LCD gallery

PPC

Dunno about ye but this site is fairly inspiring
http://iceforums.net/lcd/?f=view&display=10&start=0&order=desc&by=rating

Some lovely lcd/vfd's there

Ronan|Raven

Sweet Quite like the one posted by Darkside about half the waydown. Is that ridgeracer before my eyes?!

Dingatron

Nice! Really must get the finger out now. Was going for a MatrixOrbital but that one Zotty has would blend in with my blue theme but its probably a bit too big. Like it a lot!

[CALIBUR]

me wonders where did darkside got that Lcd screen from..?

koneko

I have one that looks the same as the one Darkside posted (it's not his though, it belongs to some American guy I think).

The same PC was featured in Maximum PC a few months back (I think he called it the Caffeine Machine or something along those lines).

Check around on Ebay, it's a 5" (ish) LCD screen. They're generally NTSC though so you can't really hook it up to anything but a graphics card with TV Output (set the output to NTSC).

Those little screens you can buy for the Gamecube are roughly the same (just rip the casing off it). Ebay is full of litttle LCDs designed for use in cars (back-seat gaming and so on).

I built mine into the front of a Shuttle case (not done yet on the paint job), it's great for watching films on while you're using the monitor for something else, or displaying Winamp or motherboard monitor.

shurl

After seeing this thread I wanted one!!

So I had me a visit to Maplins over the weekend looking for some LCD displays.

Now the guy in the shop (fairly decent actually, he seems to know a fair bit about them, I think hes modded a few for himself)
He told me that its best to go for the Parallel version as they support more functions over the serial? Anyone have any thoughts on this ?

The parallel versions are a hell of a lot cheaper but it means you loose your parallel port.


Serial Version
http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=030512101234492&moduleno=30152&modulecode=

Parallel Version
http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/module.asp?CartID=030512101234492&moduleno=30146&modulecode=


Cheers
S.

PPC

It depends really.
There is some nice software for the parallel ones, not as much as serial.
LCDC would be one of the better ones, lcd center is another good one and smartie is a nice free one.
My vfd is serial and it works out handier cause i dont have parallel on my shuttle.
But im seriously thinking of a parallel one after seeing what some of the other software can do

daveJAM

A few pics of my MO 2x20. Kinda put to shame by all those ones though. Its white text on blue, serial, 5 gpo's and 25 button keypad. Looks a lot better irl. Took the pics with my 7650 so they're dodgy. The edges dont actually look that bright compared to the middle.

LCDC is definatey the best software to use if it supports your LCD. Loads of plugins for it. Winamp2, Winamp3, MBM, GSQ, SETI, and loads of more misc stuff that ppl have come up with.

shurl

Sorry folks building my new rig that Komplett delivered yesterday
So me no reading the board.

daveJAM: Thats damn nice ! did you order that off the MO site? what are they like on delivery etc?

Yeah I was having a look at those LCD progs you guys where mentioning, it does seem the kid in Maplins was right, the parallel version seems to be able to do alot more then the serial.

I suppose getting a parallel to USB would save me from losing the parallel port.

Just wondering what does everyone prefer? VFD or LCD ? are there any benefits over one or the other? or is that like starting a PC -vs- Mac thread


Cheers
S.

daveJAM

Yeah, I got it direct from MO. Delivery took a while but DHL forgot to charge me the duty when they delivered. Sent me a bill later, ignored it, sent lots more, decided to pay it as I use them quite a lot, paid, week later they apologised and sent a refund. Go figure! AFAIK there is a reseller for MO in France but I dont know much about that.

I'm not quite sure of the advantages of parallel except that it doesnt need a controller so tends to be cheaper. My one has software controlled brightness and contrast, 5 gpo's (these are 5v power outputs that can be controlled by software) and you can connect a 25 key matrix keypad to it.

VFD vs LCD: Well I dont really know about that one. Personal preference I guess. If my LCD wasnt available in White and Blue I probably would have gone for a VFD. They're definately more exciting than standard Green and Black LCDs. PPC has a really nice VFD. Maybe he'll post some pics if you ask him nicely.

elexes

k how hard are these to install ? going to get one myself and install it in the 3.5 bay . do they require soldering etc ? r is it all through the para/serial posts ?

shurl

Yeah I like your blue daveJAM.
Hmm, might order off MO.

Just wondering the frame around your LCD, is that Lego technic pieces by chance?

S.

daveJAM

Yip, lol. It's just so vesatile!

They're very easy to wire if you buy from MO. The power can be supplied from a floppy molex. They sometimes require modding though. Changing around the wires. The data just uses a standard serial extension cable. Though the newer MO's are usb. When I decided I wanted mine outside my case I got a usb-a plug, the floppy molex from an old psu, the serial extension cable and a length of cat5 cabling and had a mod fest. And yes I did check that the usb socket would provide enough power first!

I came across this page yesterday:
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5582
Everything you could ever want to know about LCDs and VFDs.

elexes, you'll never fit a standard LCD into a 3.5 bay unless you have lots of room around it. But if you scroll down to the last lcd on that page you'll see one that'll fit nicely. You'll need to wire it up to a parallel port yourself though.

shurl

I knew it!
Technic does rock !

Nice FAQ site. Strange thought it seems to say that serial supports more features but is slower. Hmm.
I can understand the slower speeds but everyone I've talked to says that parallel supports more.


Ahwell, might pick up a cheap small one in Maplins over the W/e and have me a look see.


Cheers

S.

shurl

Hey Folks,
Well Maplins have discontinued their Parallel LCDs

So got me a small 16x2 Serial to test out.

Tis all wired up, looks good even though its a bit small.

None of the LCD apps i've seen around work with it, apart from LCDCenter i've been told.
Does anyone know,
a: Any other software around that will work with the lcd (seems to be a serial Scott Edwards seetron model)

B: anyone got LCD Centre to work with WinXp Pro.

Doesen't seem to like my pc.

Cheers
S.

elexes

ul with the software got any pics ?

shurl

Elexis,

Yeah i've found a way that *might* get it to work with LCDC.

So i'll ul pics as soon as I sort it.

Tis piss easy to wire actually. all it needs is a serial line (pin 3 in a db9) and a +5 and ground from a molex.


S.

daveJAM

Just wanna make sure that you're not confusing LCDC with LCD Centre. They're different programs. LCDC Anyway, just making sure.

shurl

DaveJAM,
Jup sorry I meant the LCDCenter not LCDC.

Couldn't get either to work with the LCD last night.

However I got LCDMAX to work.
Nasty program but it works.

I'll post some pics of it in action later.

S.

ManWithThePlan

You got those pics shurl?

I'm just curious to see how it worked out..

shurl

Sorry for the delay folks.

Heres some pics of the Maplins Serial Lcd.

http://www.pintanyone.com/files/Lcd1.gif

http://www.pintanyone.com/files/Lcd2.gif

http://www.pintanyone.com/files/Lcd3.gif


Cheers
S.

Raz

That looks pretty good. Is it that clear in normal light or did the flash make it look that clear?
BTW How much did it cost?
Did you use LCDMax like you mentioned before and is it freeware?
Sorry for the 20 questions :rolleyes: I'm thinking of getting one myself.

shurl

Raz,
Yeah its actually pretty clear.
Its got a very bright backlight (which the flash canceled out)
So its good both day and night.

Yup, used LCDMax freeware with LCD Driver. (the only way I could get it to work)
Prob is that LCDMax seems to be fairly old and from what I can see no-one is updating it or making new plugins for it.
For example the Winamp plugin does not seem to recognise Winamp 3 as Winamp??

Its also pretty expensive in Maplins (when ye consider the fairly small size 16x2) was about €50 for a serial. The parallel ones are about half the price but suprise surprise they said they don't do them anymore.


Cheers

S.

Raz

Hmmmm..
€50 seems a bit steep for a pretty much bare PCB board. By bare I mean casing wise. There's little provision for attaching it your case. A few holes in the PCB don't quite cut it for me.
And for the lack of available compatable software I wouldn't really consider it that good value (Sorry Shurl, I hope I'm not being too negative)
The Parrallel version now, that's a whole different situation. It's half the price. I could suffer it being below par for less that €30.

Well I guess if I could afford such things without a second thought I'd probably get one, but €50 is just a bit steep.

shurl

Raz,
They were my thoughts exactly.

I wasn't entirely impressed with the whole thing meself.
I had ordered the parallell version off them (they had none in stock) a week beforehand (was told it would take a week)
Went in the following Sat and the bloke told me that they had been discontinued.?! WTF I say. No one rang me during the week to let me know this "fairly" important piece of info.

So he gave me a few bob off the serial.

Just wanted to try the whole lcd thing out before I comitted to buying one of those nice Matrix Orbital ones.

Might do as soon as I clear the aul credit card

S.

Raz

mmmmmmmmmmm........... Matrix Orbital