[sdiy] Cheapo LCD display

Scott Gravenhorst music.maker at gte.net
Fri Sep 25 23:17:30 CEST 2009


Eric Brombaugh <ebrombaugh1 at cox.net> wrote:
>A few months back I came across a website that described reverse 
>engineering an inexpensive surplus graphic LCD display. I designed my 
>own board for it incorporating an inexpensive Microchip dsPIC processor 
>and I've been testing it out for the last few weeks. More details here:
>
>http://members.cox.net/ebrombaugh1/synth/dsPIC_lcd/index.html
>
>Probably the most interesting applications running on it now are simple 
>proof-of-concept real-time Oscilloscope and Spectrum analyzer functions. 
>They're crude but functional and pictures plus source code are available 
>at the site above. Could be prettied up and extended (or even combined 
>into a multi-mode device) and might make an interesting DIY feature for 
>a modular synth.
>
>Comments / questions invited.
>
>Eric

Nice work, Eric.  I like Earl - what/where is he from?

I need to get to work on an LCD project of my own, I bought a graphics LCD 128x256 at
All Electronics for a few bucks -$12?, I have all of the docs and they look like they
match the unit.  Wiring it will be a little weird, I need to just dive in and do it. 
I think I saw a 640x480 unit for less than $20 in the All Electronics catalog last
week.  Dunno if it's color, my unit is not.  

My strange way of doing this will be to get it working using an FPGA directly
interfacing with the LCD.  I can use PicoBlaze as a microcontroller.  Once I get it
working there, I should be able to fairly easily port it to the PIC board I bought for
it.  (I have fewer problems troubleshooting a Verilog design than I do a PIC design)...

-- ScottG
________________________________________________________________________
-- Scott Gravenhorst
-- FPGA MIDI Synthesizer Information: home1.gte.net/res0658s/FPGA_synth/
-- FatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/fatman/
-- NonFatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/electronics/
-- When the going gets tough, the tough use the command line.




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