Hints/Tips :
==========
You could use a variable to stop the scrolling of the mini-DMD at any time. What I chose to do was use the same variable that holds the lettercode to be displayed next. In my case, I chose values greater than 900 being the number of cycles to delay scrolling the display.

Ie :
put this around the main scroll function :

If LetterCode < 900 Then
.....
End If

Then in the InsertText() function you could say :

If LetterCode > 900 Then
LetterCode = LetterCode - 1
End If

If LetterCode = 900 Then
DmdOneSpace = 1
End If


This would mainly come in handy when dealing with an array of lettercodes. I'm sure there's a more efficient way to do this, but this is what I came up with first, banged out the code in a night and stuck with it because it works.

Example Array :

Dim MiniDMDArrayOne
MiniDMDArrayOne = Array("42","8","5","12","12","15","42")

'spells 'HELLO' with a space on each end...

For arrays of text, use this 'check' in the DMDScroller timer, in the "If DMDOneSpace = 1 Then" section; it will set the lettercode with the next letter to be printed from the array the next time InsertText() is called... (comment out the old stuff that scrolls the alphabet)

If YourConditionMet = True Then
If MiniDMDCycle > UBound(MiniDMDArrayOne) Then

MiniDMDCycle = 0

End If

LetterCode = MiniDMDArrayOne(MiniDMDCycle)
MiniDMDCycle = MiniDMDCycle + 1

End If

----------------

Other hints :
-Take the light centers, and lay them out in order, from top to bottom on the playfield (around, and close to the mini-DMD). LA0, LB0, LC0, etc should be in the topmost row of crosses, with LA1, LB1, etc in the next row, and so on.

Spacing them out just enough so they aren't touching, but half are above the mini-DMD, half are below - allows you to then use the lightseq on the lights more effectively. This is because the placement of the light centers will determine how the lightseq will order the lights when sequencing. If they're all bunched up (as is in the demo table); the lightseq effects will look terrible even with the center of the lightseq placed properly. So make sure to try to lay out the light centers for each row in a grid on the table, around (close to) the mini-DMD for the best impact with the sequencer.

-Adjust the blink intervals on the lights to a lower number, from 8-20. Copy the code that scrolls the text into notepad, then do a find and replace on ".state = 1" and change this to ".state = 2". This will give the lights that shimmer/flicker effect as they scroll the text. Paste your code back in, and try it out. Better yet, you could add to the main function, also perhaps passing in a variable to determine which mode you wanted the lights in. (.state = 1 or .state = 2...)

-cyBORG 