LedDisplayController

Python controller for the LED 16×128 Multi-Language Moving Sign — a serial-connected LED matrix display. Converts text and binary data into the display's native frame protocol and transmits it over USB-to-serial.

Hardware note: This project targets a specific piece of discontinued hardware. I no longer have access to the device, but the code works and is left public in case someone with the same hardware finds it useful.

---

Hardware

Property	Value
Display dimensions	16 px × 128 px
Connection	USB-to-serial adapter (/dev/ttyUSB0)
Baud rate	19200
Stop bits	2
Parity	None
Max display number	255

The display is sold under several names:

• LED 16×128
• LED Multi-line Message Display
• LED Multi-Language Moving Sign (internal software name: Dztp)

Display variants

Variant	Colors	Max width
Single color	Red, black	64 px
Double color	Red, green, yellow, black	32 px

---

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• pySerial
• figlet (system package, used for text rendering)

Install dependencies:

pip install pyserial
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install figlet
# macOS
brew install figlet

---

Configuration

Edit settings.ini before use:

[output]
port=/dev/ttyUSB0      # Serial port of the USB-to-serial adapter

[screen]
color=1                # Display color mode
width=128              # Display width in pixels
height=16              # Display height in pixels
total=150              # Total number of displayable screens

---

Usage

main.py [-v] [-t TEXT] [-f FONT] [-i FILE] [-o FILE] [-d INPUT_FORMAT OUTPUT_FORMAT]

Flag	Description
-t TEXT	Text to display
-f FONT	FIGlet font name (default: banner)
-i FILE	Read pixel data from a binary file
-o FILE	Write output to a file instead of the display
-d FMT_IN FMT_OUT	Convert between data formats: b (binary), 0 (ASCII binary), h (hexadecimal)
-v	Verbose output

Examples

Display text using the default font:

python main.py -t "Hello"

Display text using a specific FIGlet font:

python main.py -t "Hello" -f banner

Send a pre-rendered binary file to the display:

python main.py -i frame.bin

Convert a binary file to hexadecimal (without sending to display):

python main.py -i frame.bin -o frame.hex -d b h

---

Architecture

main.py
├── inout/
│   ├── standard.py   # CLI argument handling, format conversion pipeline
│   ├── serial.py     # Serial port communication
│   └── server.py     # HTTP server mode (partial implementation)
├── frame/
│   ├── control.py    # Builds control frames (display config + animation settings)
│   └── data.py       # Wraps pixel data into protocol frames with checksum
├── view/
│   └── text.py       # Text → figlet → binary bitmap conversion
└── fonts/
    └── banner.flf    # Bundled FIGlet font

Data flow

Text input
    → figlet (ASCII art)
    → binary bitmap (# → 1, space → 0)
    → data frame (pixel payload + sign markers)
    → control frame (display config + animation flags)
    → serial port → display

---

Protocol

Each transmission consists of a 1002-byte frame:

Bytes	Content
0	Display number
1	Sign marker (0x7f = first frame, 0x6f/0x7e = middle, etc.)
2–10	Control metadata (width, height, color, animation config)
11–1000	Pixel data (990 bytes max)
1001	Checksum (sum of all bytes mod 256)

Transition types

The animation mode byte in the control frame selects the transition:

Value	Transition
move_right	Move from right
move_left	Move from left
scroll_up	Scroll up
scroll_down	Scroll down
jump_right	Jump from right
open_left	Open from left
open_right	Open from right
open_bottom	Open from bottom
open_top	Open from top
open_center	Open from center
open_sides	Open from both sides
cover_center	Cover from center
cover_sides	Cover from both sides
immediate	No transition
random	Random transition

Speed

Four speed levels, from slowest to fastest: Slow → Median → Fast → Fastest

Append mode flags

After the transition, append mode controls how the content behaves on screen:

Flag	Behavior
flicker	Content flashes three times after appearing
pause	Content pauses for a configurable number of seconds
continuum	Next frame appears immediately as the current one disappears
quiescence	Content stays on screen until new data is sent (suitable for single-page display)
animation	Enable animation
continuous	Loop continuously
winkle	Winkle effect
time	Time-based display
repose	Rest state

Text rendering

Text wider than the display is automatically split across multiple screens. Each character block is 8×16 pixels, packed MSB-first into bytes.

---

License

MIT