Using a Google Voice account, a web server, BetaBrite scrolling LED, Brian Gaut from Plasma2002.com has created a DIY party LED scroller that lets your friends and guests to SMS text sorta like those large displays at shows and events.
Best of all, Brian posted all of his PHP code so you can easily replicate it, you only have to buy the parts.
After testing the sign at a party held at home, I noticed that people really seemed to enjoy it. One part of it that led to people enjoying it was the fact that the messages were anonymous. While it would have been really easy to make the sign show who the message was from, if theres one thing I’ve learned from the internet, it’s that people love being anonymous. Leaving a message that your peers can see, without knowing who wrote it, will always invoke the most curious behavior.
Also, with a little tinkering with this project and Twitter API, I bet you can turn this into an LED Twitter timeline too.
See video of this SMS textin’ LED scroller in action:
4 Responses to How to Make a DIY SMS Text Party LED Scroller!
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So, they posted this project on Make, but they credited you as the builder instead of Brian. Ugh!!! lol – Hopefully they change that soon. But thanks for posting about it!
Looks like they forgot to credit it but fixed!
I’m still seeing your name – where are you looking?
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/09/led-party-scroller.html
Oh yeah, they screwed up!