Hello, I am asking this as I am still earning to use the Arduino mega. I have built a diorama, it is a dry dock and naval pier with railway and many other funtastic secyions, except, it also has just over 200 individual Led's.. street lights, buildings, cranes, you get the gist...
I am looking to find out if it is possible to individually run these led's, even add in a random flickering led for fun.. I am kind of lost and do not know where to start..
This is a case where the project is complete and now a microcontroller is to be added. Do the wires for the LED's go to a centralized location or locations? As in all one zone or multiple zones?
Images of the completed project?
Have you settled on the LEDs being used ?
If so, what are they ?
There are multiplexer driver options available.
There is also the MAX7219 driver.
MAX7219 sounds the way to go. Controls 64 basic LEDs each, wired in a matrix as above, so four of them for 200 LEDs. Each LED will be either on or off at any time but you code for the flickering and such.
With the MAX7219 you do not need resistors for each LED, just one resistor per MAX7219. But in fact, the simplest way to use is it to buy a number of the MAX7219 matrix module kits, unassembled like these ones
The point is that you do not install the matrix arrays from the kits themselves - or their socket pins, but just solder to the positions on the PCB and you have a durable and reliable assembly to drive your own LEDs in matrix arrangements.
Too bad you didn't ask before building the diorama. If you use WS2812 (or similar) LEDs you can control them individually with a single GPIO line.
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