First, the video!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7tJaJJbRkc
A regular Arduino really drive things that have high power requirements or need a voltage higher than 5vdc. In order to run the real displays in the F-15 that use incandescent bulbs, I developed a special board that would allow me to drive up to 16 channels per board, up to 60vdc at round 8A per board.
The Centipede Shield by Macetech provides 64 I/O channels – each of the 64 channels can be configured for input or output. In this context however, I’m using the board as strictly an output device.
Here’s the code that the Arduino runs: centipede_firmware
For those that want to build the driver board, I’ve zipped up the Eagle PCB files for the board – the zip file INSIDE the zip file is “gerber” data that you need to supply to the board house if they don’t natively process Eagle PCB files.
TIP125-Board-v2
Enjoy!