a couple of cheap 4 digit 7 seg CC displays to practice on and get them to display dd-mm-yy. Most of the code you write for that will be useable with the 16 seg displays when they arrive.
new to this so I don't know about the led drivers mentioned, I'd be using shift registers
anyway I did the same mistake and bought common anode 7 segments displays and then discovered most examples are for common cathode, but it turns out its not a big deal I just use a transistor to power the led and then set the pins to low to light up the segments