Now and again John over at tronixstuff publishes different Arduino tutorials, and in his latest instalment he discusses the use of the MC14489 LED display driver and controlling it with an Arduino. This controller IC offers a very hardware-light method of controlling up to five digits of 7-segment LED displays - which are still popular due to their outdoor visibility, price and visual appeal. Although the MC14489 might seem complex to the beginner, the methods of sending the required display data are explained and demonstrated with various examples to follow along with. One example in action is in the following video:
To learn about this older but still relevant method of LED control, check out the tutorial. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you're new to Arduino, the first step is a solid board for your projects - our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-Uno compatible with low-profile USB socket, onboard prototyping space and easy to view LEDs:
