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Pin2DMD for < $125 - DIY


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6 hours ago, Archangl7 said:

is the resistor network needed if you use the waveshare version sd holder? or do you need only the connectors highlighted for virtual pinball?

No the resistors are builtin. Did you look at their website or the link to their schematic? I think that is pretty clear.

Yes only the highlighted connectors. Do you understand enough about what you are going to build to be able to build it? What happens when something doesn't work?

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/7/2019 at 12:42 PM, MikePinball said:

I have fixed a couple of problems on my first PCB and I have made it available in this append for anyone who wants it. As a reminder the "*ONLY* change is the addition of a SMD socket for the micro SD card and a SIL resistor array. If you are not familiar with SMD soldering then I would use the original PCB design. This PCB design has no warranties and you should verify before using it.

Mike Pinball

PIN2DMD_Nucleo144-MikePinball-20190106.zip

Can the SDCARD module like the V3 shield be used?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PCS-TF-Micro-SD-Card-Mini-SD-Card-Module-Memory-Module-Arduino-ARM-AVR-S/191736124794?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It is a lot easier to find and much cheaper than the waveshare unit

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4 hours ago, SpaceGambler said:

Can the SDCARD module like the V3 shield be used?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PCS-TF-Micro-SD-Card-Mini-SD-Card-Module-Memory-Module-Arduino-ARM-AVR-S/191736124794?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It is a lot easier to find and much cheaper than the waveshare unit

No because it only supports 1bit serial SPI connection while the Waveshare supports 4 bit parallel SDIO connection.

If you want to have it cheaper use the slot directly soldered to the pcb like Mike did above

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On 7/26/2020 at 2:51 PM, SpaceGambler said:

Can the SDCARD module like the V3 shield be used?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2PCS-TF-Micro-SD-Card-Mini-SD-Card-Module-Memory-Module-Arduino-ARM-AVR-S/191736124794?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It is a lot easier to find and much cheaper than the waveshare unit

I added a alternative layout which uses a cheaper chinese SDIO capable SD reader. The layout has not been tested by me but should work.

https://github.com/lucky01/PIN2DMD/tree/master/hardware/V4 NUCLEO-144/chinese SD Reader available on ebay

sd_reader.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

does it matter if its a arm 4 core? i bought another one of the Nucleo-144 boards, butits a arm 7 and it doesnt seem to be working. i have done a few using this exact model NUCLEO-F429ZI and it is now out of stock , but the one i just bought is a NUCLEO-F767ZI and the status led for programming is flashing red.

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4 hours ago, Archangl7 said:

does it matter if its a arm 4 core? i bought another one of the Nucleo-144 boards, butits a arm 7 and it doesnt seem to be working. i have done a few using this exact model NUCLEO-F429ZI and it is now out of stock , but the one i just bought is a NUCLEO-F767ZI and the status led for programming is flashing red.

Only NUCLEO-F429ZI and NUCLEO-F439ZI are supported

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  • 1 month later...

I am a newbie on this forum, but with decades of working on and restoring pinball machines.  Up until now, my electronics experience consists of troubleshooting boards, reading circuit diagrams and repairing them.   I have no experience with fabricating boards.

Is it possible for someone of my skill (or lack of it) level to obtain the parts?  Assembly looks reasonable (except perhaps the SMD soldering for me).  But I would like to order the proper boards with all of the components from China for use in pinball machines.  

I would not mind ordering from  Dan Pannell, but it looks like his thread has gone stale. If I want to order a complete board with all parts for pinball use, what do I do?   I see the files on GitHub.  And see references to the upgrades that the OP, MikePinball, has done and would like to include those.  And also comments about drill holes being off in some of the copies.

How do I order the boards, with MikePinball's upgrades, with all the of the components and to minimize any SMD work that I might have to do?

Thanks for your patience with this Newbie.

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You can certainly order the EVO boards and receive them without the need to do any SMD soldering. See this thread for info.

Even with assembled boards, you will still have some work to do, selecting and purchasing the correct LED displays, assembling the parts, making power cables, getting the firmware loaded onto the boards, etc. Instructions are on this site and on the Pin2dmd site.

My advise is if you are after less than 10 then try a PM to Dan. or maybe  dzorbas who is in Canada and might be able to ship to you. 

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@LexingtonVAPin I can ship fully assembled displays to you if Dan doesn't respond. There is enough info on the site here if you want to build your own. I would never personally take on SMD installation. I guess some guys are masochists and enjoy that kind of stuff. My hands and eyes couldn't handle it.

Send me a PM if you want more info.

Thanks,

Dino Z.

 

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  • 7 months later...

Good afternoon.

Due to the considerable increase in Led panels, I have a question ... Do you know of any Aliexpress vendor that offers quality and affordable led panels for Pin2dmd?

The price per panel has increased from € 11 to € 18 in less than a month ...

Thanks.

Edited by Chesco
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3 minutes ago, vasectomboy said:

If I'm building the NUCLEO-F4 version of these with 128x32 panel for some WPC95 like World Cup Soccer, do I need the DC-DC converter PCB also? Or what's the deal with that PCB? Is the normal shield enough?

 

https://pin2dmd.com/hardware/#3

 

Why post your question in two different threads ?

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45 minutes ago, vasectomboy said:

Would you believe it was by accident?

 

Anyway thanks for the info. I'll look into options for suitable DC-DC converters, unless there's someone willing to suggest some?

 

On the EVO I used XL4015 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/3/2019 at 6:14 AM, MikePinball said:

The picture below shows what I received. Note particularly the pattern of the 6 screw holes (marked in red), and the raised placement buttons (marked in white) on the back of the LED panel.  

Pin2DMD-01.thumb.jpg.013b68758b38707ce333287d4ab59dc0.jpg

b) Order Black Plastic Frame

I decided to mount the LED panels in a plastic frame. Without having seen the panels ahead of time, I ordered the panels as given on the Pin2DMD website in the Arcyl frames folder.

I ordered from Ponoko.com. It looks like the SVG file was setup for ordering from Ponoko because it uses their medium size template to get 3 frames. With a first time user discount, the 3 frames cost $19.81 including shipping.

Unfortunately the frame did not match the LED panels I received. The screw holes have a different placement and there are no holes for the two locating pins on the panel (as shown in the picture above). Luckily I was able to drill the additional holes I needed without cracking the plastic. When I have some more time, I will investigate updating the SVG file and submitting a new one for posting on the Pin2DMD website.

@MikePinball did you ever update the SVG? I got the same screw pattern in my panels, so just was interested if there was a ready made version available for those.

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I have issues with the build, as the display panels are not starting at all, despite getting the needed 5V 5A from XL4015. What would be good suggestions for troubleshooting? I'm taking both 5V for the panels and the shield PCB.

 

Also, is it normal that the LD4 on Nucleo-F4 is red and blinks slowly?

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12 hours ago, vasectomboy said:

I have issues with the build, as the display panels are not starting at all, despite getting the needed 5V 5A from XL4015. What would be good suggestions for troubleshooting? I'm taking both 5V for the panels and the shield PCB.

 

Also, is it normal that the LD4 on Nucleo-F4 is red and blinks slowly?

 

Most likely the firmware is not installed properly. Please follow the instructions on https://pin2dmd.com/installation/

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10 minutes ago, lucky1 said:

 

 

Most likely the firmware is not installed properly. Please follow the instructions on https://pin2dmd.com/installation/

Okay. So I did it the way it is instructed in the webpage linked, word for word. Still just blinking from the LD4. 

 

What did I do wrong? Here's my steps:

I installed the old version of STLink 4.6.0.

I then connected the Nucleo-F429ZI with a micro-USB cable to my computer.  

I downgraded the firmware of Nucleo back to V2.J37.M26 from V2.J40.M27 (it didn't work with that either).

I download the PIN2DMD.bin for 128x32 from Github (./firmware/latest/V4 NUCLEO-144/PIN2DMD.bin).

I open the STLink, connect the Nucleo, open PIN2DMD.bin, choose Target -> Program... (tried with Program & Verify too) and flash the firmware.

After that I connect it to the shield PCB and to power, but no picture on panels.

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1 hour ago, lucky1 said:

some pictures of your setup might help.

 

LD6 should be on if power is o.k 

and

LD1 should be on if no SD card is inserted

Sure! Here's the XL4015 set to 5V 5A, and the cables from OUT+ and OUT- going to these junctions in which I soldered 3 wires together to split the ground and 5V to both shield PCB and the panels. 

IMG_20230111_201730252.thumb.jpg.3fbe8fd2aa70a018bf11942a06f9ed8b.jpg

 

 

Here you can see the cables attached to the shield and to both panels.

IMG_20230111_201746048_HDR.thumb.jpg.9f764faf0b14132e73ce01ef87b67f43.jpg

 

 

Here's a pic of the shield without the Nucleo-F429ZI.

IMG_20230111_201754673_HDR.thumb.jpg.36a391933d12a42c7dbdce334da0eeb1.jpg

 

 

Here's with the Nucleo attached, still unpowered.

IMG_20230111_201851492_HDR.thumb.jpg.ef7575cab65f1955495ae932cb80b869.jpg

 

When powering on, the LD6 seems to be on as green light, so I guess there's power (my multimeter agrees to this). The LD4 (red one) blinks with around 800-1000 ms interval.

IMG_20230111_201904742_HDR.thumb.jpg.51776d0699c25ffc15442c0215f3aa46.jpg

 

 

Last pic: I decided to try and push all the buttons. When I pushed the RESET button on Nucleo, the LD1 turned on, as there was no microSD card inserted. After I inserted it back, it turned off. I guess some sort of proof that there's _some_ life inside the Nucleo?

IMG_20230111_202029261_HDR.thumb.jpg.7caf7872d05ec08fe2ae95f3056085b6.jpg

 

So, any suggestions on how to proceed? Also what's the purpose of all the other connectors and the battery etc. in the PCB? Like DHT11, RS232, and the two IR-connections? 

 

 

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