User Guide: Los Angeles Traffic LED Display

Setup, controls, indicator meanings, and troubleshooting for your Traffic PCB display.

Quickstart

First time setup is done over USB-C using a 115200 baud serial menu.

1

Connect to your computer Plug the board into your computer using a USB-C cable. A serial/COM device should appear.
2

Open a serial terminal Use Arduino IDE Serial Monitor or any terminal program.
Speed: 115200 Data: 8N1 Newline: Any
3
Enter Wi-Fi credentials The menu usually opens automatically when no Wi-Fi credentials are saved. Follow the prompts to configure Wi-Fi.
Important
- Backspace is not supported in the menu.
- If you make a mistake, re-open the menu and re-enter the values.
4

If the menu does not open automatically Hold Toggle until the indicators change, then press Restart. Keep holding Toggle until the menu is active.
Menu active indicators: error LED on, traffic direction LEDs flashing.
5

Wait for initial loading After configuration, the device resets and downloads initial road segment data. The LEDs refresh once loading is complete.
6

Switch traffic direction Press Toggle to switch the displayed direction between Southeast and Northwest.

Understanding road LEDs

Each road LED maps to two OpenLR road segments, typically one northbound and one southbound. Some segments span multiple LEDs and may be refreshed together with a single API call.

Fast At least 80% of normal speed (green or blue in v1)

Medium 50% to 80% of normal speed (yellow or orange in v1)

Slow Below 50% of normal speed (red in v1)

Intersections At freeway intersections, the most vertically oriented freeway segment is prioritized.

Version 2 will add configurable LED colors with a printed legend below the direction panel.

LED indicator states

Initialization

Direction LEDs strobe in a loading-circle pattern. If Wi-Fi is having trouble, this can take longer.

Config requested

Error LED is on and direction LEDs are flashing.

OTA updating

OTA LED is solid white. After update it briefly shows green (success) or red (failure).

Server error

Error LED flashes. Live data retrieval failed. Usually resolves on the next fetch. If not, restart the device.

Fatal error

Error LED briefly turns red and the device resets. If this happens often, capture logs and contact support.

Configuration changes

1

Connect over USB-C Plug into your computer and open a serial terminal at 115200.
2

Open the configuration menu Hold Toggle, then press Restart. Keep holding Toggle until the menu is active.
3

Enter updated Wi-Fi settings Backspace is not supported. If anything is incorrect, re-open the menu and enter the values again.
4

Device resets automatically After you complete configuration, the board resets and begins loading road data again.

Versioning and troubleshooting

1

Hardware vs firmware version Hardware version is labeled Vx_x. Firmware version is labeled vx.x.x.
2

Update checks Firmware update availability is checked on reboot and at 12:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM Pacific time.
3

How to view logs Connect over USB-C and inspect logs via a 115200 UART connection.
4

What logs include by default Minimal logging includes version details and fatal error information. Development builds can be flashed if deeper troubleshooting is needed.