The LED Matrix block also allows you to create custom patterns to be triggered from the Logic Maker.
Before you start, make sure you have a Power Station powered up and a WiFi Block already activated and paired with your computer. If you are not sure how to do this, please refer to the section Activating Your WiFi Block.
- First, snap your LED Matrix Block to your WIFI and Power station stack, the order does not matter. A small LED on the bottom left corner of the block should start blinking. If your WiFi Radio is paired, you should now see 3 blocks online; Power Station, WiFi (identified by its IP address) and an LED Matrix. Click on the LED Matrix menu item to add the block into your workspace:
- Open the Properties Panel of the LED Matrix by clicking on the gear icon:
- From the Properties Panel click on ‘Create Pattern’. A new window shows up with an array of boxes, draw your pattern by continue pressing your left mouse button and dragging the cursor along the boxes, they should change to green (you can use the secondary mouse button to unselect previously marked boxes using the same dragging motion).
- Click on the preview button to visualize the design in the physical block:
Once you are happy with your pattern, click on ‘Save’. - Give a custom name to your pattern (e.g. ‘happy-face’) and then click ‘Save’:
- Go inside the LED Matrix's Logic Maker by clicking the middle icon of the canvas block:
- Inside the Logic Maker, add a PLAY and an ACTION Gates. Connect the PLAY Gate as a parent of the ACTION Gate and from the ACTION Gate's drop-down select the name you gave to your pattern:
- Click on ‘Apply’ to save your changes. You should now be able to activate the PLAY Gate and your pattern appear on the screen of your LED Matrix:
Note: If your pattern was still visible from when you use the 'preview' in step 4, you may not notice any change. Try disconnecting the LED Matrix from your stack and connect it again to clear the screen.
You can create as many patterns as you wish and select the one you want depending on conditions you set in your Logic Maker. For instance, by creating a second pattern (E.g. ‘sad-face’), we use the TOGGLE and IF Gates to switch between the two every time the PLAY Gate is clicked on: