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I. Introduction
The LED propeller display is a form of an illusion caused by the rotation of LEDs, mounted
on a motor using a Vero board. A matrix of LEDs is connected to an Arduino microcontroller
which determines the time interval during which a particular LED is ON. The synchronization
of LEDs with the rotation caused by the motor creates a POV effect. The term propeller
indicates this rotation which leads to the display. A propeller LED display can be used to
show messages in the form of numbers, characters, and symbols, in clocks, self – cooling
systems and other appliances.
II. Components
Arduino Uno
DC Motor
+3.6V LI-ION battery
LED (8 pieces)
1KΩ resistor (8 pieces)
1. Arduino Uno:
One of the most widely used microcontrollers, based on the ATmega328 chip. It comprises of:
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14 Digital I/O pins (6 of which can be used for PWM)
6 Analog I/O pins
16 MHz crystal oscillator
USB Connection
ICSP Header
Reset Button
2 KB of SRAM
Arduino Uno is the brain of this project. The display solely depends on the program saved in the
Arduino.
2. DC Motor:
The motor being used in this project is a Direct current motor. It uses direct current provided by
a 9V Battery. It causes the Vero Board to rotate. It acts as a propeller due to which the LEDs
rotate and display the message by alteration through Arduino.
3. Li-ion Battery:
To provide power to the Arduino and LEDs, we have used a lithium-ion battery. The
characteristics of this battery are as follows:
Energy Density: 250 – 693 W h/L
Charge/discharge Efficiency: 80 – 90 %
Cycle Durability: 400 – 1200 Cycles
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4. LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light source. It is a p–n junction diode
that emits light when activated. It is the source of display in this project. A matrix of 8 LEDs will
contribute to display the messages programmed through Arduino.
5. Resistor:
Each of the 8 LEDs is connected to a resistor to constrict the power supply to prevent them
from burning.
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III. Setup
Step 1: Making Connections:
Each LED is first connected to a 1K Ohm resistor. This is done by soldering the ends of the LED
and resistor. The other end of LED is connected to the digital ports of Arduino.
Step 2: Placement on Vero Board:
After the LEDs are connected to resistors and Arduino itself, they are placed on a Vero board.
This is done with the help of a Glue gun.
Step 3: Attaching the Motor:
The Vero board is then mounted on the motor which is powered by a 9V battery.
IV. Working
Circuit of Arduino controlled POV Display is very simple, we simply connected 8 LEDs with
Arduino Uno as per circuit diagram below.
PIN0 LED8 POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN1 LED7 POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN2 LED6 POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN3 LED5 POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN4 LED4 POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN5 LED3POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN6 LED2 POSITIVE TERMINAL
PIN7 LED1POSITIVE TERMINAL
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Circuit Diagram:
In order to understand the whole situation, say we want ‘A’ to be displayed by the propeller
display. Consider the LED ‘needle’ is at POSITION1 at first as shown in figure below. LED
Needle is the Column of 8 LEDs.
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Now we will power the motor and it will start running.
At t=0ms: the needle will be at POSITION 1. At this position all the eight LEDs, from TOP LED
(MSB) to BOTTOM LED (LSB), are powered on.
At t=1ms: the needle will be at POSITION 2. Same as Position 1, at this position all the eight
LEDs, from TOP LED (MSB) to BOTTOM LED (LSB), are powered on.
At t=2ms: the needle will be at POSITION 3. At this position only LED7, LED6 & LED3 stay ON
and remaining LEDs are turned OFF.
At t=3ms: the needle will be at POSITION 4. Same as Position 3, at this position only LED7,
LED6 & LED3 stay ON and remaining LEDs are turned OFF.
At t=4ms: the needle will be at POSITION 5. Same as Position 3 & 4, at this position only LED7,
LED6 & LED3 stay ON. Remaining LEDs are turned OFF.
At t=5ms: the needle will be at POSITION 6. At this position all the eight LEDs are again
powered on, TOP led (MSB) to BOTTOM led (LSB) are turned ON.
At t=6ms: the needle will be at POSITION 7. Same as Position 6, at this position all the eight
LEDs remain on.
As explained above, we will turn ON appropriate LEDs at the appropriate Needle Positions to
display the necessary character. If the speed of movement of needle is slow we can see each
LED column separately. But when the speed of motor is high and needle is moving too fast
then the display will be seen as continuously showing “A” character.
Programming of Arduino:
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A Char Array of 26x8 has been taken as volatile char ALPHA[26][8]. This Array consists 8
positions of the needle to display each of the 26 alphabets that makes it array of 26x8. 26
rows
In Array represent the 26 alphabets and 8 columns in each row represent the eight position of
needle to display the character while rotating. Now each cell consist a binary number which
represents the on/off status of 8 LEDs in a particular position of Needle. Remember needle
here refers to line of 8 LEDs connected to Arduino as explained above.
Now you just need to rotate the DC motor and use a ‘for loop’ with eight iterations to display
a character. Like if you want to display 10 characters then you need to run 10 ‘for loops’ with
eight iterations in each. So we have used 13 for loops to display the text CIRCUIT DIGEST.
V. Applications and Future Implementations
The applications of Propeller display are as follows:
i. Displaying Numbers in Analog and Digital Clocks
ii. Displaying messages in self-cooling systems
iii. Railway Platforms
iv. Transport Vehicles
v. Banks
vi. Schools
vii. Hospitals
viii. Industries
Future Implementations:
An LED propeller is a low cost electronic appliance that uses simple LEDs to show messages. Its
capacity can be expanded as per the need of display and can be used in a number of everyday
life situations. It requires a little power for its working and the propeller POV creates a
possibility to use it in any kind of place.
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VI. Conclusion
This project has combined two principles, programming of the Arduino and creating a POV effect. These
two collectively contribute to the final result of the propeller i.e. to display the message. Using this in
places that face scarcity of power will be quiet useful as it does not require a large amount itself. It is a
fascinating project which can be used domestically as well as in large industries.
