DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF AN ELECTRICAL DISPLAY BOARD

BY

EZIEFULA CHIMAMKPAM VINCENT

A SEMINAR PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING, SCHOOL OF
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THEAWARD OF HIGER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (HND) IN ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING
(OPTION)
FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE, OWERRI, IMO STATE.

SUPPERVISED BY:

APRIL, 2023
 CERTIFICATION

This seminar “Design and Construction of an Electrical Display Board” by Eziefula

Chimamkpam Vincent work has been supervised and approved by the supervisor in the
department electrical electronics department (option) instrumentation and control

ENGR. U. S. OSONDU (Date)

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 Abstract

The main objective of the project is to develop a Bluetooth based LED notice board by using
PIC18F452 microcontroller and HC-05 Bluetooth module. By using microcontroller as the
main circuitry, the input message would be received from the user’s android application
device. Remote operation is achieved by any smart-phone / Tablet etc., with Android O S.
While the user sends the message from the Android application device, it is received and
retrieved by the Bluetooth device at the display unit. The Bluetooth access password will only
be known to the user for the first attempt. It is then sent to the microcontroller that further
displays the notice sent from the user on to the LED display board. Bluetooth wireless
technology is becoming a popular standard in the communication arena, and it is one of the
fastest growing fields in the wireless technologies. Bluetooth technology handles the wireless
part of the communication channel it transmits and receives data wirelessly between these
devices. While a mobile phone is simply more than a phone these days, the number of
applications being built on a wide range of platforms for mobile phones is astounding.

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUNDOFTHE STUDY

The use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) has become more and more commonplace.

Their relatively low power consumption, high output, high contrast, and long lifetimes (up to
one million hours) makes them an ideal choice for display screens. Current LED display
products include single and multi-line monochrome scrolling models and full color video
screens. However, none of the single line models are both wireless and modular.
A full, working LED displayis composed of several components and includes both hardware
and software. The display board i composed of LEDs and drivers that provide power to the
LEDs. Drivers can range from simple circuits that provide only power to complex chips that
provide ASCII support and display grid multiplexing. Registers are used to hold and supply a
value to the drivers. Commonly, the control is handled by amicro process or which provides
the switching control and the data input for the registers. Onboard memory may provide
storage for the ASCII character set, depending on the complexity and feature set of the LED
driver. Onboard memory also stores the data being displayed and the software that controls
the microprocessor. A regulated power supply powers the processor, memory, and LEDs. The
LED display is comprised of LED grid arrays, registers, drivers, BJTs, the microprocessor,
memory, and a power supply.

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1.2 PROBLEMSTATEMENT:

Designing and implementing this project will able to solve several difficult ways by which
spreading of information to the public will be reduce and solved in this various platform:

 To reduce Paper-based display which has created inconvenience of showing the

targeted people information during rainy days because the papers would be wet and
wear out.
 To manage and reduce human resources, time and costs wasted to change the
information on display board placed at different locations one by one.

1.3 AIMOFTHEPROJECT
The aim of this project is to design and implement a Bluetooth Based Led matrix display
board using PIC18F452 microcontroller.

1.4 OBJECTIVES:
These are the main objectives of the project:
i. Development of Bluetooth based LED display.

ii. Usage of Bluetooth technology.

iii. Scrolling the message.

1.5 MOTIVATION
While many LED screens currently on the market offer wireless connectivity, they do not
offer the modularity and input choices proposed for this product. Combining wireless
connectivity and modularity into one product will allow the customer to place the display
anywhere within the range of the transmitter and near a standard power outlet. Since the
wireless connection obviates the need for running communication wires between the board
and android application device, the placement and installation of the board will be much
easier than that of a wired counterpoint.

1.6 SCOPEOFTHEPROJECT:
 SMS is sent by user using android-OS mobile phone.

 BLUETOOTH module is use disinter mediate between the mobile phone and
information display board for connection.
 PIC18F452 microcontroller to control the operations.

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  Information display board shows the message to be delivered by mobile phone.

1.8. REPORTORGANIZATION
Chapter two contains the literature review, summarization of previously read articles and
researchfindingpreviouslydonerelatingtotheproject.Thetheoryofdesignisalsocontained in this
chapter i.e. the theoretical principle behind the techniques used in the project construction.
The system specifications, practical details, system behavior and characteristics are also
contained in this chapter.
Chapter three tails methodology or technique use din implementing the project. It also talks
about how the project was simulated before construction and also how it was tested.
Chapter four compares the objective earlier out to be achieved with the final result obtained.

Chapter five is the concluding and final chapter. It talks about the summary of findings from
the results obtained and also the problem encountered. It also contained the conclusion, goals
achieved and also the strong and weak points of the project. It also points out
recommendation for future research. It contains articles, books and data with were referenced
in the course of working.

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 CHAPTERTWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. HISTORY ABOUTTHE STUDY

With the development of cellular networks in the 1970’s for increasing the lack off
requencies in the radiotelephone services which in turn lead to introduction of AMPS
(Advanced Mobile Phone System) where the transmission was analog based. This was known
to be the first generation in cellular networks. The second generation was based on digital
transmission and was called with various abbreviations as GSM (Global System for Mobile
communications), ERMES (European Radio Messaging System). Various Cord less
telephone standards were also introduced during this time only. The third generation has risen
with the unification of different technologies; some of them which are popularly known are
FPLMTS (Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunications System), UMTS (Universal
Mobile Telecommunication System), and IMT 2000 (International Mobile communication).
These days, BLUETOOTH technology has become one of the most popular medium for
wireless data transfer. It has a wide range and is efficient in its work. Android is a set of
software for mobile devices including Operation System, Middleware and Core Application,
and a new Mobile Platform of Google. It is a complete mobile plat form based on LINUX2.6
Kernel that provides universal set of powerful Operation System, Comprehensive Library Set,
abundant Multimedia User Interface and Phone Application. Android platform is produced to
make new and innovative mobile application program for the developers to make full use of
all functions connected to hand set internet. The Android platform was developed by Google
and later the Open Handset Alliance (OHA).

2.2 REVIEWOF PREVIOUS STUDIES

 Nivetha, Puritha, Preethi and Yashvanthini (2013) designed an SMS driven automatic
display using ARM-LPC2148 to interface multiple graphical display. With this
technology, a single notice could be sent to several e-notice boards via ARM-LPC2148.
 Rahul Kamboj and Preeti Abrol (2013) designed and developed a GSM based multiple
LED display boards using AT89S52 microcontroller, GSM module, LCD and several
moving LED displays. Multiple moving LED displays were connected via different
GSM modules at different geographical locations such that the same SMS sent was
displayed on all the moving LED displays. Though with few limitations, this work
proved to be cost-effective, secured and efficient as compared to previous works.

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  Gowrishankar Kasilingam, Mritha Ramalingam and Chandra Sekar (2014) proposed
developmentofGSMbaseddigitalnoticeboard.Thecompletesystemwouldhaveadual system
in terms of changing message display, dual power supply switchable between solar power
system and alternating current (AC) from the utility supply, and inbuilt motion detector that
could automatically switch OFF the whole system after working hours and would automatically
switch ON if any motionissensed by the motion detector after the programmed working hours.
This work would probably prove highly efficient in terms of ensuring better communication and
continuous power supply.
 Raj Hakani (2014) worked on GSM based alphanumeric scrolling display system using
PIC16F877A microcontroller interface with GSM modem via MAX232 level convertor.
Hardware also include DS1307 real time clock, alphanumerical panel and multiple 16×2
character LCD displays and microcontroller coding was done using Embedded C and
MpLab. In this research, multiple users were authorized to update notices on the digital
notice board. This design can only maximum of 60 characters on the board.

2.3 COMPONENT DESCRIPTION:

2.3.1. PIC18F452 MICROCONTROLLER

The PIC 18F452 is a 28/40 pin high performance flash based micro controller swith 32
Kbytes of program memory and 1.5Kbytes of RAM. Also 256 bytes of EEPROM data
memory is provided to store data. The 18F452 microcontroller operates from DC to 40 MHz
clock/oscillator input with 16 bit instructions and two priority levels forinterrupts. One of the
main additional feature of this microcontroller is its 8 * 8 single cycle hardware multiplier.
This will make multiplication easier and faster than the software routines used in previous
controllers like 16 F series.
PIC18F452 microcontroller is available in various packages like DIP (Dual Inline Package),
PLCC(Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier), and TQFP (Tetra Quad Flat Package) the total number
of interrupt sources in 18F452 microcontroller is 18, with an instruction set
having75instructionsunlike35instructionsin16Fseries.TheI/Oportsinthemicrocontroller is
divided into 5 ports like 16 F series :- PORTA(6 pins), PORTB(8 pins), PORTC(8
pins),PORTD(8 pins) and PORTE(3 pins)

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 Fig 2.1. Pin diagram (PIC18F452microcontroller)

2.3.2. WIRELESSTECHNOLOGY

Wireless technology has replaced the situation where wires are no longer required for
applications and mobility is deemed essentialin operations. The criteria for choosing a wireless
technology include the following requirements.
I. Range
II. Reliability
III. Compliancy(standards)
IV. Cost
V. Power consumption
VI. Transmission rate
In the current market, the 3 most widely used wireless technologies include Zig-bee, Wi-Fiand
Bluetooth.

Fig2.2.Comparison between the 3 wireless technologies ZigBee, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

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2.3.3. 74H164SHIFTREGISTER

The 74HC164;74HCT164 is an8-bitserial-in/parallel-out shift register. The device features

woserial data inputs (DSA and DSB), eight parallel data outputs (Q0toQ7).
DataisenteredseriallythroughDSAorDSBandeitherinputcanbeusedasanactive HIGH enable for
data entry through the other input. Data is shifted on the LOW-to-HIGH transitions of the
clock(CP)input.ALOWonthemasterresetinput(MR)clearsthe register and forces all outputs
LOW, independently of other inputs. Inputs include clamp diodes. This enables the use of
current limiting resistors to interface inputs to voltages in excess of VCC.

Fig2.3.74H164shiftregister pin layout:

2.3.4. ULN 2803 DRIVER IC

The ULN2803 A device is a high-voltage, high-current Darlington transistor array. The

device consists of eight NPN Darlington pairs that feature high-voltage out puts with
common-cathode clamp diodes for switching inductive loads. The collector-current rating of
each Darlington pairis 500mA. The Darlington pairs may be connected in parallel for higher
current capability. Applications include relay drivers, hammer drivers, lamp drivers, display
drivers (LED and gas discharge), line drivers, and logic buffers. The ULN 2803 Adevicehasa
2.7- kΩseriesbaseresistor for each Darlington pair for operation directly with TTL or 5-V CMOS
devices.

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Fig2.4.PinconfigurationandfunctionofULN2803driverIC

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2.3.5. CRYSTALOSCILLATOR.

A cry staloscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that use sapiezo electric resonator,
acrystal, as its frequency-determining element. Amore accurate term forit is piezo electric
resonator. Crystals are also used in other types of electronic circuits, such as crystal filters.

Fig2.5. Crystal oscillator symbol and circuit diagram.

2.3.6. CAPACITOR

Acapacitor (originally known as a condenser) is apassive two- terminal electrical component

used to temporarily store electrical energy in an electric field. Capacitors are widely used as
parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices. Unlike a resistor, an ideal
capacitor does not dis sipate energy. Instead, acapacitor stores energy in the form of an
electrostatic field between its plates. The entire structures is fired at high temperature to
produceamonolithicblockwhichprovideshighcapacitancevaluesinasmallphysicalvolume. After
firing, conductive terminations are applied to opposite ends of the chip to make contact with
the exposed electrodes. Termination materials and methods vary depending on the intended
use.

TYPE SOFCAPACITOR

When deciding on capacitor types there are a handful of factors to consider:

 Size-Sizebothintermsofphysicalvolumeandcapacitance.It’snotuncommonfora
capacitor to be the largest component in a circuit. They can also be very tiny. More
capacitance typically requires a larger capacitor.
 Maximum voltage - Each capacitor is rated for a maximum voltage that can be
droppedacrossit.Somecapacitorsmightberatedfor1.5V, others might be rated for
100V. Exceeding them aximum voltage will usually result in destroying the
capacitor.
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 Leakagecurrent-Capacitorsaren’tperfect.Everycapispronetoleakingsometiny
amount of current through the dielectric, from one terminal to the other. This tiny
current loss (usually Nano amps or less) is called leakage. Leakage causes energy
stored in the capacitor to slowly, but surely drain away.
 Equivalent series resistance (ESR) - The terminals of a capacitor aren’t 100%
conductive, they’ll always have at in amount of resistance (usually less than 0.01Ω)
to them. This resistance becomes a problem when a lot of current runs through the
cap, producing heat and power loss.
 Tolerance- Capacitors also can’t be made to have an exact, precise capacitance.
Each cap will be rated for their nominal capacitance, but, depending on the type, the
exact value might vary anywhere from ±1% to ±20% of the desired value.

There are many different types of capacitor that can be used – most of the major types are
outlined below:

 Ceramic capacitor: The ceramic capacitor is a type of capacitor that is used in

many applications from audio to RF. Values range from a few Picofarads to around
0.1 microfarads. Ceramic capacitor types are by farthemost commonly used type of
capacitor being cheap and reliable and their loss factor is particularly low although
this is dependent on the exact dielectric in use. In view of their constructional
properties, these capacitors are widely used both in leaded and surface mount
formats.
 Electrolytic capacitor: Electrolytic capacitors are a type of capacitor that is
polarized. They are able to offer high capacitance values - typically above 1μF, and
are most widely used for low frequency applications - power supplies, decoupling
and audio coupling applications as they have a frequency limit if around 100 kHz.

 Tantalum capacitor: Like electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors are also

polarized and off era very high capacitance level for their volume. However this
type of capacitor is very intolerant of being reverse biased, often exploding when
placed understress.Thistypeofcapacitormustalsonotbesubjecttohighripplecurrentsor
voltages above their working voltage. They are available in both leaded and surface
mount formats.

 Silver Mica Capacitor: Silver mica capacitors are not as widely used these days,
but they still off every high levels of stability, low loss and accuracy where space is
not an issue. They are primarily used for RF applications and they are limited to maximum
values of 1000 pF or so.

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 Polystyrene Film Capacitor: Polystyrene capacitors area relatively cheap form of
capacitor but of feraclose tolerance capacitor where needed. They are tubular in
shape resulting from the fact that the plate / dielectric sandwich is rolled together,
but this adds inductance limiting their frequency response to a few hundred kHz.
They are generally only available as leaded electronics components.

 Polyester Film Capacitor: Polyester film capacitors are used where cost is a
consideration as they do not offer a high tolerance. Many polyester film capacitors
have a tolerance of 5% or 10%, which is adequate for many applications. They are
generally only available as leaded electronics components.

 Metalized Polyester Film Capacitor: This type of capacitor is a essentially a form

of polyester film capacitor where the polyester films themselves are metalized. The
advantage of using this process is that because their electrodes are thin, the overall
capacitorcanbecontainedwithinarelativelysmallpackage.Themetallizedpolyester film
capacitors are generally only available as leaded electronics components.

 Polycarbonate capacitor: The polycarbonate capacitors has been used in

applications where reliability and performance are critical. The polycarbonate film
is very stable and enables high tolerance capacitors to be made which will hold their
capacitance value over time. In addition they have a low dissipation factor, and they
remain stable over a wide temperature range, many being specified from-55°Cto
+125°C. However the manufacture of polycarbonate dielectric has ceased and their
production is now very limited.

 Polypropylene Capacitor: The polypropylene capacitor is sometimes used when a

higher tolerance type of capacity or is necessary than polyester capacitors offer. As
the name implies, this capacitor uses a polypropylene film for the dielectric. One of
the advantages of the capacity or is that there is very little change of capacitance
with time and voltage applied. This type of capacitor is also used for low
frequencies, with100 kHz or so being the upper limit. They are generally only
available as leaded electronics components.

 Glass capacitors: As the name implies, this capacitor type uses glass as the
dielectric.Althoughexpensive,thesecapacitorsofferveryhighlevelsorperformance

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 In term sofextremely low loss, high R F current capability, no piezo-electric noise
and other features making them ideal for many performance RF applications.

 Super cap: Also known as a super capacitor or ultra-capacitor, as the name implies
these capacitors have very large values of capacitance, of up to several thousand
Farads. They find uses for providing a memory hold-up supply and also within
automotive applications.

Fig 2.6.22 pf capacitor symbol and picture representation.

2.3.7. LED (Light Emitting Diode).

Alight- emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semi conduct or light source. It is apn junction
diode, which emits light when activated. When a suitable voltage is applied to the leads,
electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the
form of photons. The wavelength of the light emitted, and thus its color, depends on the band
gap energy of the materials forming the p-n junction. In silicon orgermanium diodes, the
electrons and holes usually recombine by a non-radioactive transition, which produces no
opticalemission,becausetheseareindirectbandgapmaterials.ThematerialsusedfortheLED
haveadirectbandgapwithenergiescorrespondingtonear-infrared,visible,ornear-ultraviolet light.

Fig2.7.LEDstructure

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2.3.8. PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD(PCB)

A printed circuit board, or PCB, is a self-contained module of interconnected electronic

components found in devices ranging from common beepers, or pagers, and radios to
sophisticatedradarandcomputersystems.Thecircuitsareformedbyathinlayerofconducting
material deposited, or "printed," on the surface of an insulating board known as the substrate.
Individualelectroniccomponentsareplacedonthesurfaceofthesubstrateandsolderedtothe inter
connecting circuits. Contact fingers along one or more edges of the substrate act as
connectors to other PCBs or to external electrical devices such as on-off switches. A printed
circuit board may have circuits that perform a single function, such as a signal amplifier, or
multiple functions.

There are three major types of printed circuit board construction: single-sided, double-sided,
andmulti-layered.Single-sidedboardshavethecomponentsononesideofthesubstrate.When the
number of components becomes too much for a single-sided board, a double-sided board may
be used. Electrical connections between the circuits on each side are made by drilling holes
through the substrate in appropriate locations and plating the inside of the holes with a
conducting material. The third type, a multi-layered board, has a substrate made up of layers
of printed circuits separated by layers of insulation. The components on the surface connect
through plated holes drilled down to the appropriate circuit layer. This greatly simplifies the
circuit pattern.

Componentsonaprintedcircuitboardareelectricallyconnectedtothecircuitsbytwodifferent
methods: the older "through whole technology" and the newer "surface mount technology."
With through whole technology, each component has thin wires, or leads, which are pushed
through small holes in the substrate and soldered to connection pads in the circuits on the
opposite side. Gravity and friction between the leads and the sides of the holes keeps the
components in place until they are soldered. With surface mount technology, stubbyJ-shaped
or L-shaped legs on each component contact the printed circuits directly. A solder paste
consisting of glue, flux, and solder are applied at the point of contact to hold the components
in place until the solder is melted, or "reflowed," in an oven to make the final connection.
Althoughsurfacemounttechnologyrequiresgreatercareintheplacementofthecomponents, it
eliminates the time-consuming drilling process and the space-consuming connection pads
inherent with through whole technology. Both technologies are used today.

Two other types of circuit assemblies are related to the printed circuit board. An integrated
circuit, sometimes called an IC or microchip, performs similar functions to aprinted circuit

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board except the IC contains many more circuits and components that are electrochemically
"grown" in place on the surface of a very small chip of silicon.

Fig2.8.Etched PCBlayoutandblankPCB

Advantagesof PCBoverVEROBOARD

 Printedcircuit boardsmakeacircuit morereliablethanaVeroboardlayout.

 Buildingerrorsaremorelikelyusing Veroboardasopposed to aPCB.

 Printedcircuit boardsmakeconstruction alot fasterthan usingVeroboard.

 Circuitlayouts arelarger thanPCB layouts.

Advantages of VEROBOARD over PCBBOARD

 They cost significantly less than PCB’s.

 It is easier to modify a circuit on Veroboard rather than a PCB.

 Veroboardiseasilyavailable.PCB’sareimpossibleoratbesthardtoobtainfor older
projects.
 Making your own PCB can prove to be difficult. You’ll need some extrakit and
chemicals and then there’s the drilling to contend with!

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2.3.9. RESISTOR

A resistor is a passive two-terminalelectricalcomponentthatimplementselectricalresistance as

a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust
signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements, terminate transmission lines and to
provide a specific voltage for an active device such as a transistor, among other uses.

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TYPESOFRESISTOR

i. Linear resistor: They are resistor through which the current is directly proportional to
the applied voltage. Their values don’t change with variation in voltage.
ii. Non-Linear resistor: They are resistor through which the current is not directly
proportional to the applied voltage. Their value change with variation in applied
voltage.
Formula forcal culating resistor

𝑉=𝐼𝑅

𝑉𝑅= 𝐼

RESISTORCOLORCODE

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