User Guide: Text System

This guide will walk you through the setup and operation of your custom LED text display system, now featuring multiple channels for dynamic message management.

What You'll Need

  • The main LED Display unit with the attached microcontroller.
  • An RC controller (transmitter).
  • You must provide: A microSD Card (32GB or smaller is recommended).

Step-by-Step Setup

Part A: Prepare Your Content (The microSD Card)

This is the most important step to ensure your custom content plays correctly.

  1. Format the Card: Your microSD card must be formatted as FAT32.
  2. Prepare Text Files:
    • The system can load multiple text messages from plain .txt files. Name your files alphabetically to set their channel order (e.g., 01_hello.txt, 02_alert.txt).
    • Each message requires two lines in the file:
      • Line 1: The exact text you want to display.
      • Line 2: The 7-character hex color code for the text, including the '#' symbol (e.g., #FF0000 for red).
    • The display mode (static, scrolling, or flashing) is chosen automatically based on the file's content:
      • Static Text: If the text is narrower than the screen, it will be centered and static.
      • Scrolling Text: If the text is wider than the screen, it will automatically scroll.
      • Flashing Text: If you add multiple pairs of text and color lines to the file, the display will cycle through each one, creating a flashing effect.
    • Text support is only for standard ASCII characters (no unicode, no characters with accents)

Part B: Connect the Hardware

  1. Gently insert your prepared microSD card into the slot on the microcontroller.
  2. Connect the main 5V power supply to the LED display unit.
  3. Power on your RC controller.

Operating Your Display

The display is controlled with one channel on your RC controller.

  • Changing the Text Channel: Push the designated stick up or down to cycle through your text files.
  • Important: To change a channel again, you must let the stick return to the middle (neutral) position first. This is a feature to ensure each "flick" of the stick results in only one channel change.

Understanding the Channels

Text Channels

  • Channel 0: Text Off (blank screen).
  • Channel 1 and higher: Shows your .txt message files from the SD card, played in alphabetical order of their filenames.

Editing Files

The output format is raw text format. We recommend using a plain text editor:

  • Windows: Notepad
  • Linux: vim, gedit, etc.
  • Mac: TextEdit