Post by thread:[EE] LCD/TFT recommendation

Hello, a friend of mine is looking for some graphical LCD or TFT for his medical device prototype (just 1 piece), but it seems that these displays are no longer for amateurs. The specifications are: resolution 320x240 or higher (up to 640x480), size 3,5' or higher, but the most important - some 'normal' connector available in amateur conditions (like 2,54mm on all 16x2 LCDs). Last but not least is the communication with it - it must have some built in controller and as little wires as possible (to be able to be driven by PIC18F4620) - is there some SPI or I2C interfaced display, or some with just 8 wires of data bus? One more thing: if there is not such a display on the market, because the demands are too strict, please help me to point me to the right direction. Thanks for any help, David

On Apr 14, 2009, at 11:43 PM, DVD wrote: > a friend of mine is looking for some graphical LCD or TFT for his > medical device prototype (just 1 piece), but it seems that these > displays are no longer for amateurs. This sounds like exactly the sort of app that the EarthLCD "EZLCD" modules are aimed at. http://store.earthlcd.com/ezLCD I haven't actually used one, but EarthLCD has been around for quite a while, recycling used LCDs and similar into usable units. They're suffering a bit from the price drop in NEW lcd displays. One of their ezlcd modules is likely to cost more than an OTS 19inch desktop computer LCD. But the interfaces sizes available are more varied... BillW

>> a friend of mine is looking for some graphical LCD or TFT for his >> medical device prototype (just 1 piece), but it seems that these >> displays are no longer for amateurs. For a one off, a notebook or netbook or palm top or ... may fill the bill, depending on budget. "With a little programming" interface can then be whatever suits For cheap and and not too too large an old Toshiba Libretto may suffice. 640 x 480 TFT VGA display. Windows 95 originally. P75. Probably avai;able for approximately $0. Same size as a VHS video cassette outer case. I've occasionally thought that one of these with WiFi and eg VNC to a displayless motherboard in a briefcase would give you an apparent netbook with all the power you wanted. Or you could just buy a Vaio 12" :-). Russell

Well, there's no such a problem to buy or reuse some notebook/PDA or simialar display, the problem is always the physical connector that is usually made of some flexible PCB and it's almost impossible to make the other part of it at home. Yes, it can be 'somehow' wired, but the device is planned to be portable, not just lying a table, so some mechanical shock would be disastrous in that case. The Earth LCDs look fine, it seems that they fulfill all the demands. They could be cheaper, but I guess this is the price of development of their controller. As I said SPI, I2C or anything that would PIC18F4620 handle is good. David

See http://www.crystalfontz.com. John On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 2:43 AM, DVD <spam_OUTmicrochipTakeThisOuTklikni.cz> wrote: {Quote hidden}> Hello, > > a friend of mine is looking for some graphical LCD or TFT for his > medical device prototype (just 1 piece), but it seems that these > displays are no longer for amateurs. The specifications are: resolution > 320x240 or higher (up to 640x480), size 3,5' or higher, but the most > important - some 'normal' connector available in amateur conditions > (like 2,54mm on all 16x2 LCDs). Last but not least is the communication > with it - it must have some built in controller and as little wires as > possible (to be able to be driven by PIC18F4620) - is there some SPI or > I2C interfaced display, or some with just 8 wires of data bus? > > One more thing: if there is not such a display on the market, because > the demands are too strict, please help me to point me to the right > direction. > > Thanks for any help, > David > > > -

>Well, there's no such a problem to buy or reuse some notebook/PDA >or simialar display, the problem is always the physical connector >that is usually made of some flexible PCB and it's almost impossible >to make the other part of it at home. Yes, it can be 'somehow' >wired, but the device is planned to be portable, not just lying a >table, so some mechanical shock would be disastrous in that case. Why are you attempting to make a connector? Being in Czechoslovakia you should have access to suppliers like Farnell, who sell suitable mating connectors for these flexible PCBs.