Moving Message Display System

Introduction
The Moving Message Display System (MMDS) was one of the projects for A-Level electronics which I started
January 1997.

What follows is more-or-less the original report for the project, and it explains the operation of the system and
the design process for version 5 of the system. Later on, in version 6, I added to the design by allowing the
system to be programmed from a computer via the parallel port, and increased the display size by using discrete
LEDs on a large PCB. Versions 5 and 6 were built on breadboard, although I did try to build the final circuit on
a PCB, but this failed to work correctly (possibly due to interference).

Please note that this is not an ideal solution to the MMDS problem since it uses lots of logic ICs. The better
solution would be to use a microprocessor to control the system, whereby the IC count would be smaller and
you could probably make the MMDS have more features. However, the project shows how it is possible to
build a complex system from fairly simple logic ICs, so hopefully you will find it interesting.

Contents
 Specification
 Complete Block Diagram
 The LED Display
 The EPROM
 Cathode Scanning Block
 Anode Scanning Block
 System Clock
 Connecting the Blocks Together
 Display Drivers
 Scan Counter
 Programming by Computer
 Full Circuit Diagram (version 5)
 Parts List (version 5)
 Conclusion
 Version 6: Additions to the Circuit
 Full Circuit Diagram (version 6)
Version 6 of the MMDS with the NC200 computer
 Parts List (version 6)
 Appendices
 Photographs of the Completed Project
 References
Specification
The aim of this project is to design a Moving Message Display System of the type commonly seen in shop
windows, airports, and other public buildings.

 The display will be required to be able to scroll a message of at least 300 characters from right to left,
with at least eight characters on screen at any instant.
 Other display features (such as flashing text) will not be needed, since it would be extremely difficult to
add these using ordinary logic ICs.
 A dot-matrix style of LED display will be used that is capable of displaying the ASCII character set.
 An EPROM will be used to store the message initially, but if possible, a computer could be used to
down-load data to a RAM via a parallel interface.

Principles of Operation

Please refer to the block diagram of figure 1.

An EPROM is be used to store the message to be displayed on the LED display. Bits D0 to D6 from the
EPROM output correspond to the seven LEDs in one column of the display. A high output turns an LED on, the
LED display being a common cathode type. The MSB, D7, is used to reset the system when the end of the
message is reached; when it is high the system resets.

In order to scroll the message across the screen, the cathodes (display columns) of the LEDs are scanned by the
Cathode Multiplex block at a speed high enough so that the flickering cannot be seen. As each column is
selected, the corresponding data for the LED anodes (display rows) is output from the EPROM and the Main
Address Counter is incremented.

After a number of scans set by the Scan Counter, the Base Address Counter is incremented and the new value
loaded into the Main Address Counter. This sequence gives the illusion of the message scrolling across the
display.

The system has a single clock which is effectively divided down by each block.
Complete Block Diagram

Figure 1: Complete block diagram

The LED Display

The LED display could be made up of separate LEDs, but this would make producing a PCB difficult. Instead, I
have used ready-made modules available from Rapid Electronics Ltd. These have 35 red LEDs arranged in a
5x7 matrix with the cathodes of each column and the anodes of each row commoned together, as shown in
figure 2.

This results in there being 12 connections to each module, which makes producing a PCB easier.

The number of modules required to give a good effect was decided by using the computer program in Appendix
1 which simulates on screen a message scrolling across a display.

Using this, I decided 16 modules would give a good display, allowing 13 characters to be shown on the display
at any instant.
 Figure 2: LED module pin-
out

Printed Circuit Board

Rather than draw the copper pattern for the PCB by hand, since it is repetitive, I used a computer drawing
package and a laser printer to produce an image on acetate film. Unfortunately, the number of display modules
had to be reduced to 12 due to the size of the screen drawing area and the size of the UV light box used to
produce the PCB.

With the PCB of figure 3, the first seven connections (marked in red) are the LED anodes, and the other 60 are
the LED cathodes.

Figure 3: PCB copper track pattern

The EPROM
The characters in each message are stored in an EPROM with one byte corresponding to one column of dots.
Storing the characters in this way rather than as their ASCII codes has the advantage that, apart from being
simpler to decode with the electronics, any character or graphic needed can be easily formed.

The character definitions used in the system are those used in my NC200 computer, which uses a 5x8 matrix to
display each character. Since the LED display modules are 5x7, only upper-case letters can be shown properly,
since the letters 'g', 'j', 'p', 'q' and 'y' will lose their 'tails' (see figure 4).

An extra column is added between each character for spacing, meaning that each character is therefore 6x7.
The EPROM used in the system is the 2764, which has a storage capacity of 64K bits organized into 8,192
bytes. There are therefore thirteen address lines, which are split up, the first eleven (A0-A10) being set by the
address counter block.

The number of address lines set by the address counter block determines the length of the message, meaning
there are 2,048 (2 to the power of 11) columns available for a message. This means that the maximum length of
each message is 341 characters (2,048 divided by 6), which satisfies the requirement of the specification.

The upper-case 'A' shown The lower-case 'y' shown on

on a 5x7 matrix. a 5x8 matrix. The tail would
be lost on a 5x7 matrix.

Figure 4: Character definition

Adding Extra Messages

The two extra address lines A11 and A12 are used to select one of four messages stored in the EPROM.
Switches 'A' and 'B' select a message when set as shown below:

Message Switch A Switch B

1 UP UP
2 UP DOWN
3 DOWN UP
4 DOWN DOWN

Switches 'A' and 'B' are SPDT types connected as shown in figure 5 so that each address line is either connected
to +5V or 0V.

Figure 5: Switches 'A' and 'B'

Address Counters

The address counters form the heart of the system as it is these that enable the scrolling of a message to take
place. There are two counters which work together:

The Base Address Counter

The 'Base' counter is a 12-bit (only 11-bits are used) ripple counter IC (4040) which is reset to zero by bit D7 of
the EPROM at the end of a message so that the first byte of data in a message is at the first EPROM address,
00000000000.

The counter then increments every time the Cathode Multiplex block finishes a scan, so that the display appears
to scroll.
In the final design, the Scan Counter was added so that several scans of the display take place before the 'Base'
address counter is incremented.

The Main Address Counter

After the 'Base' address counter is clocked at the beginning of a scan, a LOAD signal inputs the new address
into the 'Main' address counter.

The 'Main' address counter then advances from this address once each time the Cathode Multiplex block moves
on to the next column.

The Main address counter needs to be 11 bits long and has to be programmable. Since this length of counter
cannot be found in one IC package, three identical 4-bit programmable synchronous counters are used
(74C161). These have common clock and common load lines, plus carry-in and carry-out pins which are
connected as shown in figure 6.

The whole block was tested when built using two Logi-boxes to monitor the outputs and provide CK and
LOAD inputs.
I noted that the 74C161 counters do not place data from their P0-P3 pins immediately onto their D0-D3 when
LOAD is pulled low, but actually do this when the next CK pulse is recieved. This does not affect the operation
of the circuit in any way.
 Figure 6: Address counters

Cathode Multiplex Block

The function of this block is to pull one of sixty outputs low in order each time a clock pulse is received, i.e., a
1-of-60 decoder. Each of the sixty outputs is connected to one column of LEDs on the display so that only one
column can ever be on at any one time.

Since a 1-of-60 decoder is not available in one IC package, four 1-of-16 decoders (originally 4515) were used
instead. However, this meant two extra counters and a 1-of-4 decoder were also needed. The circuit is shown in
figure 7.

'Select' Counter

Each of the 1-of-16 decoders has 4 address lines, A to D. Connecting the Q0-Q3 outputs from a 4-bit counter
(4520b) to each of the decoder address lines makes each decoder pull each of its outputs low in turn when the
counter is clocked.

Now, all that is needed is a method to making only one decoder do this at a time.

'Enable' Counter and Decoder

The 1-of-16 decoders have an enable input, which, when brought low holds all their outputs high, thus
preventing any display column to be on.

One output from a 1-of-4 decoder (4556a) is connected to each enable input so that only one 1-of-16 decoder is
active at any one time.
The 1-of-4 decoder needs a 2-bit counter (4520a) to supply its address and this is clocked every time the D3
output of the 'Select' counter returns to zero (i.e., when a count of 16 has been reached and the 'Select' counter
returns to 0000). Because the 4520 is positive clocked, a NOT gate is required to invert the D3 output before it
clocks the 'Enable' counter.

The block was then tested using a Logi-box to show the 4556 outputs changing and then applying the fast
system clock and using 4 LED displays to check that scanning worked at high speed.

To do this the anodes of each row of LEDs were tied high. However, as more rows of LEDs were switched on,
the LEDs became progressively dimmer due to the 4515 IC not being able to sink enough current.

In order for the LEDs to all be the same brightness I decided that the Anode Multiplex block was needed.

Figure 7: Cathode multiplex block

Anode Multiplex Block

The Anode Multiplex block was designed to overcome the problem of the LEDs becoming dimmer by ensuring
only one LED is on at any one time. (Note that this block was eventually taken out once transistor display
drivers were added.)

The Anode Multiplex block scans each of the seven LEDs in a column in turn and either turns each one on or
off depending on the data in the EPROM.

To do this, two 4051 8-input analogue multiplexers were used as shown in figure 8, with only 7 inputs/outputs
being needed. Using analogue multiplexers means that data can flow to or from the switch 'wiper'. For example,
if address 010 is present on both multiplexer address lines, then data input to input 2 through the first
multiplexer will be available on output 2 of the second multiplexer.

Figure 8: The analogue multiplexer ICs

'Select' Counter

The 'Select' counter is a 3-bit counter (4520) that provides the address inputs for the 4051 analogue
multiplexers. The counter needs to count up to six, then reset on seven since there are seven LEDs in each
column. This was achieved at first by using two AND gates wired as a three input AND as shown in figure 9[a].
However, when tested using a Logi-box, the counter reset on a count of four, rather than seven. This is because
the signal is delayed in the first gate so that a glitch occurs when the output changes from 3 to 4, causing a brief
reset signal to the counter, as shown in figure 10. To stop this, the inputs to the AND gates were swapped
around as shown in figure 9[b].

Figure 9: Restting: [a] (A.B).C [b] (B.C).A

C B A RESET
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 <<< Incorrect Reset
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0 <<< Reset should occur here

Figure 10: Counter truth table with incorrect reset

System Clock
The system clock is produced by a NE555 astable circuit as shown in figure 11.

The frequency of the astable was at first based on the scan rate of a TV screen, 25Hz, because at this frequency
the screen cannot be seen to flicker.

The clock frequency of the display system was therefore chosen to be 1.5kHz (25Hz x 60), since there are 60
LEDs in the display.

The formula for the frequency of an NE555 astable is:

Therefore:

If Ra is chosen to be 1kΩ and C is chosen to 0.1μF, then:

With this value, the scanning of the display could still be seen (possibly because LEDs have a lower persistence
than the phosphor in a TV screen), and the value was finally changed to 1.6kΩ giving:

Figure 11: System clock

Connecting the Blocks Together

When the system was first connected up as shown in figure 12, a slower system clock was used for testing, and
the Cathode and Anode Multiplex blocks were seen to function together correctly. However, the 'Main' address
counter did not count due to the length of the Anode Multiplex block 'Select' counter reset pulse not being
enough to clock the counter. This problem was solved by placing two spare NOT gates at the reset input of the
'Select' counter and connecting their output to the clock input of the 'Main' address counter, as shown in figure
13. Another problem to be sorted out was that the the 'Main' address counter did not load in it's new value from
the 'Base' address counter at the end of each scan. Again, this was due to the short length of the Cathode
Multiplex block reset pulse.

Using the Spare Outputs

The problem was solved by re-designing the resetting of the system.

Since there are 60 columns of LEDs used in the system, there are 4 spare outputs from one of the 1-of-16
decoders, each one being taken high when it is selected, and they are selected one at a time by the Cathode
Multiplex block. I decided to use three of these to do the following tasks:

1. Clock the 'Base' address counter. The length of the pulse means the counter has time to settle into its
new state before the 'Main' address counter loads in the new value.
2. Load in the new value of the Base address into the 'Main' address counter.
3. Reset the Cathode Multiplex block since there is one output still left unused.

When tried, it was found that the 'Base' address counter was being clocked twice each time output 61 went high
due to a glitch. When a logic probe or an oscilloscope was connected to output 61 to try to observe the glitch, it
disappeared. This must have been because of the load placed on the output by the test instruments, so I placed a
variety of resistances between the output and +5V to try to stop the glitch. When this failed, I tried a 0.2nF
capacitor (equal to the capacitance of the oscilloscope) instead cured the problem. After this, the design worked
perfectly because the clock and load pulses are now longer, guaranteeing that the 'Base' counter will be clocked
and the 'Main' counter will load in the new value from the 'Base' counter.

Figure 12: Original design for system

Figure 13: Using NOT gates to delay the

pulse
De-coupling Capacitors

Six 0.1μF capacitors were placed near to many of the ICs to avoid problems with glitches causing unwanted
clocking, etc. (The circuit behaved erratically when capacitors near the 555 IC were removed.)

Larger 100μF capacitors were also placed on each breadboard to smooth the power supply.

Display Drivers
The brightness of the LED display was not adequate due to the small amount of current (25mA) that could be
sourced from the 4051 and sunk into the 4515 ICs. At a high scan rate, the LEDs appear dimmer even with
25mA through them.

So that higher currents could be supplied to the LEDs, two types of transistor drivers were used, placed as
shown in figure 14.

Figure 14: Positioning of display drivers

Darlington Pairs

Nine ULN2004 ICs were used at the LED cathodes to sink the higher current. Each IC has seven identical
Darlington Pair drivers as shown in figure 15. These can sink a maximum of 550mA, so are perfect for this
application. However, the Darlington Pairs are inverting, meaning that the 4515 ICs needed to be swapped for
4514 ICs (They both have the same pin-out!) so that bringing an output high allows a column of LEDs to be
switched on, since the output of the corresponding Darlington Pair will become low.

Figure 15: ULN2004 Darlington driver IC

Transistor Drivers

For the LED anodes, the ULN2004 could not be used since current needs to be sourced from the driver circuit
rather than sunk. Therefore, the transistor switch circuit shown in figure 16 was used. When the base voltage is
5V, the transistor is fully switched on, allowing a larger current to flow through the transistor into the LED.

Figure 16: Transistor driver

LED Resistors

Because of the transistor driver, 0.7V is lost from the 5V supply, meaning that there is 4.3V across the LED and
resistor. Because the display is being scanned at high speed, the LEDs are only on for a brief period, meaning
that they will appear dim unless a higher current than they would normally use is pushed through them. The low
resistance of 47Ω gave a bright display, meaning that the current through the LEDs is 90mA.

Because the brightness of the display does not now depend on the amount of current the ICs can sink and
source, the Anode Multiplex block was removed, cutting down the number of ICs in the system from 27 to 23.

Scan Counter
The scan counter was added so that the speed of scrolling could be altered. The counter is a 4-bit 4520 counter
that simply divides it's clock input down by 2,4,8 or 16 depending on which Q output is used. Therefore, if
output Q3 is connected, the display will be scanned eight times before the 'Base' address counter is incremented.

Figure 17: Scan counter

Programming by Computer
A requirement of the specification was that the system could be programmed by computer. Unfortunately, I did
not have time to build and test the additions to the existing circuit described below.

The simplified block diagram of figure 18 shows how the computer interface could have been added.
The EPROM would be exchanged for a Random Access Memory of the same memory capacity. Using the
parallel port of a computer such as the BBC Micro, each byte of data would be downloaded in order, the
STROBE output acting as a clock for the 'Main' address counter. A tri-state device such as the 74254 would
allow the data to be entered into the RAM. Before commencing downloading, a switch S3 in the circuit would
need to be moved to get the system ready to accept the new data by ensuring the following:

1. That the 'Main' address counter is reset to zero.

2. The system clock is disabled and the STROBE is routed to the 'Main' address counter clock.
3. The RAM is set to write mode.
4. The correct set of tri-state buffers is enabled.

Handshaking with the computer could be done by mimicking a printer's response to the new data using two
monostable timers to provide the ACK and BUSY outputs (As in 'Parallel Interface Relay Card' article; see
References).

Figure 18: Computer interface

Full Circuit Diagram (version 5)

Figure 19: Full circuit diagram (version 5)

Parts List (version 5)

Part   Qty Part   Qty
Resistors    Semiconductors   
R1: 10K 1 IC1-2: 4520  2
 
R2: 1.6K  1 IC3: 4040 1

R3-9: 47R 8 IC4-6: 74161 3

   
Capacitors      IC7: 2764 1
C1, 3-8: 0.1uF  8
 C2: 0.1nF 1

C9-11: 100uF 3
   
Miscellaneous   
S1-2: SPST Toggle Switch  2

IC8: 4556 1
 
IC9-12: 4514 4

IC13-21: ULN2004 9

IC22: NE555 1
Conclusion
Apart from not having a computer interface, the system satisfies the specification. It has a display which is 60
columns wide, enabling 10 characters to be shown at any one time. The maximum length of each message is
628 characters because the 12-bit counter gives a maximum count of 4,096. By adding extra counters a message
length of 1,365 could be achieved using the 2764 EPROM.

The Message Select switches were added to enable up to four individual messages to be stored on the same
EPROM. This is a feature which could be excluded should a computer interface be added.

An extra counter, the Scan Counter, was added to enable the scrolling rate of the message to be changed from a
slow crawl to a smooth 'glide' across the display.

The circuit runs from a 5V DC regulated supply and consumes around 300mA peak when at LEDs are lit.

Although it does not have some of the special effects that commercial display systems do, this system is
considerably cheaper to produce, costing about £45, compared to a typical commercial system costing around
£200.

One problem with the system is that the display brightness needs increasing further so it can be seen in bright
artificial light and sun light.

 If standard 5mm LEDs were used, the display could be made half a metre long instead of 16cm, and yet
the system would cost less -- only £30!

Suggested Additions to the Circuit

 Two rows : To enable lower-case letters to be shown properly, the display could be doubled in size to 14
dots in a column. This would also allow different sizes and styles of writing to be used, and better
graphics to be produced. It should be fairly easy to add an extra row if a block similar to the Anode
 Multiplexing block were introduced to run each row alternately. The message length would of course be
halved, two bytes of data being needed for each column. (Figure 20).
 Pause : If two bytes for each column were used (as above), there would be two spare bits. One would
still be used for resetting, but the other could be used for an effect such as pausing the display. Pausing
can be already achieved if the clock pulse to the Base address counter is stopped. The extra bit could
trigger a monostable to cut off the clock signal. (Figure 21)
 Bi/Tri-colour display : The same technique as used to create two rows of display could also be used for a
Bi-colour or Tri-colour display (One row only!).

Figure 20: Two row display - simplified block diagram

Figure 21: Display pause - simplified block diagram

Version 6: Additions to the Circuit

After my A-Levels were finished, I did some more work on the MMDS, as briefly summarised below:

The Display Module PCBs

Using Microsoft Paint I designed a PCB that could accommodate a matrix of 16 x 7 standard 5mm LEDs
spaced 1cm apart. This PCB includes two ULN2803 Darlington Pair ICs and one 4514 1-of-16 decoder IC. The
PCBs can be aligned in a row (up to 4) to create a large display.

Programming by Computer

In order to program messages into the system, the EPROM was replaced with a RAM and tri-state buffers to
control the data flow. The RAM has a rechargeable backup battery. A 'run/program' switch sets up the system to
either run the selected message or wait for bytes received on the parallel port. A circuit from Electronics - the
Maplin Magazine was used to simulate the responses a printer would make to a PC on the parallel port.

Message design is acheived using the MMDS Editor software written for the Amstrad NC200 Notebook
computer. This program can be downloaded from Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site at
www.ncus.org.uk/oande.htm#mmds_editor.

Full Circuit Diagram (version 6)

Figure 19: Full circuit diagram (version 6)

Parts List (version 6)

Part   Qty   Part   Qty
Resistors    Semiconductors   
R1, 4: 10K  2 IC1: 6264  1

R2-3, 12: 1K 3 IC2-3: 4520 2

 R5-11: 10R 7 IC4: 4556 1

R13: 750R 1 IC5: 4040 1

R14-15: 6.8K 2 IC6-8: 74161 3

R16: 360R 1 IC9: NE555 1

VR1: 10K Linear Potentiometer 1 IC10-11: 74244 2

   
Capacitors    IC12: 74123 1
C1-2, 7, 9, 11-16: 0.1uF 10
IC13: 4069 1
C3: 100uF 1
IC14: 7805 1
C4: 1uF 1
ICM1: 4514 1*
 
C5-6: 4.7uF  2
ICM2-3: ULN2803 2*
C8: 1000uF 1
D1-3: 1N4001 3
C10: 10uF 1
LD1: Red/Green Bi-Colour LED 1
CM1: 0.1uF 1*
    LD2: Orange LED 1
Miscellaneous   
B1: 3.6V NiCad Battery 1 LM1-91/112: LEDs 91/112*

CN1: Parallel Port Connector 1 T1-7: BC108C 7

 
  * Per display module - see note on circuit diagram.
S1: DPDT Toggle Switch 1

S2: Push-to-Make Button 1

Appendices
Appendix 1: Moving Message Display Simulator Program

The following program was written in BBC BASIC on my computer (Amstrad Notebook NC200) so as to judge
the size of display needed to give a good effect: This program is also available to download from Tim's Amstrad
NC Users' Site at www.ncus.org.uk/oande.htm#mmds_editor.

10 REM MMDS Simulator program

20 REM Programmed by Tim Surtell
30 :
40 mess$="Moving Message Display System"
50 delay=15
60 dlen=12
70 mess$=STRING$(dlen," ")+mess$+STRING$(dlen," ")
80 :
90 CLS
100 FOR I=1 TO LEN(mess$)
110 PRINT TAB(1,1)MID$(mess$,I,dlen)
120 TIME=0:REPEAT UNTIL TIME>delay
130 NEXT
140 GOTO 100

Note that the real display system scrolls column by column, not character by character.

Appendix 2: EPROM Data Program

This program written for the BBC Micro by John Hewes allows the message stored in 'M$' to be viewed on the
screen and printed as it will appear on the LED display. This program is also available to download from Tim's
Amstrad NC Users' Site at www.ncus.org.uk/oande.htm#mmds_editor.

The resulting list of bytes can then be dumped to the EPROM programmer.

10 REM EPROM data program

20 REM Programmed By J.Hewes
30 REM *** Warning! Do not use RENUMBER (due to DATA statements)
40 :
50 MODE 0
60 DIM M% 1000
70 :
80 M$=STRING$(16," ")+">>> MOVING MESSAGE DISPLAY SYSTEM >>> DESIGNED BY TIMOTHY
SURTELL "+STRING$(16,"*")+"@"
90 :
100 IF LEN(M$)>1000DIV6 PRINT "Message too long!":END
110 :
120 FOR I%=1 TO LEN(M$)
130 C%=ASC(MID$(M$,I%)):VDUC%
140 RESTORE C%+1000
150 FOR N%=0 TO 5:READ B%:?(M%+6*I%+N%-6)=B%:NEXT
160 NEXT
170 :
180 REM Check on screen
190 :
200 FOR I%=0 TO 6*LEN(M$)
210 IF ?(M%+I%)=0 GOTO 260
220 X%=2*I%:Y%=40
230 FOR B%=0 TO 7
240 IF ((?(M%+I%))AND2^B%)>0 PLOT69,X%,Y%+4*B%
250 NEXT
260 NEXT
270 :
280 PRINT "Print ? (Y/N)":IF GET$<>"Y" END
290 :
300 REM Check on printer
310 :
320 VDU 2:PRINT M$
330 VDU 1,27,1,42,1,1,1,(6*LEN(M$))MOD256,1,(6*LEN(M$))DIV256
340 FOR I%=0 TO 6*LEN(M$)
350 VDU 1,?(M%+I%)
360 NEXT
370 VDU 3
380 END
390 :
1000 REM Character data (Line No. = 1000 + ASCII code)
1032 DATA 0,0,0,0,0,0 :REM Space
1042 DATA 127,127,127,127,127,127 :REM Block (*)
1062 DATA 0,8,8,62,28,8 :REM Right arrow (>)
1064 DATA 128,128,128,128,128,128 :REM End marker (@)
1065 DATA 0,63,68,68,68,63 :REM A
1066 DATA 0,127,73,73,73,54 :REM B
1068 DATA 0,127,65,65,65,62 :REM D
1069 DATA 0,127,73,73,73,65 :REM E
1071 DATA 0,62,65,65,69,127 :REM G
1072 DATA 0,127,8,8,8,127 :REM H
1073 DATA 0,0,65,127,65,0 :REM I
1076 DATA 0,127,1,1,1,1, :REM L
1077 DATA 0,127,32,16,32,127 :REM M
1078 DATA 0,127,16,8,4,127 :REM N
1079 DATA 0,62,65,65,65,62 :REM O
1080 DATA 0,127,72,72,72,48 :REM P
1082 DATA 0,127,72,76,74,49 :REM R
1083 DATA 0,50,73,73,73,38 :REM S
1084 DATA 0,64,64,127,64,64 :REM T
1085 DATA 0,126,1,1,1,126 :REM U
1086 DATA 0,112,12,3,12,112 :REM V
1089 DATA 0,96,16,15,16,96 :REM Y

(Note : Character definitions are given for Test Message 1 only)

Appendix 3: Test Messages

The four test messages are available to download from Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site at
www.ncus.org.uk/oande.htm#mmds_editor and can be read by the MMDS Editor software, also downloadable
at this location.
Photographs of the Completed Project

Version 5 built on breadboard

Version 5 built on breadboard close-up
Version 5 built on breadboard close-up
Version 6 side panel
One of the version 6 display module PCBs close-up
Version 6 built on breadboard close-up
Version 6 built on breadboard close-up
Version 6 built on breadboard close-up