2 layers20 × 38 mm
FlipDotControllerBackpanel
Qeteshpony/Flipdot-Controller
Replacement controller for a Lawo Luminator Flipdot Display
3 parts2BSD-2-Clause
2 layers100 × 100 mm
Flipdot Controller
Qeteshpony/Flipdot-Controller2Replacement controller for a Lawo Luminator Flipdot Display
- Size
- 100 × 100 mm
- Copper layers
- 2
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Parts
- 58
- Nets
- 91
- Pads
- 261
- Tracks, vias
- 398, 15
- Pours
- 5
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 8.0 (file 20240108)
- Created
- 11 Oct 2024
- Updated
- 1 Apr 2026
Overview
Flipdot Controller is an open-source printed circuit board by Qeteshpony, from the Qeteshpony/Flipdot-Controller repository on GitHub, published under the BSD-2-Clause licence. It is a 2-layer board of 100 × 100 mm with 58 parts on 91 nets, routed with 398 tracks and 15 vias.
It is built around the ATTINY85-20PU, LME78_05-1.0 and UDN2981A-T, with the 74HCT238D, ULN2803A and AO3400A among its other parts. Its parts include 27 resistors, 8 connectors, 6 ICs, 5 capacitors and 3 diodes. It belongs with the lEDs and displays boards and the AVR (ATmega, ATtiny) boards of this library.
Main components
7
ATTINY85-20PU
PDIP-8-40℃~+85℃ 10bit 2.7V~5.5V 20MHz 512Byte 512Byte 6 8 Bit 8KB AVR Built-in FLASH PDIP-8 Microcontrollers (MCU/MPU/SOC) ROHSMicrochip TechnologyMicrocontrollers (MCU/MPU/SOC)LME78_05-1.0
SIP,11.6x8mmSIP,11.6x8mm DC-DC Power Modules ROHSGAPTEC ElectronicDC-DC Power Modules
UDN2981A-T
DIP18-3008-Channel Source DriversALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMUncategorised
74HCT238D
SO-16-40℃~+125℃ 160uA 19ns@4.5V,15pF 3/8 4.5V~5.5V 4mA 4mA 74HCT Decoder Single Supply SO-16 Signal Switches, Multiplexers, Decoders ROHSNexperiaSignal Switches, Multiplexers, Decoders
ULN2803A
SOP-18-300mil-40℃~+85℃ 0.93mA 100uA 15pF 20uA 30V 500mA 50V 8 SOP-18-300mil Darlington Transistor Arrays ROHSUMWDarlington Transistor Arrays
AO3400A
SOT-23-55℃~+150℃ 1 N-channel 1.45V 1.4W 30V 48mΩ@2.5V 5.7A 50pF 630pF 75pF 7nC@10V N-Channel SOT-23 MOSFETs ROHSAlpha & Omega SemiconductorMOSFETsAO3401A
SOT-231 P-Channel 14nC@10V 30V 47mΩ@10V、60mΩ@4.5V、85mΩ@2.5V 4A 55pF 645pF 80pF 900mV SOT-23 MOSFETs ROHSAlpha & Omega SemiconductorMOSFETs
README
README.mdFlipdot Controller
Replacement controller for a Lawo Luminator Flipdot Display
(This was designed and built in 2022, I just never published the sources so here we go)
The project is based around a Raspberry Pi Zero W which replaces the microcontroller/EPROM combination from the original controller board. I reverse engineered the original board and used some of its components, the two transistor arrays, to control the lines of the display. The columns are driven by the original FP2800A drivers.
The board is designed using KiCAD with production and assembly by JLCPCB in mind. All parts are selected to be available from JLCPCB at the time of writing and as many parts as possible are used from their basic library.
It is made to fit onto the screw holes for the original board with help of a little 3D-printed adapter that also holds a 18V power supply.
The ATtiny is connected to the raspberry pi via I2C and controls the backlight of the display which I replaced with UV LED strips.
FlipDotControllerBackpanel
This folder contains the sources for a small board I mounted into the casing backpanel of the display to show state of the raspberry pi and have a way to shut it down through a button.
Software
The software I wrote for this controller can be found in this respository
Parts
58| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 100R | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R14, R15, R16, R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, R22, R23, R24, R26 |
| 8 | 100k | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R3, R7, R8, R9, R12, R13, R25, R27 |
| 3 | 100n | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C1, C2, C3 |
| 2 | 12k | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R4, R6 |
| 2 | 4k7 | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R1, R2 |
| 2 | 74HCT238 | Package_DIP:DIP-16_W7.62mm_Socket | U1, U3 |
| 2 | MH | MountingHole:MountingHole_3.2mm_M3_Pad_Via | H1, H4 |
| 2 | MH | My_Footprints:Half_MountingHole_3.2mm_M3_Pad_NPTH | H2, H3 |
| 1 | 10k | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R10 |
| 1 | 10uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric | C4 |
| 1 | 1k5 | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R5 |
| 1 | 22uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0805_2012Metric | C5 |
| 1 | 2N7002 | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-23 | Q2 |
| 1 | 5V | LED_SMD:LED_0603_1608Metric | D2 |
| 1 | 680R | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R11 |
| 1 | AO3400A | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-23 | Q3 |
| 1 | AO3401A | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-23 | Q1 |
| 1 | ATtiny85-20P | Package_DIP:DIP-8_W7.62mm_Socket | U5 |
| 1 | Backpanel | Connector_JST:JST_PH_B3B-PH-K_1x03_P2.00mm_Vertical | J2 |
| 1 | Display | Connector_IDC:IDC-Header_2x17_P2.54mm_Vertical | J5 |
| 1 | I2C | Connector_JST:JST_PH_B4B-PH-K_1x04_P2.00mm_Vertical | J3 |
| 1 | ICSP | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_2x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J4 |
| 1 | LED-Strip | My_Footprints:CTB9352-2 | J8 |
| 1 | LME78_05-1.0 | My_Footprints:LME78_1.0-Series | U6 |
| 1 | LOGO | My_Footprints:CutieMark7.5mmInverted | G*** |
| 1 | Raspberry_Pi_2_3 | Module:Raspberry_Pi_Zero_Socketed_THT_FaceDown_MountingHoles | J1 |
| 1 | SERIAL | Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x06_P2.54mm_Vertical | J9 |
| 1 | UDN2981 | Package_DIP:DIP-18_W7.62mm_Socket | U2 |
| 1 | ULN2803A | Package_DIP:DIP-18_W7.62mm_Socket | U4 |
| 1 | VC IN | My_Footprints:CTB9352-2 | J6 |
| 1 | VCC | LED_SMD:LED_0603_1608Metric | D1 |
| 1 | VS | LED_SMD:LED_0603_1608Metric | D3 |
The 57 most common of 58 parts.
Questions
How big is the Flipdot Controller PCB?
It measures 100 × 100 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
What parts does the Flipdot Controller use?
58 parts, built around the ATTINY85-20PU, LME78_05-1.0, UDN2981A-T and 74HCT238D. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
Where can I download the Flipdot Controller KiCad files?
From the Qeteshpony/Flipdot-Controller repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is pcb/Flipdot Controller.kicad_pcb and its schematic FlipDotControllerBackpanel/FlipDotControllerBackpanel.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the Flipdot Controller design in my own project?
Its repository publishes it under the BSD-2-Clause licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).
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