How to make a POV display using Arduino

Hello guys, welcome back. In this tutorial, I will show you how to make a POV display using Arduino. Also, this POV display tutorial is explained step by step so that everyone can understand it. This project is based on the Arduino nano board. And this is designed at a very low cost.

What is the POV display?

POV can be simply defined as the Persistence Of Vision. That is after the visual perception of an object stops entering the eye, it becomes a visual illusion that occurs when the visual perception does not stop for a certain period of time. This is basically a deception of our brain. That is, even when an object does not exist, it appears to us as it exists. We can do this using a rotating LED display. This is done by lighting the LED in a certain pattern. That is, the LEDs turn ON and OFF in several steps to display one character. This depends on the character being displayed. Also with this POV display, we can display TEXT, images, etc.

OK, let’s do this project step by step. The required components are given below.

Arduino Nano board x 1 — Amazon / Our Store
LED x 10 — Amazon / Our Store
180-ohm Resistor x 10 — Amazon / Our Store

Female header x 1 — Amazon / Our Store
Dot board — Amazon / Bangood
DC motor and suitable wheel

Two-pin terminal — Amazon / Our Store
9v battery — Amazon / Bangood
Battery clip — Amazon / Our Store

Circuit wires — Amazon / Banggood

Disclosure: These Amazon links are Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Step 1

Firstly, identify these components.

Arduino Nano board

LED bulb

180-ohm Resistor

Female header

Dot board

DC motor and suitable wheel

Two-pin terminal

9v battery and clip

Circuit wires

Step 2

Secondly, cut a dot board strip and solder the female header to it. This female header should be adjusted to fit the Arduino Nano board.

Step 3

Thirdly, solder the LED bulb‍s to the dot board strip on the other side.

Step 4

Now, attach the resistors to the LED anode side. After, solder the resistors for the LED anode pins.

Step 5

Now, solder the LED cathode pins together.

Step 6

Next, connect these LEDs to the Arduino Nano board. To do this. use the circuit diagram below.

How to make a POV display using Arduino circuit diagram

Step 7

Now, attach the wire connector to the dot board and connect it with the VCC and GND pins on the Arduino board.

OK, now we can see this POV display as below.

Step 8

Next, connect the dot board strap to the DC motor.

Step 9

Then, connect the Arduino Nano board to the female headers and connect to the computer using a USB cable.

Step 10

OK, now let’s set up the program for this POV display. It is as follows.

The complete program of this project – Download

/*POV display with Arduino nano.
    created by the SriTu Hobby team.
    Read the code below and use it for any of your creations.
   https://srituhobby.com
*/
const int pins[] = {11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,};//define LED pins
int rows = 8;//number of rows
const int charHeight = 8;
const int charWidth = 5;
const unsigned char font[95][5] = {//font array
  {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00}, //   0x20 32
  {0x00, 0x00, 0x6f, 0x00, 0x00}, // ! 0x21 33
  {0x00, 0x07, 0x00, 0x07, 0x00}, // " 0x22 34
  {0x14, 0x7f, 0x14, 0x7f, 0x14}, // # 0x23 35
  {0x00, 0x07, 0x04, 0x1e, 0x00}, // $ 0x24 36
  {0x23, 0x13, 0x08, 0x64, 0x62}, // % 0x25 37
  {0x36, 0x49, 0x56, 0x20, 0x50}, // & 0x26 38
  {0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x00, 0x00}, // ' 0x27 39
  {0x00, 0x1c, 0x22, 0x41, 0x00}, // ( 0x28 40
  {0x00, 0x41, 0x22, 0x1c, 0x00}, // ) 0x29 41
  {0x14, 0x08, 0x3e, 0x08, 0x14}, // * 0x2a 42
  {0x08, 0x08, 0x3e, 0x08, 0x08}, // + 0x2b 43
  {0x00, 0x50, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00}, // , 0x2c 44
  {0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08}, // - 0x2d 45
  {0x00, 0x60, 0x60, 0x00, 0x00}, // . 0x2e 46
  {0x20, 0x10, 0x08, 0x04, 0x02}, // / 0x2f 47
  {0x3e, 0x51, 0x49, 0x45, 0x3e}, // 0 0x30 48
  {0x00, 0x42, 0x7f, 0x40, 0x00}, // 1 0x31 49
  {0x42, 0x61, 0x51, 0x49, 0x46}, // 2 0x32 50
  {0x21, 0x41, 0x45, 0x4b, 0x31}, // 3 0x33 51
  {0x18, 0x14, 0x12, 0x7f, 0x10}, // 4 0x34 52
  {0x27, 0x45, 0x45, 0x45, 0x39}, // 5 0x35 53
  {0x3c, 0x4a, 0x49, 0x49, 0x30}, // 6 0x36 54
  {0x01, 0x71, 0x09, 0x05, 0x03}, // 7 0x37 55
  {0x36, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x36}, // 8 0x38 56
  {0x06, 0x49, 0x49, 0x29, 0x1e}, // 9 0x39 57
  {0x00, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00}, // : 0x3a 58
  {0x00, 0x56, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00}, // ; 0x3b 59
  {0x08, 0x14, 0x22, 0x41, 0x00}, // < 0x3c 60
  {0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14}, // = 0x3d 61
  {0x00, 0x41, 0x22, 0x14, 0x08}, // > 0x3e 62
  {0x02, 0x01, 0x51, 0x09, 0x06}, // ? 0x3f 63
  {0x3e, 0x41, 0x5d, 0x49, 0x4e}, // @ 0x40 64
  {0x7e, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x7e}, // A 0x41 65
  {0x7f, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x36}, // B 0x42 66
  {0x3e, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x22}, // C 0x43 67
  {0x7f, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x3e}, // D 0x44 68
  {0x7f, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x41}, // E 0x45 69
  {0x7f, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x01}, // F 0x46 70
  {0x3e, 0x41, 0x49, 0x49, 0x7a}, // G 0x47 71
  {0x7f, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x7f}, // H 0x48 72
  {0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x41, 0x00}, // I 0x49 73
  {0x20, 0x40, 0x41, 0x3f, 0x01}, // J 0x4a 74
  {0x7f, 0x08, 0x14, 0x22, 0x41}, // K 0x4b 75
  {0x7f, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40}, // L 0x4c 76
  {0x7f, 0x02, 0x0c, 0x02, 0x7f}, // M 0x4d 77
  {0x7f, 0x04, 0x08, 0x10, 0x7f}, // N 0x4e 78
  {0x3e, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x3e}, // O 0x4f 79
  {0x7f, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x06}, // P 0x50 80
  {0x3e, 0x41, 0x51, 0x21, 0x5e}, // Q 0x51 81
  {0x7f, 0x09, 0x19, 0x29, 0x46}, // R 0x52 82
  {0x46, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x31}, // S 0x53 83
  {0x01, 0x01, 0x7f, 0x01, 0x01}, // T 0x54 84
  {0x3f, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x3f}, // U 0x55 85
  {0x0f, 0x30, 0x40, 0x30, 0x0f}, // V 0x56 86
  {0x3f, 0x40, 0x30, 0x40, 0x3f}, // W 0x57 87
  {0x63, 0x14, 0x08, 0x14, 0x63}, // X 0x58 88
  {0x07, 0x08, 0x70, 0x08, 0x07}, // Y 0x59 89
  {0x61, 0x51, 0x49, 0x45, 0x43}, // Z 0x5a 90
  {0x3c, 0x4a, 0x49, 0x29, 0x1e}, // [ 0x5b 91
  {0x02, 0x04, 0x08, 0x10, 0x20}, // 0x5c 92
  {0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x00, 0x00}, // ] 0x5d 93
  {0x04, 0x02, 0x01, 0x02, 0x04}, // ^ 0x5e 94
  {0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40}, // _ 0x5f 95
  {0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x04, 0x00}, // ` 0x60 96
  {0x20, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x78}, // a 0x61 97
  {0x7f, 0x48, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38}, // b 0x62 98
  {0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x44, 0x20}, // c 0x63 99
  {0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x48, 0x7f}, // d 0x64 100
  {0x38, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x18}, // e 0x65 101
  {0x08, 0x7e, 0x09, 0x01, 0x02}, // f 0x66 102
  {0x0c, 0x52, 0x52, 0x52, 0x3e}, // g 0x67 103
  {0x7f, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x78}, // h 0x68 104
  {0x00, 0x44, 0x7d, 0x40, 0x00}, // i 0x69 105
  {0x20, 0x40, 0x44, 0x3d, 0x00}, // j 0x6a 106
  {0x00, 0x7f, 0x10, 0x28, 0x44}, // k 0x6b 107
  {0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x40, 0x00}, // l 0x6c 108
  {0x7c, 0x04, 0x18, 0x04, 0x78}, // m 0x6d 109
  {0x7c, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x78}, // n 0x6e 110
  {0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38}, // o 0x6f 111
  {0x7c, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x08}, // p 0x70 112
  {0x08, 0x14, 0x14, 0x18, 0x7c}, // q 0x71 113
  {0x7c, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x08}, // r 0x72 114
  {0x48, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x20}, // s 0x73 115
  {0x04, 0x3f, 0x44, 0x40, 0x20}, // t 0x74 116
  {0x3c, 0x40, 0x40, 0x20, 0x7c}, // u 0x75 117
  {0x1c, 0x20, 0x40, 0x20, 0x1c}, // v 0x76 118
  {0x3c, 0x40, 0x30, 0x40, 0x3c}, // w 0x77 119
  {0x44, 0x28, 0x10, 0x28, 0x44}, // x 0x78 120
  {0x0c, 0x50, 0x50, 0x50, 0x3c}, // y 0x79 121
  {0x44, 0x64, 0x54, 0x4c, 0x44}, // z 0x7a 122
  {0x00, 0x08, 0x36, 0x41, 0x41}, // { 0x7b 123
  {0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0x00, 0x00}, // | 0x7c 124
  {0x41, 0x41, 0x36, 0x08, 0x00}, // } 0x7d 125
  {0x04, 0x02, 0x04, 0x08, 0x04}, // ~ 0x7e 126
}; 

char textString[] = "POV";//enter your text here
void setup() {
  pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
  for (int i = 0; i < rows; i++) {
    pinMode(pins[i], OUTPUT);
  }
  digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
}
 
void loop() {//display text
for (int k = sizeof(textString) - 1; k > -1; k--) {
      Display(textString[k]);
    }
}
 
void Display(char ch) {//display function
  if (ch < 32 || ch > 126) {
    ch = 32;
  }
  ch -= 32;
  for (int i = charWidth - 1; i > -1; i--) {
    byte b = font[ch][i];
    for (int j = 0; j < charHeight; j++) {
      digitalWrite(pins[j], bitRead(b, j));
    }
    delay(1);
  }
  for (int i = 0; i < rows; i++) {
    digitalWrite(pins[i] , LOW);
  }
  delay(1);
}

Code explanation

First, an array is created for the POV display associated PINs. Also, two variables have been created for POV display height and width.

const int pins[] = {11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,};//define LED pins

int rows = 8;//number of rows

const int charHeight = 8;

const int charWidth = 5;

This “font” array contains all the characters.

const unsigned char font[95][5] = {//font array

{0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00}, // 0x20 32

{0x00, 0x00, 0x6f, 0x00, 0x00}, // ! 0x21 33

{0x00, 0x07, 0x00, 0x07, 0x00}, // ” 0x22 34

{0x14, 0x7f, 0x14, 0x7f, 0x14}, // # 0x23 35

{0x00, 0x07, 0x04, 0x1e, 0x00}, // $ 0x24 36

{0x23, 0x13, 0x08, 0x64, 0x62}, // % 0x25 37

{0x36, 0x49, 0x56, 0x20, 0x50}, // & 0x26 38

{0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x00, 0x00}, // ‘ 0x27 39

{0x00, 0x1c, 0x22, 0x41, 0x00}, // ( 0x28 40

{0x00, 0x41, 0x22, 0x1c, 0x00}, // ) 0x29 41

{0x14, 0x08, 0x3e, 0x08, 0x14}, // * 0x2a 42

{0x08, 0x08, 0x3e, 0x08, 0x08}, // + 0x2b 43

{0x00, 0x50, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00}, // , 0x2c 44

{0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08}, // – 0x2d 45

{0x00, 0x60, 0x60, 0x00, 0x00}, // . 0x2e 46

{0x20, 0x10, 0x08, 0x04, 0x02}, // / 0x2f 47

{0x3e, 0x51, 0x49, 0x45, 0x3e}, // 0 0x30 48

{0x00, 0x42, 0x7f, 0x40, 0x00}, // 1 0x31 49

{0x42, 0x61, 0x51, 0x49, 0x46}, // 2 0x32 50

{0x21, 0x41, 0x45, 0x4b, 0x31}, // 3 0x33 51

{0x18, 0x14, 0x12, 0x7f, 0x10}, // 4 0x34 52

{0x27, 0x45, 0x45, 0x45, 0x39}, // 5 0x35 53

{0x3c, 0x4a, 0x49, 0x49, 0x30}, // 6 0x36 54

{0x01, 0x71, 0x09, 0x05, 0x03}, // 7 0x37 55

{0x36, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x36}, // 8 0x38 56

{0x06, 0x49, 0x49, 0x29, 0x1e}, // 9 0x39 57

{0x00, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00}, // : 0x3a 58

{0x00, 0x56, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00}, // ; 0x3b 59

{0x08, 0x14, 0x22, 0x41, 0x00}, // < 0x3c 60

{0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14}, // = 0x3d 61

{0x00, 0x41, 0x22, 0x14, 0x08}, // > 0x3e 62

{0x02, 0x01, 0x51, 0x09, 0x06}, // ? 0x3f 63

{0x3e, 0x41, 0x5d, 0x49, 0x4e}, // @ 0x40 64

{0x7e, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x7e}, // A 0x41 65

{0x7f, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x36}, // B 0x42 66

{0x3e, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x22}, // C 0x43 67

{0x7f, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x3e}, // D 0x44 68

{0x7f, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x41}, // E 0x45 69

{0x7f, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x01}, // F 0x46 70

{0x3e, 0x41, 0x49, 0x49, 0x7a}, // G 0x47 71

{0x7f, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x7f}, // H 0x48 72

{0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x41, 0x00}, // I 0x49 73

{0x20, 0x40, 0x41, 0x3f, 0x01}, // J 0x4a 74

{0x7f, 0x08, 0x14, 0x22, 0x41}, // K 0x4b 75

{0x7f, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40}, // L 0x4c 76

{0x7f, 0x02, 0x0c, 0x02, 0x7f}, // M 0x4d 77

{0x7f, 0x04, 0x08, 0x10, 0x7f}, // N 0x4e 78

{0x3e, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x3e}, // O 0x4f 79

{0x7f, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x06}, // P 0x50 80

{0x3e, 0x41, 0x51, 0x21, 0x5e}, // Q 0x51 81

{0x7f, 0x09, 0x19, 0x29, 0x46}, // R 0x52 82

{0x46, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x31}, // S 0x53 83

{0x01, 0x01, 0x7f, 0x01, 0x01}, // T 0x54 84

{0x3f, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x3f}, // U 0x55 85

{0x0f, 0x30, 0x40, 0x30, 0x0f}, // V 0x56 86

{0x3f, 0x40, 0x30, 0x40, 0x3f}, // W 0x57 87

{0x63, 0x14, 0x08, 0x14, 0x63}, // X 0x58 88

{0x07, 0x08, 0x70, 0x08, 0x07}, // Y 0x59 89

{0x61, 0x51, 0x49, 0x45, 0x43}, // Z 0x5a 90

{0x3c, 0x4a, 0x49, 0x29, 0x1e}, // [ 0x5b 91

{0x02, 0x04, 0x08, 0x10, 0x20}, // 0x5c 92

{0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x00, 0x00}, // ] 0x5d 93

{0x04, 0x02, 0x01, 0x02, 0x04}, // ^ 0x5e 94

{0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40}, // _ 0x5f 95

{0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x04, 0x00}, // ` 0x60 96

{0x20, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x78}, // a 0x61 97

{0x7f, 0x48, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38}, // b 0x62 98

{0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x44, 0x20}, // c 0x63 99

{0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x48, 0x7f}, // d 0x64 100

{0x38, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x18}, // e 0x65 101

{0x08, 0x7e, 0x09, 0x01, 0x02}, // f 0x66 102

{0x0c, 0x52, 0x52, 0x52, 0x3e}, // g 0x67 103

{0x7f, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x78}, // h 0x68 104

{0x00, 0x44, 0x7d, 0x40, 0x00}, // i 0x69 105

{0x20, 0x40, 0x44, 0x3d, 0x00}, // j 0x6a 106

{0x00, 0x7f, 0x10, 0x28, 0x44}, // k 0x6b 107

{0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x40, 0x00}, // l 0x6c 108

{0x7c, 0x04, 0x18, 0x04, 0x78}, // m 0x6d 109

{0x7c, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x78}, // n 0x6e 110

{0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38}, // o 0x6f 111

{0x7c, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x08}, // p 0x70 112

{0x08, 0x14, 0x14, 0x18, 0x7c}, // q 0x71 113

{0x7c, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x08}, // r 0x72 114

{0x48, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x20}, // s 0x73 115

{0x04, 0x3f, 0x44, 0x40, 0x20}, // t 0x74 116

{0x3c, 0x40, 0x40, 0x20, 0x7c}, // u 0x75 117

{0x1c, 0x20, 0x40, 0x20, 0x1c}, // v 0x76 118

{0x3c, 0x40, 0x30, 0x40, 0x3c}, // w 0x77 119

{0x44, 0x28, 0x10, 0x28, 0x44}, // x 0x78 120

{0x0c, 0x50, 0x50, 0x50, 0x3c}, // y 0x79 121

{0x44, 0x64, 0x54, 0x4c, 0x44}, // z 0x7a 122

{0x00, 0x08, 0x36, 0x41, 0x41}, // { 0x7b 123

{0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0x00, 0x00}, // | 0x7c 124

{0x41, 0x41, 0x36, 0x08, 0x00}, // } 0x7d 125

{0x04, 0x02, 0x04, 0x08, 0x04}, // ~ 0x7e 126

};

You must enter the word or symbol you want to display for this “textString” array.

char textString[] = “POV”;//enter your text here

In the setup function, the LED-connected PINs are set as output. Also, pins 2 and 3 are set to HIGH.

void setup() {

pinMode(2, OUTPUT);

pinMode(3, OUTPUT);

for (int i = 0; i < rows; i++) {

pinMode(pins[i], OUTPUT);

}

digitalWrite(2, HIGH);

digitalWrite(3, HIGH);

}

In the loop function, the main “Display” function is called.

void loop() {//display text

for (int k = sizeof(textString) – 1; k > -1; k–) {

Display(textString[k]);

}

This is the main code of this project.

void Display(char ch) {//display function

if (ch < 32 || ch > 126) {

ch = 32;

}

ch -= 32;

for (int i = charWidth – 1; i > -1; i–) {

byte b = font[ch][i];

for (int j = 0; j < charHeight; j++) {

digitalWrite(pins[j], bitRead(b, j));

}

delay(1);

}

for (int i = 0; i < rows; i++) {

digitalWrite(pins[i] , LOW);

}

delay(1);

}

Step 11

Now, select board and port. After, upload this code.

Step 12

Then, attach the 9v battery to the center of the dot board strap. After, connect it to the wire connector.

Step 13

Lastly, connect the power supply to the DC motor. OK, enjoy this project. The full video guide is given below. So, we will meet in the next tutorial.

How to make a POV display using Arduino | Step by step instructions

How to make a POV display using Arduino | Step by step instructions