Would this display be suitable for connection to a MBHP Core module?
Alex
Yes, it’s Winstar brand, I own this exact model, works perfectly, you won’t be disappointed!
It does not use or need the backlight circuit on the Core module… the contrast pot is used to control brightness, so don’t stress if it’s all black when you turn it on first time, just turn the pot and the glorious green will appear.
The more common term is “PLED” by the way… “OLED” is more commonly used to describe the full colour displays.
OH MAN! I’ve got great hope to see some multi-colored variants of those! I had a nice long talk with a guy from crystalfontz and he said there isn’t a technical reason why they can’t be colored, it’s just a matter of development and demand.
OOOOOH blue would be sexy!
Hiya
Yes, it’s Winstar brand, I own this exact model, works perfectly, you won’t be disappointed!
It does not use or need the backlight circuit on the Core module… the contrast pot is used to control brightness, so don’t stress if it’s all black when you turn it on first time, just turn the pot and the glorious green will appear.
The more common term is “PLED” by the way… “OLED” is more commonly used to describe the full colour displays.
Cool. Might have to invest in one of those then.
I’ve just bought a really cheap EL-backlight display for testing. Having trashed 2 more expensive LCDs recently, I thought it might be an idea to get a really cheap, expendable one until I know everything is working OK. I know the backlight won’t work, but I should still be able to see well enough for testing. It was £4 from an eBay shop.
Cheers,
Alex
does the backlight not have an inverter built in? if not, you can get them.
Hiya Mr modnaR!
How’s it goin’?
does the backlight not have an inverter built in? if not, you can get them.
Err… it may have, actually. I’ve downloaded the datasheet from
http://www.datasheet.in/datasheet-html/L/M/0/LM032L_Renesas.pdf.html
and it it does appear to have terminals for the backlight on it. There’s mention of a ‘power-supply for EL’ on page 2 which seems to run off 5V. I can’t work out if it’s saying there’s one fitted already, or if you need an extra one. Whatd’ya think?
Alex
it quotes “The EL driver is: NEC’s NEL-D32-46”
try looking for that on the PCB, though it may have been ‘blobbed over’.
i think it’s there, and you just put 5VDC to the EL pins, but don’t quote me in a court of law. ;D
Mornin’!
it quotes “The EL driver is: NEC’s NEL-D32-46”
try looking for that on the PCB, though it may have been ‘blobbed over’.
i think it’s there, and you just put 5VDC to the EL pins, but don’t quote me in a court of law. ;D
I’m not sure. It’s not entirely clear in the docs, but looking at the board, there doesn’t seem to be anything obvious on the underside of the PCB between the backlight terminals and the EL sheet. There could be something on the top though, under the metal LCD housing. The only thing you can see on the bottom of the board are a few surface-mount bits connected to the data terminals at the other end, and the logic ICs.
Am I likely to damage it if I just try just connected the 5V from the Core to the EL terminals? If I blow the backlight it’s no great tragedy, as long as it doesn’t take out the LCD display itself…
Alex
OOOOOH blue would be sexy!
Blue gel film in front of it maybe? Worth a try. See if you can track down a lighting company and get them to send you a pack of coloured lighting gel samples then try different colours in front of the display.
Alex
I’m not sure. It’s not entirely clear in the docs, but looking at the board, there doesn’t seem to be anything obvious on the underside of the PCB between the backlight terminals and the EL sheet. There could be something on the top though, under the metal LCD housing. The only thing you can see on the bottom of the board are a few surface-mount bits connected to the data terminals at the other end, and the logic ICs.
Am I likely to damage it if I just try just connected the 5V from the Core to the EL terminals? If I blow the backlight it’s no great tragedy, as long as it doesn’t take out the LCD display itself…
Alex
well i wouldn’t like to say it’d be ok in case i’m wrong, but i’m pretty sure they wouldn’t make you get a separate inverter just to operate the backlight. you could try it at a lower voltage (say, 1.5V off an AA battery) and if it’s got an iverter, it should come on, albeit dimly. you may want to try it in a dark room.
well i wouldn’t like to say it’d be ok in case i’m wrong, but i’m pretty sure they wouldn’t make you get a separate inverter just to operate the backlight. you could try it at a lower voltage (say, 1.5V off an AA battery) and if it’s got an inverter, it should come on, albeit dimly. you may want to try it in a dark room.
Good plan Mr M!
Alex
Hiya,
looks like my cheap display doesn’t have a builtin inverter. I tried connecting a battery, then a 5V wallwart PSU and nothing happened. Then I Googled the name of the EL driver mentioned in the datasheet (NEC NEL-D32-46) and found a forum thread about the display. The consensus was that the NEC NEL-D32-46 is long extinct, but that I’d definitely need some sort of external inverter to generate 100V at 400Mz to kick the backlight into action.
Inverters seem to be about £20 new so unless I can scavenge one from somewhere I’ll live with the display being unilluminated for the moment, I think. Looks like they’re relatively large components too (basically a largish capacitor I think- like the ones used to kick-start fluorescent tubes + some kind of timer make the current alternate), so it should be easy to tell if an EL-lit LCD module has one builtin. Like PLED displays, the EL film also suffers from having a limited lifespan, apparently.
Alex
oh well, nevermind.
actually, i think i have the internals of an old inverter for a ccfl, i seem to recall measuring it at some point, and it put out 40V. i can’t recall the frequency. i think all inverters make the current alternate too, they switch the current on and off really fast.
oh well, nevermind.
actually, i think i have the internals of an old inverter for a ccfl, i seem to recall measuring it at some point, and it put out 40V. i can’t recall the frequency. i think all inverters make the current alternate too, they switch the current on and off really fast.
Hiya,
think it needs a bit more than 40V- says 100V in the datasheet for the display I have. I’ve just wired the data terminals up anyway, and it works fine. Perfectly readable without a backlight in ‘normal light’ conditions. Helped me work out that I did indeed trash one of my PICs, when I reversed the 14 and 5V to the Optimised PSU. It now just sits there and gets very hot. Fortunately, my other PIC is fine, so at least I have one working Core/SID combo.
This is getting expensive…
Alex
This is getting expensive…
lol, that phrase marks roughly the middle of the expense/time curve, which is exponential by the way! jus warnin ya. 
lol, that phrase marks roughly the middle of the expense/time curve, which is exponential by the way! jus warnin ya.
LMFAO
How come every second post you do makes me go “that’s hilarious. I’m putting that in my sig.”?!?
You should do comedy dude 
lol, that phrase marks roughly the middle of the expense/time curve, which is exponential by the way! jus warnin ya.
Oh, really? 
I was just thinking: I’ve been working on this project on-and-off for months now. I must be one of the least sucessful MBHP builders out there, in terms of time spent vs. results achieved. I mean, I’m so far managed to kill 1 Core board, 2 LCDs and a PIC, and still haven’t even made the ‘Step A’ interface or got my single SID synth in a box…
Alex
…but was it an adventure?! 
hey alex,
don’t get discouraged, I’ve had my fair share of problems to overcome, and now I’ve got my hands tied time-wise, very frustraighting…
look at it this way, you never really appreciate things when they come on a silver plate, but the things you struggled for and worked long and hard on you really do cherish…
good luck and keep at it mate