yea, im sure its got a string of numbers to send to it and it breaks those down to the 2 bars, and the number display, also theres the 3 buttons that probobly do something that i wont be able to tell either, i traced the pins down a bit, there are only 8 out of 16 used, 2 are for power, 2 go to the jumpers (labeled 700-3kva), i am assuming this sets the processor math for a particular formula by adjusting the jumpers. 2 more go to the middle switch, so that leaves only 4 pins to deal with. if i can determine the serial pins i could just send it number sequences slowly and display the number sent on a standard lcd and maybe with lots of readings see how the numbers breakdown what sets control/display what.

Its a shame, its probobly easier for me to just learn how to work with graphic lcds and just make my own custom screen. I just really liked the look of this one powered up. its not pixelated like a glcd.

about the only other option would be to drive the display driver chip directy from a new processor, which like i said , easier to learn glcd's. thanks for looking though.