advice ref FEM-2301L0BGWT1 7seg displays

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi,

I am looking at buying 6 of these FEM-2301L0BGWT1 7 seg displays. The description on line shows them to be Common Anode.

http://www.forge-europa.co.uk/uploads/FEM-230XX0BGWT1.pdf

I am using these as a clock counter displaying the time that has passed, since a trigger (ir trip beam) in seconds/milliseconds.
I am very new to Arduino and am currently going through the MAX7219 and MAX7221 Led driver chip tutorials and was wondering if these would work together as the display units are Common Anode and from what I have read the MAX72XX are cathode. is there a similar chip /solution to the MAX72XX chips for Common Anode ?

They say fwd voltage is is 8v max. but reverse voltage is 5 v..... could someone explain what these terms mean please?

I would prefer to power all 6 of these from the arduino due to the portablity of the project , but the arduino is only 5 V.
Is this possible?

also the clock display will be about 5 metres away from the the arduino. will this impact the current/voltage ?

so many things to think about! but im really enjoying all the research and forums so far!

thanks

thanks for any help

2

also, -can anyone recommend a similar sized 7 seg display but common cathode..... it looks like I have bought the wrong units (common anode)!