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A Job Well Done Parallax! — Parallax Forums

A Job Well Done Parallax!

Eric REric R Posts: 225
edited 2006-02-04 15:44 in General Discussion
Just got my Professional Development Board yesterday and had a little time to play with it tonight. I must say, you guys did a wonderfull job on this board. The layout is perfect and the LED's are nice and bright. It even has a few things that I have wanted to try but never got around to ordering all the parts to make it happen (like the clock and audio amplifier).

I know everyone has a wish list but here is mine..... All this thing is missing is a nice "mounted" stand alone serial LCD display (possibly #27979) that compliments the Pro Board and could sit on your desktop within easy viewing while developing. We all know how the LCD likes·to flop around on the bench tongue.gif


Thanks Parallax, another job well done.

Comments

  • Charlie JohnsonCharlie Johnson Posts: 147
    edited 2006-02-02 15:52
    How about a little plastic holder that slips over the PDB where they have the Logo -- just to the left of the 7-Seg displays -- then comes up at a 45 degree angle and had slots in it to slide the LCD display into. This will allow you to have the LCD mounted where it can be viewed and does not require a board redesign.

    Side view:
    ······························ ·· · ·/ / <--- LCD slides in here
    ······························· ·· / /
    ······························ · / /
    ······························ / /
    ···························· / /
    ·
    / /
    ===========·· / <---- PCB
    ·
    /

    Charlie

    Post Edited (dy8coke) : 2/2/2006 3:55:28 PM GMT
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2006-02-02 17:31
    Charlie,
    How about a picture ? I like to see how you did it.
    Bean.

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    "SX-Video OSD module" Now available from Parallax for only·$49.95
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    Product web site: www.sxvm.com

    "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."
    ·
  • ellizardellizard Posts: 106
    edited 2006-02-02 17:48
    Something similar was in a thread several months ago,
    made of methacrylate
    and indeed very well made and effective

    regards
    Stefano

    P.S. I'm still not able to obtain much results with the search tool of the forum.......
    it is me not clever enaugh or the search option is not really working?

    Post Edited (ellizard) : 2/2/2006 5:51:19 PM GMT
  • Charlie JohnsonCharlie Johnson Posts: 147
    edited 2006-02-02 17:55
    Bean,

    I have not made the holder, it was just a quick idea off the top of my head when I read the original post.

    Charlie
  • John R.John R. Posts: 1,376
    edited 2006-02-02 18:03
    ellizard said...
    P.S. I'm still not able to obtain much results with the search tool of the forum.......
    it is me not clever enaugh or the search option is not really working?
    Which "search" are you using, the one from the "Search" button, or the one at: http://search.parallax.com?· The search.parallax.com engine seems to work pretty good, and if you go the "Advanced Search" page, you can limit searches to the forums (as opposed to the "store" site(s).

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    John R.

    8 + 8 = 10
  • ellizardellizard Posts: 106
    edited 2006-02-02 18:21
    Of course I'm dealing with the wrong search, I.E. the search button in the forum,
    it is still there, but i recall from a post that it was fixed.

    thank you for the clarification

    regards
    Stefano
  • MikeSMikeS Posts: 131
    edited 2006-02-03 00:08
    Here are a couple of pics of my serial LCD mount to the PDB. I mounted the display to a thin piece of plexiglass using standoffs and then used double sided tape to stick it under the PDB between the two rubber feet. Works great.

    Mike S.
    DSC00549.jpg
    640 x 480 - 33K
    DSC00550.jpg
    640 x 480 - 53K
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2006-02-03 15:35
    My LCD box project.

    - Rick
    LCD_box1.jpg
    752 x 500 - 230K
    LCD_box2.jpg
    752 x 500 - 240K
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2006-02-03 15:52
    RDL2004,

    ·· Your case is almost exactly what we used in some POS systems back in 1992.· Smal plastic cases from Radio Shack that held the LCD and we milled out a semicircle in each half on what would be the bottom and mounted a collar designed for conduit.· This allowed the unit to sit on a pole much like commercial POS displays which at the time were VERY expensive.· Nice work though.·

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2006-02-03 18:14
    Thanks

    That was the first thing I made with the micro mill I got for Christmas.

    It has a few flaws, like the display being just a bit off center and the hole for the contrast adjust doesn't line up too well. Also, about 2 minutes after I drilled the holes for the mounting screws I realized I could have put them in the back instead and had nothing but the display opening in the front panel.

    Since the box only cost about $3 I think I'm going to buy another one the next time I order stuff from Mouser and see how much better I can do.

    If anyone else wants to make one like this, the box is a PacTec JM24 type, the Mouser part number is 616-7100-510-000. The plastic is pretty soft and easy to work.

    Be advised that as you can see in the first pic below, the box is actually too small to fit the display, I had to mill out a relief area about 1/64" deep to clear the contrast adjust pot. You could probably just as well cut a hole the size of the pot.

    If you look close in the second pic, you can see how I taped a thin piece of clear plastic (cut from some blister pack) over the front opening to protect the display from scratches.

    - Rick
    LCD_box3.jpg
    752 x 500 - 213K
    LCD_box4.jpg
    752 x 500 - 217K
  • Ryan ClarkeRyan Clarke Posts: 738
    edited 2006-02-03 20:25
    What type of micro mill do you get?

    Ryan

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    Ryan Clarke
    Parallax Tech Support

    RClarke@Parallax.com
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2006-02-03 20:48
    RDL2004,

    ·· Thanks for posting the specifics...That way they can do something similar if they want.· I know I have seen something similar done for some of the WinAMP displays floating around the 'net, but nothing as clean as yours.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
    csavage@parallax.com
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2006-02-03 22:05
    Ryan Clarke said...
    What type of micro mill do you get?

    It's a Proxxon MF 70. Unlike some of the other so-called micro mills, this one really is. It only weighs about 12 lbs. It does a real good job, very precise and well-made. I'd like something bigger someday, but right now I'm in an apartment and my workbench is literally in a closet.

    Believe it or not, I usually use the mill right about where is sitting in the pic, on the kitchen counter. Easier to clean up the mess there.

    Parallax screwdriver for size comparison [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    - Rick
    MF70_1.jpg
    500 x 752 - 199K
  • PLJackPLJack Posts: 398
    edited 2006-02-04 15:44
    RDL2004 said...

    It's a Proxxon MF 70.
    - Rick

    That looks VERY handy. Great deal at around $300.

    Here is a CNC'ed version...
    www.timgoldstein.com/cnc/Proxxonconversion.asp

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    - - - PLJack - - -


    Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
    It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
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