Message
Re: [emulatorII-list] Re: Crystal Fontz LCD in EII
2010-11-18 by James Ulibarri
In order to run the 84x44 CrystalFontz LCD, one has to remove the 74HTC04 chip,
and replace it with the 74LS04 to eliminate the gibberish. Also, the backlight inverter should be moved.
The CrystalFontz 84x44 LCD has the PCB real-estate to fit the EII's display, BUT the holes do not line up. So my tech had to drill new holes in the new LCD's PCB. So this might be a little more work than we thought it would be. Not exactly plug and play, but it works. I guess it depends what a person feels comfortable doing or having done.
Now knowing this... At this point I would say there is nothing terribly special about the Crystal Fontz LCD. I mean you still have to do some minor tweaks for this mod. I did A/B the stock LCD, the Crystal 84x44, and another Ebay blue LCD, and they're all kinda different as in size.
So what I am gonna have him do now in my EII+ is just use a 80x36 white on blue LCD that he has a quantity of and just mount the two top holes, and have the bottom portion siliconed in. He uses a special silicone for PCB's. I'll drop it off next weekend and let you guys know. There is nothing really new to discover at this point. It will work.
So at this point. I would say someone else should take over the group buy if you still want them. There is no point I feel to go after an 84x44 that doesn't even line up without drilling new holes. It's not really worth getting them made and waiting two months. Any 80x36 will work off Ebay if you remove the inverter and replace those chips. Now the vintage purists will probably just want to get a new old stock EII display. But that's not important to me. I want something that that I can see. Plus having an original display with things coming down the pike such as the HxCs doesn't make much sense to me. If a person gets that mod it won't really be "original" anymore will it? I'll sleep like a baby with a little bit of silicone to mount the 80x36. This is what Forat does and it's OK with me too.
I'll post pics in a couple weeks when it gets done.
James