ATtiny85 – Spectrum Analyzer on RGB Led Matrix 16×20

Continuing with ATtiny85, today I’d like to share how to build a music spectrum analyzer on 16×20 RGB led matrix. The music signal FFT transformation and LED Bit Angle Modulation are all carried out by one DigiSpark ATtiny85.

Please watch my video below:

Step 1: Things We Need

Main components are as follows:

Step 2: Schematic

You can download the project schematic in PDF format HERE.

The components for controlling a RGB led matrix 16×20:

  • Columns (cathodes) scanning: including 3 groups of TPIC6B595N to control 20 columns, each group includes 3 x TPIC6B595N for 3 colors (Red, Green & Blue), for example with blue color:
  • Rows (anodes) scanning: including 2 x 74HC595N and 16 x A1013 transistor to control 16 rows.

Step 3: Soldering and Arrangement

Firstly, I soldered 320 RGB leds on the PCB, from outer edge of the PCB I left about 15~16 holes to reserve space for control components.

As picture above, I soldered all cathode pins in same column (total 20 columns – cathode with R, G, B pin) together after aligning leds on the top side.

After soldering 20 led columns, I soldered anode led pins in same row ( total 16 rows – anode) together by bending anode led pins so that there is a gap between the rows and columns, avoiding them touching each other.

The 16×20 RGB led matrix has been done!

Then around this led matrix, I soldered all row (2 x 74HC595N + 16 x A1013) and column (9 x TPIC6B595N) scanning components, female header for ATtiny85, 3.5mm audio jack and power supply socket.

I didn’t use wires in this project but instead I used the led pins which were left from many led related projects.

I want all components and connections to be seen, so I covered the top and botom of PCB by clear arcylic plates.

Done!!! And I can put it on my tea table for decoration.

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Step 4: Programing and How It Works

The project code is as below:

/*
Tested with Arduino 1.8.13, the ATTinyCore and libraries:

  https://github.com/SpenceKonde/ATTinyCore
  https://github.com/JChristensen/tinySPI
  https://github.com/kosme/fix_fft

Connections:
  - DigiSpark ATtiny85 P0 (PB0) - BLANK PIN OF 74HC595 & TPIC6B595.
  - DigiSpark ATtiny85 P1 (PB1) - DATA PIN OF TPIC6B595
  - DigiSpark ATtiny85 P2 (PB2) - CLOCK PIN OF 74HC595 & TPIC6B595.
  - DigiSpark ATtiny85 P3 (PB3) - LATCH PIN OF TPIC6B595 & 74HC595
  - DigiSpark ATtiny85 P4 (PB4) - AUDIO PIN.
*/
#include <tinySPI.h>            // https://github.com/JChristensen/tinySPI
#include "fix_fft.h"            // https://github.com/kosme/fix_fft
#define HARDWARE_SPI        1   // Set to 1 to use hardware SPI, set to 0 to use software SPI
#define BAM_RESOLUTION      2   // Define Bit Angle Modulation BAM resolution,

// Digispark Attiny85 pin definitions
const int
    DATA_PIN(1),                // Serial data in (Data pin)
    CLOCK_PIN(2),               // Shift register clock (Clock pin)
    LATCH_PIN(3),               // Storage register clock (Latch pin)
    BLANK_PIN(0);               // Output enable pin (Blank pin)
    //AUDIO_PIN(4);             // Input audio pin (Audio pin)

//**************************************************BAM Variables**********************************************************//

byte red[BAM_RESOLUTION][48];
byte green[BAM_RESOLUTION][48];
byte blue[BAM_RESOLUTION][48];

// Anode low and high byte for shifting out.
byte anode[16][2]= {{B11111110, B11111111}, {B11111101, B11111111}, {B11111011, B11111111}, {B11110111, B11111111}, {B11101111, B11111111}, {B11011111, B11111111}, {B10111111, B11111111}, {B01111111, B11111111}, 
                    {B11111111, B11111110}, {B11111111, B11111101}, {B11111111, B11111011}, {B11111111, B11110111}, {B11111111, B11101111}, {B11111111, B11011111}, {B11111111, B10111111}, {B11111111, B01111111}};

int row;
int level;
int BAM_Bit, BAM_Counter=0;

// Colorwheel array for spectrum analyzer
byte colorwheels[20][3]={{0, 0, 3},
                              {0, 0, 3},
                              {1, 0, 3},
                              {2, 0, 3},
                              {3, 0, 3},
                              {3, 0, 2},
                              {3, 0, 1},
                              {3, 0, 0},
                              {3, 1, 0},
                              {3, 2, 0},
                              {3, 3, 0},
                              {2, 3, 0},
                              {1, 3, 0},
                              {0, 3, 0},
                              {0, 3, 1},
                              {0, 3, 2},
                              {0, 3, 3},
                              {0, 2, 3},
                              {0, 1, 3},
                              {0, 0, 3}};

//****************************************************Fix_FFT Variables********************************************************// 

int8_t data[32];
unsigned long useconds;
int sum_data;

//************************************************************************************************************// 

void setup()
{
  row = 0;
  level = 0; 
  #if HARDWARE_SPI == 1
    SPI.begin();                   // Start hardware SPI.
  #else
    pinMode(CLOCK_PIN, OUTPUT);    // Set up the pins for software SPI
    pinMode(DATA_PIN, OUTPUT);
  #endif
  // Set up the pins for software SPI
  pinMode(LATCH_PIN, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(LATCH_PIN, HIGH);
  noInterrupts();
  // Clear registers
  TCNT1 = 0;
  TCCR1 = 0;
  // Reset to $00 in the CPU clock cycle after a compare match with OCR1C register value
  // 50 x 3.636 = 181.8us
  // If software SPI is used, this value should be increased.
  OCR1C = 50;
  // A compare match does only occur if Timer/Counter1 counts to the OCR1A value
  OCR1A = OCR1C;    
  // Clear Timer/Counter on Compare Match A
  TCCR1 |= (1 << CTC1);
  // Prescaler 64 - 16.5MHz/64 = 275Kz or 3,636us
  TCCR1 |= (1 << CS12) | (1 << CS11) | (1 << CS10);
  // Output Compare Match A Interrupt Enable
  TIMSK |= (1 << OCIE1A);
  interrupts();
  clearfast();
  
  // ADC Control and Status Register
  ADCSRA &= ~((1 << ADPS0) | (1 << ADPS1) | (1 << ADPS2));
  ADCSRA |= ((1 << ADPS2) |(1 << ADPS0));
}

void loop()
{      
  sum_data = 0;
  for (int i = 0; i < 32; i++)
  {
    useconds = micros();    
    data[i] = ((analogRead(A2)) >> 2) - 128;    // DigiSpark ATtiny85 analog pin A2 at PB4
    sum_data += data[i];
    while (micros() < (useconds + 100)) 
    {
    }
  }
  for (int i = 0; i < 32; i++)
  {
    data[i] -= sum_data/32;
  }
   
  fix_fftr(data, 5, 0);
  
  for(int j = 0; j < 16; j++)
  {
  data[j] = 4*((float)data[2*j]+ (float)data[2*j+1]);   // Everage & scale 2 bars together to get 16 bars
  }

for (byte xx=0; xx<20; xx++)
  {
  for (byte yy=0; yy < 16; yy++) 
  {                       
        if (xx > data[yy])
        {        
          LED(19-xx, yy, 0, 0, 0);
        }
        else
        {
          LED(19-xx, yy, colorwheels[xx][0], colorwheels[xx][1], colorwheels[xx][2]); // Colorwheel spectrum bars
        }
      }
  }  

}
void LED(int X, int Y, int R, int G, int B)
{
  X = constrain(X, 0, 19); 
  Y = constrain(Y, 0, 15);
  
  R = constrain(R, 0, 3);
  G = constrain(G, 0, 3); 
  B = constrain(B, 0, 3);

  int WhichByte = int(Y*3+ X/8);
  int WhichBit = (X%8);

  for (byte BAM = 0; BAM < BAM_RESOLUTION; BAM++) 
  {
    bitWrite(green[BAM][WhichByte], WhichBit, bitRead(G, BAM)); 
    bitWrite(red[BAM][WhichByte], WhichBit, bitRead(R, BAM));
    bitWrite(blue[BAM][WhichByte], WhichBit, bitRead(B, BAM));
  }
}

void clearfast ()
{
  memset(green, 0, sizeof(green[0][0]) * BAM_RESOLUTION * 48);
  memset(red, 0, sizeof(red[0][0]) * BAM_RESOLUTION * 48);
  memset(blue, 0, sizeof(blue[0][0]) * BAM_RESOLUTION * 48);

}

ISR(TIMER1_COMPA_vect){
  
PORTB |= ((1<<BLANK_PIN));      // Set BLANK PIN low - 74HC595 & TPIC6B595

if(BAM_Counter==8)
BAM_Bit++;

BAM_Counter++;

// Anode scanning
DIY_SPI(anode[row][1]);       // Send out the anode level high byte
DIY_SPI(anode[row][0]);       // Send out the anode level low byte  

switch (BAM_Bit)
{
  case 0:              
    DIY_SPI(green [0][level + 2]);  DIY_SPI(green [0][level + 1]);  DIY_SPI(green [0][level + 0]);
    DIY_SPI(red   [0][level + 2]);  DIY_SPI(red   [0][level + 1]);  DIY_SPI(red   [0][level + 0]);
    DIY_SPI(blue  [0][level + 2]);  DIY_SPI(blue  [0][level + 1]);  DIY_SPI(blue  [0][level + 0]);

    break;
    case 1:
    DIY_SPI(green [1][level + 2]);  DIY_SPI(green [1][level + 1]);  DIY_SPI(green [1][level + 0]);
    DIY_SPI(red   [1][level + 2]);  DIY_SPI(red   [1][level + 1]);  DIY_SPI(red   [1][level + 0]);
    DIY_SPI(blue  [1][level + 2]);  DIY_SPI(blue  [1][level + 1]);  DIY_SPI(blue  [1][level + 0]);
              
    if(BAM_Counter==24)
      {
        BAM_Counter=0;
        BAM_Bit=0;
      }
    break;
}

PORTB &= ~(1<<LATCH_PIN);     // Set LATCH PIN low - 74HC595 & TPIC6B595           
PORTB |= 1<<LATCH_PIN;        // Set LATCH PIN high - 74HC595 & TPIC6B595
PORTB &= ~(1<<BLANK_PIN);     // Set BLANK PIN low - 74HC595 & TPIC6B595
  row++;
  level = row * 3;
  if (row == 16) row = 0;
  if (level == 48) level = 0; 
pinMode(BLANK_PIN, OUTPUT);
}

void DIY_SPI(uint8_t DATA)
{     
    uint8_t i;
    #if HARDWARE_SPI == 1
        SPI.transfer(DATA);
    #else
    for (i = 0; i<8; i++)  
    {
      digitalWrite(DATA_PIN, !!(DATA & (1 << i)));
      PORTB |= 1<<CLOCK_PIN;
      PORTB &= ~(1<<CLOCK_PIN);                
    }
    #endif
}<br>

The following core and libraries need to be installed in this project:

DigiSpark ATtiny85 pin usage:

  • DigiSpark ATtiny85 P0 (PB0) – BLANK PIN OF 74HC595 & TPIC6B595.
  • DigiSpark ATtiny85 P1 (PB1) – DATA PIN OF TPIC6B595
  • DigiSpark ATtiny85 P2 (PB2) – CLOCK PIN OF 74HC595 & TPIC6B595.
  • DigiSpark ATtiny85 P3 (PB3) – LATCH PIN OF TPIC6B595 & 74HC595
  • DigiSpark ATtiny85 P4 (PB4) – AUDIO PIN.

Due to ATtiny85’s memory, to perform both B.A.M and FFT processes, I had to reduce B.A.M resolution to 2. That’s enough for me to customize 16 x spectrum bar colors.

Base on the hardware connection, the “shiftout” function is carried out in following order:

DIY_SPI(anode[row][1]); // Send out the anode level high byte
DIY_SPI(anode[row][0]); // Send out the anode level low byte

DIY_SPI(green[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 2]);  // Send the green third byte
DIY_SPI(green[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 1]); // Send the green second byte
DIY_SPI(green[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 0]); // Send the green first byte
DIY_SPI(red[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 2]); // Send the red third byte
DIY_SPI(red[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 1]); // Send the red second byte
DIY_SPI(red[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 0]); // Send the red first byte
DIY_SPI(blue[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 2]); // Send the blue third byte
DIY_SPI(blue[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 1]); // Send the blue second byte
DIY_SPI(blue[BAM_Bit][row * 3 + 0]); // Send the blue first byte<br>

Each spectrum bar amplitude was shown following an 2-dimensions color-wheel array. It looks quite pretty in this way.

for (byte xx=0; xx<20; xx++)
  {
  for (byte yy=0; yy < 16; yy++) 
    {                       
      if (xx > data[yy])
        {        
          LED(19-xx, yy, 0, 0, 0);
        }
      else
        {
          LED(19-xx, yy, colorwheels[xx][0], colorwheels[xx][1], colorwheels[xx][2]);
        }
    }
  }<br>

And colorwheel array was declared as follow:

byte colorwheels[20][3] =     {{0, 0, 3},
                              {0, 0, 3},
                              {1, 0, 3},
                              {2, 0, 3},
                              {3, 0, 3},
                              {3, 0, 2},
                              {3, 0, 1},
                              {3, 0, 0},
                              {3, 1, 0},
                              {3, 2, 0},
                              {3, 3, 0},
                              {2, 3, 0},
                              {1, 3, 0},
                              {0, 3, 0},
                              {0, 3, 1},
                              {0, 3, 2},
                              {0, 3, 3},
                              {0, 2, 3},
                              {0, 1, 3},
                              {0, 0, 3}};

Source: ATtiny85 – Spectrum Analyzer on RGB Led Matrix 16×20


About The Author

Muhammad Bilal

I am a highly skilled and motivated individual with a Master's degree in Computer Science. I have extensive experience in technical writing and a deep understanding of SEO practices.

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