Sony Watchman as a Propeller display??
RobotWorkshop
Posts: 2,307
Hello,
Has anyone found any good hacks to use a Sony Watchman as a composite color display? In particular I am looking to use a FDL-22 as a propeller display. Perhaps the schematics for it have been posted somewhere which would help to determine where to start altering the Watchman.
One of the reasons this kind of re-purposing is important is that it doesn't have an external composite port and the only method to get a picture is using the built-in tuner to pickup over the air broadcasts. By now I'm sure that most people are aware these will all become useless bricks early next year with the transition to all digital broadcasts. At that time it would be nice to have a hack available to make these standard displays. This way we can pickup some nice cheap color displays for our projects instead of letting them go to a landfill!
Robert
Has anyone found any good hacks to use a Sony Watchman as a composite color display? In particular I am looking to use a FDL-22 as a propeller display. Perhaps the schematics for it have been posted somewhere which would help to determine where to start altering the Watchman.
One of the reasons this kind of re-purposing is important is that it doesn't have an external composite port and the only method to get a picture is using the built-in tuner to pickup over the air broadcasts. By now I'm sure that most people are aware these will all become useless bricks early next year with the transition to all digital broadcasts. At that time it would be nice to have a hack available to make these standard displays. This way we can pickup some nice cheap color displays for our projects instead of letting them go to a landfill!
Robert
Comments
Post Edit -- http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=590261
Post Edited (PJ Allen) : 10/7/2008 4:32:21 PM GMT
I'll bet the watchman is like the one I had. That one had signals on the board and used a LCD that would take composite in. Take a look and see! You might find it really easy.
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I know that several game consoles came out with LCD "travel" screens (a famous one in the hacked gadets world is the PS-One LCD) that could be obtained relatively inexpensively.· I was able to get an 7.2 inch Intec XBOX LCD for ~20USD that includes both S-Video and composite connections (no mod required)
@PJ Allen -··Generating the TV broadcast signal·from the Propeller·as a way to provide a wireless short-range monitoring would be an interesting use for these TV's.
Post Edited (trodoss) : 10/7/2008 5:08:19 PM GMT
Better of with portable DVD players with AVin and a broken mech.
7" screen and room to put in a propeller once you pull the mech.
OBC
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I'll have to take mine apart and see if it might already be able to accept the composite signals already. Just wondering if anyone here has already been there, done that.
If anyone happens to find out how to mod them please add to this thread. I'll do the same if I can get it apart and figure out how to drive it with the Propeller.
It would probably be a good idea to perform similar mods on any other small portable TV's since they will also become useless if they only use an analog tuner for receiving the picture.
Robert
The picture below·is the second/third generation of that idea. In smaller the yellow case there is a 12v battery which powers the LCD display, a propellor based controller, a 433MHz communication system, and a 2.4GHz video reciever. I also added some ports and switching capability so I can use the display for the local controler, a video feed from the rover or just a line in when I need a display in the field or lab. It's turned out to be an incredibly handy piece and it's completely enabled by the PS1 displays. A good price is $35, I've seen them for as low as $15. They are big enough to get detail but small enough to be portable.
Jim-
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A wise man told me; "All electronics are made to work by magic smoke.
Don't ever let it out as it's·very difficult·to get it back in."
It looks like a nice display and you did a great job with the mounting and the way you've placed it in the case.
I am familiar with similar displays like the ones that were sold for the original XBOX. Although I could certainly go that route for some projects that wasn't the spirit of the thread I was trying to convey. What I am concerned about is the fact that in a few months all the Analog TV broadcasts in the US will cease and there will be a LOT of small TV's and other displays that will no longer work. I really, really hate to see things go to waste and want to see some be saved and re-purposed. This is mainly a call to keep items out of a land fill! Using them as a display for a Propeller project is a perfect way to recycle them. It may be as easy as just pulling off the back cover and soldering a cable to the existing board. Some may need more work. These small TV's aren't too bad now and after the change to Digital only broadcasting they will really cheap.
There are a lot of bright and talented people on this forum and I'm sure that someone will find a way to get these working as well as others. To me is a win/win idea since we keep perfectly good displays out of the landfills and may end up with a nice display for the Propeller at little or no cost.
Robert
I'd say they'll be beyond cheap, they'll be worthless to most owners who will also think they are worthless to everyone else ( which is quite a reasonable assumption for the layman ) and that's perhaps the problem -- How to stop them simply being binned as worthless, before we even have a chance to get our hands on them.
As to buying from eBay, when these TV's really won't work for anyone, would you trust someone selling one when they know that ? Would they even waste the listing fee knowing that ?