Noritake Display Help

[penelopepug]

Hi! I just purchased a used Noritake mobile data display that I want to experiment with. It is a 2 X 40 VFD. I beleive the VFD is a CU40026SCPB-T24A. I'm looking for the opcodes or any code examples. This is somewhat new to me and I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[BobK]

Hi Penelopepug,

The Noritake VFD displays work just like any LCD display. Search this forums posts for any programs using LCD's and there you go. I am using Noritake 4x20 displays following the PBP manual for 4 bit setup and also for 8 bit setup. There is a jumper option on the display to setup for 4 bit operation. You can get a manual on your display by going to Noritake's website and searching for the model number. It was real easy. Keep in mind that these VFD displays draw some awesome power compared to a regular LCD. Mine is pulling about 250ma and they do get warm!

Hope this helps you!

BobK

[Charles Linquis]

Also note that the Noritake displays (at least the one I have) has a BRIGHTNESS byte located at 0x020. For full bright, write a "0", for dim write a "3". (Ex: LCDOUT $FE,$20,3 puts it in dim mode )

I keep a run-time clock going and increase the brightness of the display (starting at "2") by one count every 25,000 hours. That helps counteract the normal dimming of the display with age.

[penelopepug]

Thanks for the help. I forgot to mention that this unit is encased and is serial controlled. It only requires 5Volts, Ground and a serial feed. I guess I can assume it uses the opcodes as per the Noritake data sheet and that there would not be anything else on the front end that would require different commands. However, I read that it uses an Epson chipset and not Hitachi. I'll have to compare the commands and see if there are differences. I like the idea about auto incrementating the display intensity however I never really thought that they fade over time. I hope I have not bought a worn out display. I have not received it yet. Oh well, it was fairly cheap. Any further advice around asynchronous serial control would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jmgelba]

From what I can gather from the Noritake website, your module is both parallel and serial capable. Register and download the datasheet and take a look at the jumper settings. Should be Hitachi compatable even though it uses an Epson chip set.
I too am using a 4x20 Noritake. Thing works just like any LCD display.

[Charles Linquis]

The Noritake datasheets usually have graph of brightness vs. time. You'll see that they get dimmer, but it takes a long time.

[Dave]

penelopepug, James and Charles are right. If you look at the data sheets for just about any of the Noritake displays they have a test connector on board and can operate on a serial basis as well as parallel. There are solder jumper settings to set the default baudrate and such. I have used the 2x40, 4x20, with the LCDOUT commands and the 128x64 graphical displays for the past 1 1/2 years with no problems. I prefer the parallel interface for the speed but if you can't afford the I/O pins in your design the serial approch works just fine.

Dave Purola,
N8NTA

[jmgelba]

OFF TOPIC Dave, care to be a GOD amongst men and share some of that graphics display code?? /OFF TOPIC

[penelopepug]

Thanks guys. I have downloaded some spec sheets and now I just have to receive the display and start playing with it. This is going to be (hopefully) the beginning of a good experience learning much more about displays. I have been building this high performance arcade helicopter machine for the past few years and am now at the point where I need to build a number of displays. I'm good with hardware but weak on the software side. I need to build display panels (meaning panels with multiple displays) for score, time, level, rating, fuel remaining, ammunition, engine RPMs, lift, chopper integrity, etc.. I know I could use an OSD module and there is one for a VGA monitor or panel available. However I want this to be arcade like with perhaps a combination of display types including Alphanumeric and Numeric LEDs and VFDs. This will surely take me some time to get right. If anyone is interested, I have a website dedicated to the project at http://www.johnnyastro.com/ArcadeChopper/index.htm