Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
CSE 316
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers, and Embedded Systems Sessional
Experiment 1
Basic Bicolor LED matrix control with ATmega32: static, flash, and
rotating display.
GOAL:
To understand basic bicolor LED matrix control in order to generate different
characters/symbols.
EXPERIMENTAL TOOLS AND MATERIALS: ATmega32, BiColor LED matrix,
USBASP programmer, Trainer Board, Wires, Avr Studio, Extreme Burner.
EXPLANATION OF PRINCIPLES:
The experiment has three parts. First, you have to show a symbol in the LED matrix. The symbol will be
assigned by the lab teachers during the experiment. In the second part, you will have to flash the same
symbol, i.e., for some time the symbol will be shown and then it will disappear for some time before it
reappears again, and so on. In the last part of the experiment you will left/right rotate the symbol. The
direction will be assigned by the lab teachers during the experiment.
The bicolor LED can show symbols either in green or red. The color
will also be assigned during the experiment. You can connect the
bicolor LED matrix to any of the ports of your choice.
LED Matrix Basics:
The LED matrices used in the labs are 8x8 and bicolor. Each position
(i.e., LED) can glow in green or red.
There are 24 pins in total to select which LED(s) we want to light up. 8
of the pins are used to select the row(s), while the remaining 16 pins are
used to select the column(s) (The notion of row and columns are only
artificial and depends on the way we consider the orientation of the LED
matrix. Rotating the matrix by 90 degrees will alter the orientation.
However we will use a fix orientation which is described later in this
section). Among these 16 pins, 8 pins are used for lighting the LEDs red
while the other 8 pins are used if we want to light the LEDs green. LED matrices can be oriented in two
flavors: common (row) anode and common (row) cathode. The difference between these two
configurations is how we light up a LED. With common anode orientation, positive voltage is attached to
rows and ground to columns. With common cathode, the connections are reversed. In our experiments we
will use the common anode orientation.
The pin diagram of the bicolor LED matrix is given below. The pin orientation depends on how you orient
the matrix. Hold the LED matrix in such a way that the pins are towards you and the LEDs are at the
opposite side (i.e. you are looking at the back of the matrix). Make sure the pins at the top and bottom of
the matrix rather than on the sides. Finally make sure that the top of the matrix has a couple of outward
extensions (bottom will then have inward extensions, the extensions can be seen in the schematic).
Row4 R4 G4 Row3 R3 G3 Row2 R2 G2 Row1 R1 G1
Row8 R8 G8 Row7 R7 G7 Row6 R6 G6 Row5 R6 G5
*Text side here - Upside Down*
Description of pins:
1) Rows are anode (+ve is to be given). Rows are numbered from up to down.
2) Columns are cathode (GND is to be given). Columns are numbered from left to right (Assuming this
time you are facing the LED (front side of the matrix)).
3) RowX denotes row number.
4) GX is used to light up green LEDs in column X.
5) RX is used to light up red LEDs in column X.
For example, if we want to light the 2nd column of 3rd row with red, we will have to connect VCC to
Row3 pin and GND to R2 pin.
Showing a symbol in dot matrix:
Typically multiplexing is used to display arbitrary patterns with led matrices. Multiplexing is sometimes
also called scanning. It scans rows (usually from up to down) and lights selected LEDs only in one row at
a time following these steps:
1. Turn on only the topmost row (i.e., provide +5V)
2. Turn on the necessary columns of the topmost row by connecting the corresponding column pins
to ground. This lights up the selected LEDs in the topmost row.
3. Do steps 1 and 2 one by one for all rows and keep repeating.
If you do this slowly, you would see the LED rows turning on one after another. However, if it is done fast
enough, human eye will see the whole pattern together. This phenomenon is called persistence of vision.
The amount of time you light up one row, before lighting up the next one is very crucial for the symbol to
be displayed properly. Usually you will light up one row and then create a delay. After the delay is over
you will light up the next row. If this delay is too long, one will see the rows being light up one after
another and the illusion of displaying the whole symbol at once will not work. On the other hand, if the
delay is very small, the LEDs will not get enough time to glow fully. Hence, the symbol will look less
bright. In the experiment you will have to find a near optimal delay on trial and error basis, so that
the symbol is displayed bright and clear.
You can find a more detailed description of LED working principle in this link. Please note that you will
be provided with a BiColor LED matrix during the lab.
Why multiplexing: There are 64 bicolor LEDs in a dot matrix, without multiplexing we would have
needed 128 different pins to operate a single dot matrix!!!! Using multiplexing technique we can still
operate it with only 24 pins.
PROCEDURE:
1. Connect the bicolor LED matrix to the ATmega32 according to instructions given by the teachers
during the experiment.
2. Write a C program to implement each of the three parts of the experiment, i.e., static display, flash,
and rotating display one after another. After finishing each part show it to the lab teacher.
MISCELLANEOUS:
1. Further details on working with LED matrices:
https://www.appelsiini.net/2011/how-does-led-matrix-work
2. The power provided by USBASP may not be enough to drive the LED matrix. You can consider
using external power source, e.g, the power source of experiment boards you used in DLD
experiments and Motor experiment of this course.
3. Some pins of PORTC can not be used for I/O directly. First the JTAG has to be turned off.
One way is to uncheck the JTAG box while writing the fuse bits, the second is to write a 1 to the
JTD bit twice consecutively. MCUCSR = (1<<JTD); MCUCSR = (1<<JTD);
For more details refer to:
http://www.avrfreaks.net/forum/jtag-enablingdisabling-atmega32-and-fuse-settings-solved
4. You do not need to bother about FUSE bits. By default it is set to: E199
If the JTAG Interface is disabled it will be set to: E1D9. You can calculate fuse bit from this
online tool: http://www.engbedded.com/fusecalc/
