N00GA

A simple javascript library for driving the LCD messageboard that goes under various names:

• Maplin N00GA
• AM03127
• Y5207

Setup

The message board should be connected to your machine and available at a port such as /dev/tty.usbserial-0001 (on Mac) or COM<X> on a windows machine

You can then install the node module using:

npm install --save n00ga

Initialisation

const { N00GA } = require('n00ga')

// Create the N00GA object
const n00ga = N00GA('/dev/tty.usbserial-0001')

// You must then initialise it before performing any further actions
// This opens the serial port and is an asynchronous process that returns a promise
await n00ga.initialise()

Options

You can supply the following options object during initialisation

{
  boardId: '01',
  bell: '0.5',
  column: '0',
  color: 'rainbow',
  font: 'bold',
  lagEffect: 'scrollL',
  leadEffect: 'scrollL',
  line: '1',
  page: 'A',
  speed: 'mediumFast',
  waitTime: '5'
}

Available values can be found in the constants directory

Sending Messages

Send text-based message

Example usage:

n00ga.send('Homer Simpson')

You can also specify options here too:

n00ga.send('Homer Simpson', { color: 'brightRed' })

Managing pages

Running a specific page

Pages are specified by letter:

n00ga.runPage('A')

Clearing a specific page

Pages are specified by letter:

n00ga.clearPage('A')

Other Functions

Display datetime

n00ga.showDateTime()

Reset sign to factory settings

Warning - this will delete all pages and reset your sign back to factory settings Due to the destructive nature of this command, note that you need to specify true to confirm.

n00ga.resetToFactory(true)

Credits

Tremendous thanks to https://blog.ambor.com/2020/04/driving-led-panel-with-spreadsheet.html for excellent work in identifying the communication protocol with this sign