Seven segment display
Show me something!
What are we going to do?
In this activity you'll learn how to show something on a seven segment display. In order to make it easier to use the display, we'll use a library.Â
UNO board
You can use any Arduino UNO original or compatible board
USB cable
Depending on your board, you'll need a microUSB cable or a miniUSB cable
Computer
You need a computer with Arduino IDE software. If you don't have it, follow this link with instructions to download and install it.
Seven segment display
A 4 digits seven segment display brick with TM1637 controller
Let's get started
Follow these instructions carefully. You can click on some of the images to zoom in.
Always connect the components BEFORE powering the UNO board or YOU MAY DAMAGE YOUR BOARD OR COMPONENTS.
IMPORTANT: if you have a one digit display (without PCB), follow these instructions instead.
Instructions
2. Open Arduino IDE
Once you've opened the editor, download and open the sample code from HERE
4. Change code
If you succesfully downloaded and opened the code from previous step, you only need to add the correct library.
- Download the library from HERE
- Go to Sketch -> Include library -> Add ZIP Library
- Search and select the library from the download folder
Remember, without the library, the code will prompt an error and won't work.
5. Upload to the board
Use the upload button to transfer the program to your board. Once done, you should read Upload completed. That means the transfer was succesful. If it's not succesful, try disconnecting your board and connecting it again and repeating the upload process.
6. Final result
After uploading, everything should be working as planned. Otherwise, double check the code and try again. Congratulations, you've done it! You're on the right path to be a maker! 🙂
Now, what else?
Now is your turn:
- Do you think you can show something else? Maybe a countdown? or a personalized sentence?
- At this point, I want to propose a challenge. Get the temperature sensor from previous activity (DHT11 sensor)
and try showing the temperature or humidity on the display.
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