OBERHEIM SYNTH

Hi, Bob,

thanks for your effort, here is my answer.

On 19 Mar, 2014, at 10:04 AM, Bob Grieb wrote:

>
>
> Hi Dave and anyone else who has an interest in this,
>
>     I am willing to design a little interface from the Matrix  
> display signals to some other type of display but I want to make  
> sure it's what people want.   First, let me say that I measured the  
> space from the front of the display/switch pcb to the inside of the  
> front panel on my M6R and it was pretty small.  0.56" IIRC.  That is  
> not enough height for
> a simple, inexpensive backlit 16x1 LCD module.   (A non-backlit one  
> would fit, but
> probably it's not what people want).   I am looking into some other  
> technologies that are thinner, at somewhat higher cost, like OLED.

No problem. And yes, non backlit or EL backlit display shouldn't be  
used...

>
>      The least expensive displays are so-called "character"  
> displays, with a fixed Font of characters they can display.   The  
> M6R VFD uses a scheme called "British Flag"
> that has 14 segments and can show any number or upper case letter.    
> But the characters have a very distinctive look to them, rather  
> different from a typical LCD display, which
> uses an array of 5x7 dots to make each character.  So if I use a  
> "character" display, the letters may look better than the original,  
> but they won't look the same.  Is that important?

Not at all.

> Is it only function we are going for, or is it important that it  
> look the same?

For me only function is important.

>   Is the color important?   I have found white on blue background,  
> but so far not blue on white.

If it's well readable and with enough contrast then there's no problem  
with any color scheme to me.

>   Another approach would be to use a so-called "graphic" display,  
> which is just an array of dots, maybe 128x32 or something.   This  
> would allow forming characters that look more like the M6 display.    
> But the display will be more expensive.  Maybe $35-40 instead of  
> $20.   Is that important?  What is a good target price for a  
> replacement display?  (A simple backlit LCD 16x1 could be maybe  
> $10-15 if I can find one that will fit in there.

Such small difference in price is not important if it's not 200 USD...
>
>    I am sure that not everyone will agree on the answers, but I  
> would like to get some feedback anyway.   I am still in an  
> information-gathering phase on this project, as I am busy with some  
> other things currently.
>
>      Happy keyboarding,
>
>           Bob

Would you later consider to make such modification for other  
instruments? I have Roland MKS70 and VP70 voice processor with similar  
display, Korg DL8000R.....

Have a nice day.

Daniel Forro