Arduino ESP8266 MAX7219 LED Display

An ESP8266-based Arduino project showcasing a MAX7219 LED display for displaying the current time with flashing separators.

Hardware Requirements

• ESP8266 board
• MAX7219 LED Module
• Jumper wires

Circuit Diagram

Connect the ESP8266 board to the MAX7219 LED Module as shown in the wiring diagram below:

        ESP8266           MAX7219 LED Module
       (NodeMCU)            8 Digit Display
 _______________       ________________________
|               |     |                        |
|     D5 (GPIO14)|---->|DIN (Data In)           |
|               |     |                        |
|     D6 (GPIO12)|---->|CS (Chip Select)        |
|               |     |                        |
|     D7 (GPIO13)|---->|CLK (Clock)             |
|               |     |                        |
|     3V3       |---->|VCC                     |
|               |     |                        |
|     GND       |---->|GND                     |
|_______________|     |________________________|

Make sure to double-check the pin assignments and connections with your specific ESP8266 board and MAX7219 LED Module.

Software Requirements

• Arduino IDE
• Required Libraries:
  • Adafruit_GFX
  • Adafruit_LEDBackpack
  • WiFiUdp
  • NTPClient

Circuit Diagram

Include a circuit diagram image here or provide a clear description of the wiring connections between the ESP8266 and MAX7219 LED Module.

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository to your local machine.

2. Open the Arduino IDE.

3. Install the required libraries via the Arduino Library Manager:

   • Open the Library Manager: Sketch -> Include Library -> Manage Libraries.
   • Search for each library name mentioned above.
   • Click on each library and click the "Install" button.

4. Connect the ESP8266 board to your computer using a USB cable.

5. Open the led_display.ino Arduino script in the Arduino IDE.

6. Set up the Wi-Fi credentials:

   • Replace your_wifi_ssid with your Wi-Fi network name (SSID).
   • Replace your_wifi_password with your Wi-Fi network password.

7. Upload the sketch to your ESP8266 board.

8. Monitor the serial output to see the current time being displayed.

Usage

• The LED display will show the current time with flashing separators (:).
• The time will automatically update every second.
• If the time changes to reflect daylight saving, the display will adjust accordingly.
• You can customize the brightness of the LED display by modifying the matrix.setBrightness() value in the code (0-15).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.

2. Create a new branch for your feature: git checkout -b feature-name.

3. Implement your changes and test thoroughly.

4. Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add feature description".

5. Push to the branch: git push origin feature-name.

6. Create a new Pull Request on GitHub.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Feel free to use this code for personal and commercial purposes.

Acknowledgements

• Mention any acknowledgments or resources you found helpful for this project.