Help with Optrex graphic LCD w/ T6963C controller
Eric Saint
I would like to do is interface it with my PC via parallel or serial
port. I have seen various projects that use this setup with 2x40 or 4x40
chatacter displays that show MBM info such as temps CPU usage etc. this
is what I want to do with this display. After searching through the
archives i have found post regarding doing this all stand alone but none
to interface with a PC. Any help on wiring the cable to the display
and/or software for driving a graphic display from a Windows 2000 machine
would be greatly appreciated. I have found some info on doing this with
Linux but nothing on Win 2k. And only one post on the making of a
parallel cable to interface with a T6963C, but that was also intended to
be used with Linux so i wasnt sure if i could use the same pinouts.
Here is the links to the some of the things i have read thru.
Main page for the display:
http://www.optrex.com/ProductList.asp?PartNumber=DMF-50036ZNFU-FW
Complete manual for DMF 5000 series displays (175k):
http://www.optrex.com/pdfs/Dmf5000_full.pdf
LCD Module Specification:
http://www.optrex.com/SiteImages/PartList/SPEC/50036ase.pdf
The complete manual shows the pinouts of the diplay as one thing and the
Spec sheet shows another. This could be of course because the complete
manual covers a few different models of the display.
I have tried to do the same stuff with a few smaller character only LCD's
and got them to work. I have software like LCDdriver, LCDcenter, etc. but
all are for displays based on the HD44780 not the T6963C.
Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give.
ntlnewsbak
But if you want a built RS232 display that works and is cheap based on that
chip
EarthLCD.com sell that display plus a rs232 drive board based on pic 16F877
with switches and rtc di/o and breadboard area
for $99 called PICL they also publish circuit and you can download
software to drive the LCD.
"Eric Saint" <bit...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:3c96518b$0$1598$272e...@news.execpc.com...
Eric Saint
whole idea was to not spend too much $$$. Since I got this diplay free I
was just trying to make it work for me. I have some type of serial
controller board but it's propritary(sp). I took this display out of a
machine I do service work on. The customer just wanted a standard 2 line
40 Character display so Ihad this one extra. Problem is my company I
service for doesnt seem to know anything about the controller or have
schematics for it. When I hook it up to the serial port and use one of
the programs for dumping info to a HD44780. I get some information to
display but the rest is just bogus characters. I have found some software
that is supposed to run this chip from windows but it's all in German so
I cant figure any of the settings out :-(
I can take pics of the controller if that would help any...doubt it cuz i
think the controller was made specifically for this machine...BUT i get
it to diplay some stuff from the PC just not very well. I could also take
pics of what is showing on the display when i send info to it.
TIA for any help.
In article <qDYl8.8555$WP.18...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com>,
david.h...@ntlworld.com says...
Michael F. Coyle
Hi Eric.
I have some experience with the Optrex LCDs so I might be able to help here.
First, the DMF-5000 Series Manual does *not* cover your display. The
DMF-5001 et al are smaller graphic LCDs with a built-in controller (T6963).
The 50036 is a larger display with no controller (just row and column
drivers). Stick to the 50036 spec sheet.
It's not really feasible to connect a controllerless LCD directly to a PC.
You have to keep all the display bits in a buffer in the PC (easy) and spit
them all out again 70 times a second (hard). This works out to 1.12
megabytes per second for a 640x200 display. This is why you really need a
controller -- you just send it the bits once and it keeps refreshing the
display.
It seems to me that you have three choices:
1) Buy a controller.
2) Build your own controller.
3) Find out how your existing controller works and use it. Try to find out
what controller chip it uses: look for the big chips (lots of leads) and see
if the part number includes any of these:
MSM6255/V6366/HD64646/SED1330/SED1351. (My Optrex catalog lists these chips
as suitable controllers for this display. The T6963 *will not* work -- it
can handle only up to 128-line displays and yours is a 200.) Having the
part number you can get the data sheet from the manufacturer. You would
still have to figure out how the computer interface end works. (If it's
serial, maybe RS-232? But you have to know more than that.) Your best bet
would be to find a German-speaking engineer and bribe him/her to translate
the manual. Dinner and/or drinks work well :)
I know you were looking for some easy cheap way to get this display running
but I'm afraid it's going to cost you something, either money for a new
controller or effort to reverse-engineer the one you've got. Sorry.
Let me know what you end up doing -- I'd like to know. Good Luck!
- Michael
P.S. I don't speak German either.
--
Remove "No Spam Please" from return address.
Eric Saint
>
> Hi Eric.
>
> I have some experience with the Optrex LCDs so I might be able to help here.
>
> First, the DMF-5000 Series Manual does *not* cover your display. The
> DMF-5001 et al are smaller graphic LCDs with a built-in controller (T6963).
> The 50036 is a larger display with no controller (just row and column
> drivers). Stick to the 50036 spec sheet.
>
> It's not really feasible to connect a controllerless LCD directly to a PC.
> You have to keep all the display bits in a buffer in the PC (easy) and spit
> them all out again 70 times a second (hard). This works out to 1.12
> megabytes per second for a 640x200 display. This is why you really need a
> controller -- you just send it the bits once and it keeps refreshing the
Thanks for the info. Your right I was hoping for an easy fix but that
wouldn't be any fun now would it? The controller I have is indeed serial,
I know this because all the machines I service run on a serial
connection, actually the way the controller board is connected to the
machine is to the serial port on the logic board of out machine.
Basically we have 4 serial ports on the back of our machine for either
input or output. When this display is used it is connected directly to
the connector that would go to port 4. So the information sent by the
machine to port 4 is serial data. I think it is a 10 pin connector on the
controller. The controller has an OKI chip on it that may be the
controller chip. I dont have the number right now, the board is at
home...I'm at work, but when I did a search for that chip number at the
OKI site it came up with no matches. I was looking right at the chip so I
know it exists. I will post the number when i get home tonight.
I thought it was strange that the manual keeps talking about having an
onboard controller but I saw no chips with this marking on it.
But to the other side of the project where could I get a controller for
this display? Maker and model number would be great. Maybe a site. I know
EarthLCD has some stuff but not really sure what works with this display.
Eric Saint
says...
run the display with an OKI M6355 but in my searches I haven't found much
information on this chip. Any pointers to a data sheet? I have seen some
mention of a 6255. What are the differences in these chips?
BobGardner
>I would like to do is interface it with my PC via parallel or serial
>port.
Hantronix has an app not on how to hook up a parallel port to an lcd