SMS text scrolling on 4 max7219 matrix

Other Hardware LEDs and Multiplexing
1

Hello members,

I am starting my first project with Arduino having a few experience or not at all, so please apologize any possible longing from me.

This is the idea:

  1. Using an Arduino board and GSM Shield to receive an SMS
  2. Scrolling the received SMS text on 4 max7219 Led matrix

To achieve this, I want to connect the Arduino board (let's say Arduino Uno) both to the GSM Shield and to the hardware to interface the Led Matrix. I guess I could use the Maxim Hardware as shown here:
http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/MAX72XXHardware#WiringArduino

On this page I read:

The three signal lines (DIn,CLK,Load(/CS)) [of the MAX7219] have to be connected to three digital outputs on the Arduino board.

I am wondering now if it is possible to achieve this, connecting the outputs of the board to the Maxim Hardware, with the board already connected to the GSM Shield? I have been browsing and googling since days now without finding any answer.
And also is there anything special I should keep in mind? Or some analog project / documentation to read?

Thank you in advance
Have a great day
Filippo

2

YOu need to answer these questions:

Which pins are used by the GSM shield?
answer can be found here - http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoGSMShield -

Which pins are needed for the MAX7219?
it seems from the playground you can select the pins yourself (HW SPI might be the fastest)

3

Thank you very much Rob.
It's my intention to keep this thread alive by collecting useful information on this project.
I will publish here sw and hw connections to help people interested in similar projects.
At the same time, I hope I will have some help from you guys when really needed :slight_smile:

4

I was able to make my Arduino Uno working with the Arduino GSM Shield scrolling a sms message on 4 MAX7219 led matrix modules.
Whoever is interested in software and hardware configuration can request it here.

5

hi...im interested in doing your project..can i have your code pls?..u can email me at JaycarparkED@gmail.com