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AN ELECTRONIC LITESHOW DISPLAY

Part 1ýThe Electronics Behind the Lights
by James Antonakos

Start ý The Big Picture ý Inside a Panel ý The Driver Board ý The 64-Bit Shift Register Board ý Interfacing with the PC ý A Little Math ý The Real Thing ý Sources and PDF

THE REAL THING

Photo 2 shows the LiteShow display in action. It is mounted on the upper level of the Atrium in the Applied Technology building at Broome Community College. Our department uses the LiteShow display as a recruiting tool to get students interested in pursuing an electronics degree, as well as an example of how digital and analog circuitry are interfaced together and controlled by software. All day long, messages are scrolled for the benefit of the students and faculty, such as the current time, important upcoming events, and special greetings. Anyone on campus can send a message to the display using a client program running on a networked PC.

Photo 2ýEET Department chairman Alan Dixon stands next to the six-panel LiteShow display.

Next month, Iýll explain the details of the software used to control the LiteShow display. This will include the basic principles of using the PCýs printer port to output serial data to the display, the method used to create the display bitmap in memory, and the TCP/IP networking code used to send messages to the display over a LAN.

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