Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
6.4" 640x480 Color LCD Module — Parallax Forums

6.4" 640x480 Color LCD Module

VaatiVaati Posts: 712
edited 2012-06-29 06:04 in Propeller 1
I happened to come by 15 or so golf cart GPS systems, and one of the many fascinating parts in them are the 6.4 inch screens. I finally found the datasheets today which include the pinout, dimensions, and specs, so I would like to put these awesome LCD's in action. Here are the two .pdf's:

Physical specifications

Pinout


I think that the propeller is ideal for this. If I could first get it to simply display something such as text, then I could move on to making a mini vga monitor... smile.gif


So, what do I need to do to make it happen? Has anyone dealt with an LCD with a similar pinout?

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
MCU Projects·- my new site where I will be posting all projects, code, etc.

Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!

SD Card Adapter·- Add extra memory to your next Propeller project with ease!

Comments

  • JRetSapDoogJRetSapDoog Posts: 954
    edited 2010-04-18 00:00
    I'm not sure what voltage level that screen uses for the logic portion, though perhaps 5 volts.· As such, you might need one or more voltage level shifters to connect to the Prop.· At any rate, it looks like a pretty straight-forward display, with relatively few pins:· just hsynch, vsynch and the dot clock, along with RGB data (no other "strange" signals, meaning it's about as simple as it gets with only 31 pins on the flex).· In connecting to the Prop, you'd likely use only 2 pins each for the red, green and blue (for details, see the link that follows), yielding 64 total colors.· Probably the best thread to check out would be Rayman's thread on his 4.3" LCD, which uses a modified version of Chip's VGA driver (converted to directly drive a digital RGB LCD instead of an analog VGA monitor).

    Rayman's 4.3" LCD thread:· http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=834931.·

    Perhaps your main challenge will be obtaining a connector for the LCD's flex cable (assuming it uses one) and then likely breaking (expanding) the pins of the connector via a PCB into something to which you can readily solder/attach.· There are a couple of breakout boards available from forum members for Ray's display, but it almost for sure has a connector with more pins (60, I believe) than what yours has, but those should give you an idea of what you'd need (at least for convenient usage).· Also, the more recent thread for Rayman's 3.5" LCD has some similar information, but the thread for the 4.3" display has 25 pages of juicy details (read the first 4 or 5 to get the general idea and then skim read or pick-and-choose the updates).· It sounds like you've got a nice display there, and if you can live with 64 colors (which is not bad), connecting it with the propeller should make for a nice matchup.· You might consider hawking about 10 of them on this forum.· You might also consider offering a freebie to someone willing to give you technical assistance and/or an interface board.· Don't know if there's much hope of using one of the existing interface boards (with a different connector), but perhaps with a jumper or ten, lol.· Good luck.· Definitely seems like a good find.
  • VaatiVaati Posts: 712
    edited 2010-04-18 00:03
    I have the connectors--they can be obtained by desoldering them off of the system main board.

    I will check out that thread and try to get something done next week when I have time.


    Thanks.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    MCU Projects·- my new site where I will be posting all projects, code, etc.

    Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!

    SD Card Adapter·- Add extra memory to your next Propeller project with ease!
  • JRetSapDoogJRetSapDoog Posts: 954
    edited 2010-04-18 00:08
    How in the world did you read my post withing 3 minutes of my posting it. Wow! That Evelyn Woods speed-reading course paid off! Remember those commercials? No? I'm old, then.
  • VaatiVaati Posts: 712
    edited 2010-04-18 00:09
    LOL--I use gmail and a little sound comes on whenever I get a new notification message. smile.gif

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    MCU Projects·- my new site where I will be posting all projects, code, etc.

    Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!

    SD Card Adapter·- Add extra memory to your next Propeller project with ease!
  • JRetSapDoogJRetSapDoog Posts: 954
    edited 2010-04-18 05:13
    Ah, that's the ticket. Keep us posted of any updates/progress. Take care.
  • AleAle Posts: 2,363
    edited 2010-04-21 05:00
    Some panels are STN and not TFT then driving is different.

    I only tried with Mono LCDs: propeller.wikispaces.com/MonoLCD640


    Edit: I looks quite straightforward. VSync, HSync, colors, Dot clock and Dot enable signal (only active when the image data has to be accessed).
    I'd tie just the colors together and use a similar method to the one I describe. It mostly should work. R/L and U/D I'd tie to GND. They should indicate the direction of the image, left to right and up down.

    It does not need any extra power supplies... nice finding. Just test all the GNDs to see if they are connected together in the panel... the pinout may not match.

    Ale

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Visit some of my articles at Propeller Wiki:
    MATH on the propeller propeller.wikispaces.com/MATH
    pPropQL: propeller.wikispaces.com/pPropQL
    pPropQL020: propeller.wikispaces.com/pPropQL020
    OMU for the pPropQL/020 propeller.wikispaces.com/OMU
    pPropellerSim - A propeller simulator for ASM development sourceforge.net/projects/ppropellersim

    Post Edited (Ale) : 4/21/2010 12:07:33 PM GMT
  • JRetSapDoogJRetSapDoog Posts: 954
    edited 2010-04-21 12:01
    Ah, thanks for that warning, Ale, and the link. Hmm...does the principle (if only difference) have to do with the dual-scan thing? And if a STN panel used single scan driving, would it essentially (if not entirely) be the same as TFT driving? Or maybe it depends.
  • AleAle Posts: 2,363
    edited 2010-04-21 12:11
    I re-read the docs and it is a TFT, so no worries. A dual scan panel is like two panels in one. Your TFT is single-scan, so it is even simpler. You generate the snycs and the dot clock and dot enable signals and then just the colors. If you understand how I did it with the Mono LCD, then it should be doable with your panel. The only problem is that the dot clock has to be like 25 MHz... I think a VGA driver can be modified to output such a dot clock.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Visit some of my articles at Propeller Wiki:
    MATH on the propeller propeller.wikispaces.com/MATH
    pPropQL: propeller.wikispaces.com/pPropQL
    pPropQL020: propeller.wikispaces.com/pPropQL020
    OMU for the pPropQL/020 propeller.wikispaces.com/OMU
    pPropellerSim - A propeller simulator for ASM development sourceforge.net/projects/ppropellersim
  • omegatotalomegatotal Posts: 4
    edited 2012-06-29 06:04
    Wondering what ever happened with this, as I have a Sharp LQ104V1DG21 TFT-LCD Module http://www.sharpsma.com/webfm_send/1225

    And I would like to be able to drive this as a basic touch control pad for some home automation. i dont need full color, or more than a few updates per second, but i do desire to have full resolution..
Sign In or Register to comment.