----- Original Message -----
From: rad0 <rden25@MINDSPRING.COM>


> how would I catch the serial bytes that I am sending out to each matrix?
>
> is there such a thing as a latch that has a serial input?
>
> with a pic, I want to use 3 lines to each matrix, ground, pwr, and
serial...
>
> and these could be common to all...each matrix listening for it's address
> and ignoring everybody else...

You still need a uC, but I was suggesting using one microcontroller and a
pile of latches (2 per matrix) to control several LED matrices, rather than
one uC per matrix.  The uC should be able to easily control which matrix
gets what character, maybe four or eight characters per microcontroller.

The programming might be a bit more complex but it should save a lot on IC
cost.

Jeff
http://demaagd.com/anime/dvdbugs/

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