T6963 / RA6963 LCD controller with PBP

[J. Mark Wolf]

Hi everyone,
A couple of weeks ago I got myself a SmartGLCD from MikroE. It's a PIC18F8722 and a 240X128 GLCD with touchscreen and RGB backlight, microSD card holder and FTDI USB UART - all for $99. I couldn't resist....

/Henrik.

Hi Henrik

I am considering the purchase of this same LCD and am wondering how "you two" are getting along. It seems like quite a bargain.

I have a lot of T6963 controller experience, and want to upgrade my application from a 160x128 to something with more resolution. The Smart GLCD doesn't have much more res than I already have but I'm not finding an easy upgrade path to 320x240 panels, and I already have a lot of PB (actually Protob) code for the T6963.

My application requires very good daylight visibility. Can you advise if the daylight visibility is good on this display? I don't think the fancy backlighting will help in this regard.

Is it also possible to communicate with this LCD via the SCI (TTL asynch serial) port on the long pin header across the top. My application utilizes a remote controller with a PIC and SCI port (no easy access to USB for comm).

[HenrikOlsson]

Hi,
We're getting along OK, haven't played in a couple of weeks though. Sometimes the bootloader (the one it comes preloaded with) acts up and disconnect in the middle of program download only to work just fine the next time - I have no idea if that's the board, the bootloader firmware, software or my PC's fault.

Not sure what you mean with SCI...?
The board features a PIC18F8722 which has two EUSARTS. One of them is hardwired to FT232RL but the other one is available on the header (PortG.1 and PortG.2). There are also two MSSP modules, one is used for the onbard microSD card interface but both are available on the header though. All in all you have 38 I/O's available for external circuitry and communications, the rest of the 18F8722's I/O's are consumed by the LCD controller interface, the backlight drivers, touchscreen interface and USB UART.

You can download the schematic from mikroE's website. Unfortunately it's not complete when it comes to the RA6963 and the LCD-panel but the "PIC-side" of it is.

Can't say how it performs in daylight, only played with on the bench which is OK with backlight on.

/Henrik.

[retepsnikrep]

How much RAM and FLASH is left for the user on the smartglcd with all that hardware on board?

[HenrikOlsson]

Not sure I understand...?
The board comes preloaded with a bootloader, I don't know how much RAM and FLASH it uses but it can't be much compared to what's available. Except for that the microcontroller is blank and it's up to you to use and implement (or not) the integrated hardware as you see fit. The hardware doesn't "occupy" any RAM or FLASH by sitting on the PCB.

Does that make sense or did I misunderstand the question?

/Henrik.

[retepsnikrep]

No that makes sense, we just use our own code to drive the sd card / usb / lcd /touch screen etc etc

I'm interested but hope some of the very experienced members will share a few secrets about the hardware and how to get pbp to talk with it before I invest in one.

Peter

[J. Mark Wolf]

Hi,
Not sure what you mean with SCI...?

/Henrik.

Hi Henrik

Thanks for the info.

SCI = TTL level RS232, or asynchronous serial right out of a uart. Can't remember what the acronym stands for, maybe Serial Control Interface???