Model Railroad System  2.2.2
Model RR signals with an Arduino
Related Pages
Here is a list of all related documentation pages:
 IntroductionI will be building an interlocking plant module with 5 two-headed signals
 Signal Driver boardThe Signal Driver board is assembled on a piece of "strip board", specifically a 3.5 inch by 2.5 inch piece cut from a BusBoard Prototype Systems BPS-MAR-ST6U-001 (included in the Mouser project)
 Connecting the Signal Driver BoardThe Signal Driver board is connected with a home made connector cable
 Signal Driver board cablesNine conductor ribbon cables (DigiKey part number MC09G-25-ND) are used to connect between the Signal Driver Board and the signals
 Assembling signal targetsThe next step is to assemble the signal targets
 Programming the Arduino The C++ source code to download to the Arduino is in available for download as SignalDriverMax72xx.ino. It uses the LedControl library, so the code starts by including the header file:

#include <LedControl.h>
 Programming the Host ComputerThe host interface to the Ardunio SignalDriverMax72xx is via a virtual serial port over the USB interface