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Ultra-low cost LCD: Breakout boards to GadgetGanster! — Parallax Forums

Ultra-low cost LCD: Breakout boards to GadgetGanster!

RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
edited 2009-11-19 00:59 in Propeller 1
I just managed to get Bean's monochrome LCD working with the Prop!

This is a very handy little display.· Runs entirely with just a 3.3V supply.· The yellow backlight LEDs are in parallel, so you just need a single external resistor to set the LED current.· Needs 13 pins (8 for data, 5 for control).

It's also supposedly transreflective to work well outdoors, but today isn't a good day to test that here...

The icons are also very handy!
I bought five for $1 each·from Terry Hitt (Bean) at the Expo.

Update:

Just shipped the first 6 breakout boards with displays to Gadget Gangster to sell.

Check out these photos:

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My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm

Post Edited (Rayman) : 11/13/2009 12:45:52 AM GMT
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Comments

  • mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
    edited 2009-10-02 23:50
    Ray you seem to have a special love for displays, did you see the the post from the guys trying to get the Peek display to interface to the prop?? I am trying to get a few if you would like I will send you one to see if it can be done???
    I can get one for sure form OBC but it would be awesome if we could get you on board. Let me know
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2009-10-03 00:52
    Raymond,
    You are no doubt the LCD master !!
    I can't believe you got them working.
    Nice job.

    P.S. I'll send you a PM soon.

    Bean.

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  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-03 01:11
    Thanks Bean!

    These are some really nice displays you found!
    This could be the very lowest cost, high-quality displays available for the Prop...
    The icons are a really cool feature.

    Mike: I pretty much have my hands full here, sorry...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 00:28
    Just attached the datasheet to the top post!
    (Note that this isn't the exact datasheet, but it's the closest thing
    the manufacturer has.)

    I'm thinking of making a breakout board for it that will attach directly the Prop Platform
    that Jon made and Gadget Ganster sells.

    If there's room, I'll try to make it so that one can drop in a Prop to the board too...
    You could then turn it into a serial display for ~$10 extra...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 00:30
    The backlight is just 4 LEDs in parallel, drawing 80 mA max...

    I'm trying to come up with the best way to control it...
    Could just use one resistor for a fixed current...
    Or, could use 2 Prop pins to control the current...
    Or, maybe add in a transistor and have it controlled by a single Prop pin...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 00:32
    I suppose I need to find a nice 6x8 font for a 4 line display...

    Or, should I do 8x16 or so for a 2 line display?

    I could use the ROM font for a single line display...
    Also, there's Clemen's "secret font", but I think that's 8x12...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 00:36
    Any interest out there in this display?
    I think I could sell the display+breakout board for ~$10.
    With a Prop, it'd be ~$20...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • blittledblittled Posts: 681
    edited 2009-10-08 02:26
    I'd be interested in the display with prop. I also bought a display from Bean so I'll have a spare display. Would it be hard to solder the LCD onto a unpopulated breakout board with a 15 watt Iron from Radio Shack? If not I'd like to get a breakout board minus the LCD too.

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    What electronics need - MORE POWER!!!!!!!
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,934
    edited 2009-10-08 03:25
    I'd be interested in two without the prop. I assume you are working on a complete driver?

    I have a couple Transflective Hantronix "chip-on-glass" ~2"x3" displays in my project pile but I need to figure out how to talk to them (which means it will be a while). They are in small handheld devices now without any backlight and they look excellent in all levels of light. They have a small ribbon connector which means a breakout board is needed as well.

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 10:07
    Just posted the datasheet for the LCD's driver IC to the top post...

    blitted: The LCD connects to the breakout board with that flexible cable...

    WBA: I am going to work on the driver... Need to think about what people would want in a driver... This is a "graphical" LCD, but I'm not really sure how great that is... I have a feeling people would just want to show text on the screen...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 14:30
    Got the ROM font working on it!· Can fit 7 characters...

    attachment.php?attachmentid=64283

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • Shawn LoweShawn Lowe Posts: 635
    edited 2009-10-08 14:41
    I'd be interested at $10.

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    Shawn Lowe


    When all else fails.....procrastinate!
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 15:07
    Shawn: Good to hear! I think it's possible by making 3 adapters to a board and then cutting them apart myself to bring down the PCB cost...
    In principle, all you need is the board with the fpc connector and one resistor for the backlight (assuming you want the backlight on all the time).

    Right now, I'm contemplating on whether or not I should try to turn this monochrome display into a grayscale display...
    I think I can update the whole screen at 260 Hz... At 256 Hz, I could do 256 shades of gray...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • Jim FouchJim Fouch Posts: 395
    edited 2009-10-08 15:40
    I'd really be interested in one w/ a prop. How may spare prop pins would we have to play with? Maybe a small prototyping area too?

    I'll even throw in and design a water proof enclosure.....· yeah.gif· I got a new laser cutter and am looking to make somethig cool w/ it.

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    Jim Fouch

    FOUCH SOFTWARE
  • JamesxJamesx Posts: 132
    edited 2009-10-08 16:15
    I'd be interested in a couple units, w/ prop onboard. A little prototyping area would be great, too.

    Jim
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,934
    edited 2009-10-08 16:16
    Rayman; I was thinking text display with possibility of some basic graphics (that can probably be done with a handful of graphic fonts). I might change my interest to 1 with prop and 1 without.

    The Hantronix displays I have are HDG12864F-1 (128x64 pixel) with chip on glass controller chip. When I went to find the datasheet on my computer, I found an appnote I downloaded back in April from Hantronix that actually uses the Basic Stamp SX for a demo. Forgot I found that. Maybe I will have to brew up a breakout board sometime so I can re-purpose the case that they are currently in (it's extremely nice)

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    WBA-TH1M Sensirion SHT11 Module
    Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge, Mar 20, 2010
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  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2009-10-08 17:28
    Good! I am another fellow display lover....

    What expo did you get them at? I didn't see those at UPENE. And Bean can tell you, I spent a LOT of time at his stand!!! smile.gif

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    Computers are microcontrolled.

    Robots are microcontrolled.
    I am microcontrolled.

    But you·can·call me micro.

    Want to·experiment with the SX or just put together a cool project?
    SX Spinning light display·


  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-08 19:22
    Yep, it was UPENE... He had a lot of stuff out, so it may have been easy to miss...

    I guess the nice things about this display are that it's small and works directly from the Prop's voltage...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • FredBlaisFredBlais Posts: 377
    edited 2009-10-08 21:21
    Rayman said...
    Just posted the datasheet for the LCD's driver IC to the top post...

    WBA: I am going to work on the driver... Need to think about what people would want in a driver... This is a "graphical" LCD, but I'm not really sure how great that is... I have a feeling people would just want to show text on the screen...

    Drawing lines, rectangle, circles, plotting, and maybe a function similar to pix where we can put custom graphics would be really great.

    at 10$, with a driver, sounds great [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  • Roger LeeRoger Lee Posts: 339
    edited 2009-10-09 03:15
    Microcontrolled said...
    What expo did you get them at? I didn't see those at UPENE.

    They might have been in a box under the table. I think I remember Bean telling me something like
    "No data sheet, I haven't gotten them to work" (or something like that).
    It's quite possible I'm mistaken, this may not be the same LCD.

    Who in their right mind would buy something like that?

    I guess now we know who, don't we. Great job Rayman.
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2009-10-09 11:05
    Roger,
    Yeah, I was selling them for $1 or $0.50 or something like that. I had tried to get them working, but couldn't.
    Raymond told me that he was going to get them working, and he came through.
    I have send all the units I had to Ray (about 100).
    If anyone purchased these at the show they can thank Raymond for finding the correct datasheet for them.

    Bean.

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    Does that byte of memory hold "A", 65, $41 or %01000001 ?
    Yes it does...


    ·
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2009-10-09 21:09
    I was crazy enough to buy that color LCD without a datasheet for a doller WITHOUT A BREAKOUT BOARD! If anyone comes up with a datasheet for them please let me know.

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    Computers are microcontrolled.

    Robots are microcontrolled.
    I am microcontrolled.

    But you·can·call me micro.

    Want to·experiment with the SX or just put together a cool project?
    SX Spinning light display·


  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-10 00:39
    I think the color LCD is just RGB driven, like a VGA monitor... The code I have for my new touchscreen LCD (PSB) would probably work with a few adjustments...
    But, I'm not really sold on the value... That display will likely need a few other chips to make it work... And, it's very small...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-10 11:20
    Actually, thinking some more about it, there could be cases where a very small color LCD is useful... Maybe I'll look into those other LCDs later...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    edited 2009-10-11 02:06
    I'm interested in one with break out board.

    One problem I see.
    once the 100 units have been sold, where can we get more?

    It's great to use close-out and surplus etc·to keep the inital cost down
    but it's not a vital commercial business.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-11 02:39
    Very good point. But, on the flip side... All of these displays are more or less the same. Most in the same category actually share the same command structure. So, I don't see getting more of the same being a problem...

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-14 10:01
    Just ordered a breakout board. Hope it works! It's specifically designed to plug into the Gadget Gangster "Propeller Platform":

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
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  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-10-20 23:00
    Just got the prototype breakout board it...· (sharing an ExpressPCB miniboard with the 4.3" tft board).

    Should only take a few minutes to see if it works or not...

    attachment.php?attachmentid=64544

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-10-21 07:06
    Looks very good!

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    Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,824
    edited 2009-11-05 14:05
    Breakout board works!

    Didn't at first until I realized that I have the data pins labeled backwards...· Oh, well.

    Real problem here is competition from the 4.3" touchscreens...

    This is a very nice display though.· The small size and low power might be perfect for some applications.

    It's also easy to mount.

    This breakout board just plugs into either side of the Propeller Platform.

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    My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
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