8 LED POV Using Arduino Nano

Hi All,

I helped my son to make the 8 LED POV for his school project. In doing so I was able to introduce him to

• Soldering
• Testing electronic components
• Arduino coding

This is a beginner's level project.. that one can start with or introduce, to your kids.

Please try it and share your feedback and comments

Information on POV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_of_vision

• Universal PCB
• Arduino Nano or clone
• Green 5 mm LEDs - 8
• 100 OHm registers - 8
• Copper wire for jumpers
• 9V battery holder with switch
• 9V battery
• Female header pins
• Wooden stick
• Double side tape
• Multimeter
• Solder iron
• Paper tape

• We are using 8 Pins (D2 to D9) from Arduino Nano
• Cathode from all LEDs are connected to GND
• We are using 100 ohms resistor to limit current
• If you are using RED LEDs instead of Green, the resistor value should be 220 ohms
• 9V battery is connected to VCC and GND Pins (we will use Arrduino's internal voltage regulator)

• Before we start soldering, we must test each component
• To test LEDs, we will use a 3v coin battery and test each LED
• To test the resistor, use a multimeter, Set it to measure "resistance"
• The multimeter should read values close to 100 ohms

• Place 8 LEDs on the PCB, with its cathode towards the edge
• Bend all cathode and place a (non-enameled) copper wire below it
• Use Paper tape to hold them in place, while soldering
• Do not solder Anode.
• If a LED is not in alignment, adjust now by resoldering that specific LED

• Place 100 OHM resistors adjacent to LED's anode
• Solder only LEDs Anode and resitor.

• Add the female header pins and solder with the other end of the resistor
• Solder a copper jumper wire, connecting the common cathode of LEDs to the GND pin of Arduino nano
• Solder +ve and -ve wire from the battery holder to VCC and GND (respectively) pins of the Arduino nano

• To demonstrate the effect of POV, we need to swing the circuit fast
• For this, we need to stick the circuit on a wooden stick
• You can use double side tape or hot glue gun for this

• Code is available on https://github.com/amit-jain-diy/blog/blob/main/Ardunio_CODE/POV_8led2/POV_8led2.ino
• Arduino IDE Setting
• Board: Arduino Nano
• Com Port: <select correct one>
• Processor: ATmega328P (Old Bootloader)
• Upload the code to nano
• It should display WOW as text
• You can change this to anything you like
• Best results in dark environment

Please share your comments and suggestions