linus:
can you ask that Torbjörn adds a change log file to the firmware updates so that it's apparent to the rest of us exactly what changes were made (and how/where to access them)?

also, I've noticed in the .zip file that there are 4 sets of files. is it the rev of the pc board (A,B or C,D,E,F) that denotes which file to re-flash the chip?

also, if you had a EP256GP502 pic chip installed in the board, can it be replaced with the EP256MC202 pic chip, if the new, replacement chip is flashed with the correct image? (eg. will the pc boards support either pic chip?)

A lot of these clocks look bigger than others. Is the biggest clock you can make the 2x 64x32 panels like one ones below (If that's what it actually uses)

409249.jpg

gundam:
there are currently two sizes that people have been assembling. one which uses a stern or pin-x led dmd display, which is roughly 14"w x 4"h, or the two linked 64x32 LED panels which ends up measuring at roughly 30"w x 8"h

I have a question about the Pickit3 And icsp socket. Wasn't sure if I should start another thread on this. Basic question about it.
1. Do you need new chips with it or does this combo erase the current chip and reprogram them?
2. If an erase chip tool is desired what do you recommend?
3. If new chips is another choice what chips are recommended?

I order just the pickit3 and socket. From what I understand they erase and program over using the old chip. I should have the kit soon and look forward to being able to keep up with the new code.

let us know how it works out. would save us money in the long run to just program ourselves.

Would be nice if this was stored in a text file so that we could edit it by hand. may be faster that way.

cool!

This Run-DMD is amazing. Making your very own DMD animation with this is going to be really worth it. Lucky you to be able to get your hands on one. A pinball with this kind clock is going to totally rock. Just 2-3 minutes of work for an amazing animation? That is just so cool.

I saw that somewhere on the postings he mentioned putting a motion sensor on to this unit to activate/deactivate it. Would you happen to know what is out there to be used for such a thing?

Thanks to a Pinsider downloading the animations into an SD card for me I got to see the clock perform as it should.

It does not have any mounting parts yet so I was just seeing how it worked and the cool animations then turned it off after about 2 hrs .

I wanted to show it to my wife but on power up all that we saw was a very fast flashing board diagnostic LED and a few lines of dots flashed in sequence with it on the display.

I removed the SD card and installed the card that came with the clock it and it worked as it should sans animations.

I tried the animation card in my card reader and it would not be read by the computer as it has been corrupted the card won't even work in my camera.

How could this happen any thoughts?

The card is a 2GB Sandisk it was working fine in the clock, never had a flash die or get corrupted like that.

Limpan good info thx

To be honest my SD card is what I have been using for years in my camera and I sent it out to a nice Pinsider to get it flashed with the animation info.

It did work just great but then the corruption happened.

I just bought a new SD card and will have to send it out again to get flashed I don't have a PC I have a MAC and can't do it at home.

Hoping the new card doesn't get corrupted its a 16GB card.

The 16 gig card will not work eddie. It is SDHC. nothing greater than 4gb will work

The "German knockoff" version has a motion and a temperature sensor included. Not trying to promote that kit in any way, but i guess you could use the same or similar components if you want add it to the RUN-DMD. The components are very cheap actually.

Hackilicious!

Waiting for my frames but did a temporary assembly. Wow I knew this would be cool but I was wrong. It's super duper spectacular cool. If these things weren't so expensive I'd put one in every room of my house! Thanks!

I'm very happy with it but if you are looking for feature requests.
1. Motion sensor so it can turn on automatically when the gameroom is occupied.
2. Custom scrolling text messages (even better with images)
3. Temperature - Ideally with 2 or more sensors (zones) and even better if the sensors are wireless. I'd put one sensor in my beer cooler and one in my freezer to show the temperature of the temptations inside.

What about storing the dmds that we want to hide in a text file on the sd card? Could be a faster way to edit the list given you know the names.

Will we need the Exp one also or will the Exp Three do all that one does and more?

I had an single LED go bad on one of my panels after just 2 weeks of use. I am just outside the window of purchase protection. I contacted the company in China and they offered to sell me a new one for $10 off, but I had to buy two new panels because they said the brightness might not match otherwise. Once again paying the shipping cost and 2+ week wait.

IMG_0921.JPG

Sucks. My brightness is off and I ordered them at the same time. It is a crap shoot. If it is not too noticeable I would just leave it go...

The color on mine don't quite match. I am partially color blind, so I can only see it when I take a picture for some reason. My friends can see it right away...

They refunded me for one panel because of this. Can't complain about that service.

Power.jpg

Yeah but that pack is way more than you need and expensive. I just made my own in 20 seconds.

I got a Pickit3 programmer and made my first attempt to program the new firmware last night. As always with this type of thing, there is a learning curve. The programmer came with a generic socket so I don't have the socket sold on Run-DMD website. I did verify all the jumpers were set correctly.

At first it would not recognize the PIC chip at all. I changed the power settings so the Pickit3 powers the target and that got me to where I could read and erase the PIC, but I get device ID mismatch errors and errors when programming. Unfortunately the documentation for the programmer is pretty poor and mostly in Chinese.

I will give it another shot tonight while I don't have a basketball game too distract me.

exactly. plus, I believe that the length of the longer cords is excessively long. as I've added to the rev 2.0 of the assembly instructions, 2 lengths of 14-15" 18awg wire is sufficient. I stripped about 1/2" from both ends, removed the screws from the back of the panels and wrapped the exposed wire around the screw and then tightened them back into the connector blocks.

the new software is horrible for the PICkit 3. I ended up using the non-X version of the software. additionally, you'll need to not only select the proper chip family and chip each time you launch the software, but you also need to enter the "advanced" section, [log in] and then set that tickbox to power the PICkit tool with the usb port.

the guys at microchip must not use their own software, because it's truly horrible as far as both the UI and usability goes.

Thanks for blazing the trail. I look forward to your progress. I also ordered a Pickit3 but could use directions (jumper settings, etc).

Thanks!

I just ordered one myself. please up date us on your progress.

OK I just tried it again and had a chat with Jim about it. I am still not able to get the PICkit to recognize the chip and program it. At this point I am pretty sure it is the generic ICSP socket that came with my PICkit 3 from eBay. When the ICSP socket from run-dmd.com comes in I should be able to get it going.

So here is my tip. Buy the PICkit without a socket and get the socket from run-dmd.com directly when you buy the board. Here is the one I got. I finally found some documentation on it. I'm 99/9% sure this one does not work no matter how you configure it:

http://www.c-u-s.co.uk/files/pickit-zif.pdf

I'll post instructions on how to re-program the pic chip using an "official" PICkit 3 (purchased directly from microchip.com) and the daughter board from run-dmd.com friday evening.

edit:
thread can be found here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/run-dmd-programming-the-pic-chip-1#post-2509686

I got my programmer up and running. Very easy to do. I added my own cliff notes to the thread linked above.

it's odd that you had no issues with verifying the code once you've programmed the chip. I may un-install/re-install the software and see if that makes a difference.

Anyone else having boot problems with their run-dmd? About 9 times out of 10, it will not boot. Never gets the blinking red light on the board. But, if I remove the SD card and reinsert it shortly after I power it on, most of the time it will boot up. Once running, it stays running. I have tried reflashing the SD card. Any suggestions?

Oh, I want one of these!!!

OK, got mine back together. The 3.06 firmware is definitely nice. The centering of the clock makes a big difference and it seems to move the clock and resize it better for certain animations. The feature for selecting videos actually was pretty easy because they were in alphabetical order. I was quickly able to disable a few offensive animations and was on my way.

I like to put the clock delay on one second, so I don't have to wait around for the next animation!

Thank you and tell Torbjörn thanks. I just ordered the expansion board so I'll wait till I get that to try the fix. I'll let you know if that does the trick.

Ok, I have been following this thread and thought I had my head around everything I would need to order. But am now all confused ( ie - which version, programmable and etc.) . Would anyone be willing to PM or respond here to what all exactly I need to order to make one clock. Thanks in advanced.

not to sound rude, but you must have not even performed a cursory search. everything you need is in the FAQ section on the run-dmd.com page or in the 3-4 threads dedicated to the clocks here on pinside.com
http://bfy.tw/O4Z

assembly instructions:
v1 frames
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/run-dmd-frame-assembly-instructions

v2 frames
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/run-dmd-frame-v20-assembly-instructions

Thanks, I had seen the pinside posts. Never clicked the about page on rundmd, I thought it was just information about the developer. Thanks.

I am wondering if there is a way to fix this in the software? I notice the clock brightness is adjustable in extremely small increments. Why not have a brightness and color adjustments for one panel versus the other?

I can't see the difference with my bare eye as I am a little color blind, but my friends notice it right away. For whatever reason my phone camera makes it REALLY obvious:

20150510_233647.jpg

John_I:
your displays look like they came from completely different manufacturers, let alone different batches. that's really odd, because for the 20+ panels that I purchased from ali express, I never had any issues with the level of brightness between 2 panels.