RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

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Rehcsifmit
 
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RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by Rehcsifmit »

Hello,

I recently purchased a Adafruit RGB Matrix Shield and Metro 320 Arduino board so I can control a 32x64 P5 panel. However I am not getting good results with any of the example code.

Expected Results:
Text, shapes, etc per the library example code

Actual Results:
Generally nothing. Occasionally, noise appears on the screen, usually in terms of colored horizontal lines, but sometimes scattered dots.

How I tried to test:
I assumed I had a bad solder connection, so I triple checked these and reflowed them. No luck. Then I used a multimeter to verify the pins on the 8-pin connector had continuity with the pins on the bottom of the shield, ruling out any soldering problems.

I did note that most of the pages talk about using the Metro 328 but on the library page it's not listed as a supported board. Did I screw up and buy the wrong board? As I said, all the wiring pages, etc talk about it so that's why I purchased it.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by mikeysklar »

You will need to use a microcontroller with more memory.
Note that this shield is just a wiring adapter, if you have a Metro 328 you can only use 16x32 or possibly 32x32 matrices before you run out of RAM. For big panels, use a Metro M0 or M4 - those will work best thanks to their enormous RAM.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2601

The Adafruit Metro M4 would be a great choice.

https://www.adafruit.com/product/3382

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Rehcsifmit
 
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Re: RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by Rehcsifmit »

Thanks for the reply. I saw this quote on that same page:
If you've got an Arduino-compatible board, with an ATmega328p chip (like our Metro 328) or SAMD21 (like the Metro M0) or even SAMD51 (like our Metro M4) thi
And ordered the 328 since that seemed to be "recommended".

Disappointed, that text is misleading.

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Rehcsifmit
 
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Re: RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by Rehcsifmit »

Will the M4, or any Arduino board, support 2 64x32 boards in a horizontal chain?

Thanks again for your help.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by mikeysklar »

I don't see the misleading part about the text. It is clearly stearing you away from a atmel 328p based boards due to the large memory requirement.

The M4 and modern boards nRF52, ESP32-S2, RP2040 have the memory to support chained 64x32. Just stay away from the older atmel mega based boards which do not have enough memory.

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Rehcsifmit
 
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Re: RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by Rehcsifmit »

mikeysklar wrote: Mon Jan 09, 2023 2:29 pm I don't see the misleading part about the text. It is clearly stearing you away from a atmel 328p based boards due to the large memory requirement.
"Misleading" is probably too harsh. The 328 was the first board mentioned above, and I clearly skimmed too much to see the disclaimer down below.

I saw the text in the library with the disclaimer about the "Uno" boards, but I don't know enough about Adafruit's variations on Arduino to have realized that that should have also warned me away from the 328.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: RGB Matrix Library and RGB Matrix Shield

Post by mikeysklar »

You make a good point that there are a lot of processors and boards and it is difficult to determine which ones are modern with more features.

If it were me working on a project to drive two RGB panels I'd go with a board designed to do exactly that.

The Matrix Portal is M4 based + WiFi and has a HUB-75 connector to go right on to the back of the RGB panels. You can chain panels easily up to 4x4.

; matrix portal M4
https://www.adafruit.com/product/4745

; advanced chaining panels
https://learn.adafruit.com/rgb-led-matr ... ple-panels

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