I was wandering the web in search of cool stuff and found this [LED Shield. I think this would make a great addition to the SparkFun Arduino line. I can see myself using two of these on a robot. Two Arduinos, each with one of these shields, just to handle lighting on a robot. Even just one of these would be very cool in a project. 
8-Dale](http://www.skpang.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=140_142&products_id=658)
Better yet, with one of [these - kind of like the Meggy Jrā¦](LED Matrix - Tri Color - Large - COM-00683 - SparkFun Electronics)
tetsujin:
Better yet, with one of [these - kind of like the Meggy Jrā¦[/quote]
The only problem with this is the LEDs are not RGB. They are individual R, G, and B LEDs that form each ādotā on the module. Itās also not ready to plug right in and use with a micro.8-Dale](LED Matrix - Tri Color - Large - COM-00683 - SparkFun Electronics)
linuxguy:
The only problem with this is the LEDs are not RGB. They are individual R, G, and B LEDs that form each ādotā on the module.
Iām confusedā¦you say they arenāt RGB LEDs, then you go on to describe RGB LEDs?
Read the description of the module you linked to. There are 64 red, 64 blue, and 64 green LEDs on that module. The shield has true RGB LEDs, which have four leads.macegr:
Iām confusedā¦you say they arenāt RGB LEDs, then you go on to describe RGB LEDs?
8-Dale
What makes you say that? It is actually unclear whether there are spearate LEDās (which would surprise me) or a single RGB LED under each dot. More importantly, it doesnāt matter - they would be accessed the exact same way. Discrete RGB ledās are simply three diodes in a single physical package with a common cathode (in this case).
Have a look at a discrete RGB LED datasheet:
http://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Comp ā¦ 5C-C10.pdf
Notice the similarities between the 8x8 array that you donāt like and the electrical schematic on page 2.
An RGB LED isnāt a special component that can make any color, itās three different colored LEDs in the same package. Just like each dot in the Sparkfun matrix. I will give you the fact that for trying to throw light any distance, the Sparkfun matrix wonāt do as well as an arrangement of LEDs with clear lenses.
It occurred to me that Sparkfun already sells a version of the RGB matrix display with an [SPI interface - so that would be very easy to connect to an Arduino, of courseā¦ (Sometimes I do wonder if Iām too preoccupied with having hardware in āshieldā formā¦)
What if a future version of the Serial LED Matrix board were designed such that it could be set up for use as a non-passthru (pins only, and only the pins it needs) shield? The board is wider than an Arduino, but with the current layout of the SPI connectors it could probably be made to work. The real trick is that certain pins would have to be disconnected from one side of each of the two SPI connectors - so that only power pins would come from one side of the Arduino, and only SPI would come from the other side. I think with a little tweaking of the Serial LED Matrix board design, it could be arranged that the same (new) PCB design could be used both for a pure SPI product like whatās sold now, and for a module that could be plugged directly into an Arduino as a shieldā¦](http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=760)
