need help installing vfd display

[gablekevin]

i just purchased a new vfd display off a site alltronics.com for 15.00 bucks awesome deal because its 2 x 20 characters but the characters are not as wide as normal vfd's so it could fit in a 5.25" drive bay but anyways i need to know the pin out for hooking it up serially the model number is CU20025SCPB-T20A its made by ISE electronics or noritake something like that

please help me and thanks for your time

[Frakk]

you dont have to open a thread two times. and i have no idea whats the pin out for it, maybe a manual or a specifications sheet would help you out. or you can experiment with it too.

[gablekevin]

sorry i just thought because i misspelled the title people wouldnt want to look at the thread but yeah the site offers a spec sheet but i dont know what to make of it thats why i need help

[Frakk]

do you intend to write a program to control it? because if you dont, you dont need the pin outs, just find a program compatible with it.
http://www.alltronics.com/download/25l001.pdf
what i get out of this is:
-you have to power it with a 3pin power connector
-all the characters and commands have their values you have to output to the port

in other words, if you dont understand what those things mean, dont even bother programming it because you wont be able to.

[gablekevin]

what i need to know is how i hook up the vfd display to interface with my computer using the serial port i need to know where the wires go. I've seen wiring diagrams for other vfd's(bgmicro) but i cant find a diagram for this one. Im pretty sure i can just use LCDC to control the text displayed on the vfd.

[Frakk]

with some logic you should figure out how to wire it up from other diagrams too.
heres a full tutorial, it explains everything in detail.
http://www.codeproject.com/csharp/cspplcds.asp

[Guttenaffe]

If your writing your own program you can use a S2P converter, umm I frogot the chip numbers but there are some good Sin Pout bit shifting registers out there. Some of them can run quicker than a normal RS232 serial port. The one I'm thinking of was 3V to 8V CMOS logic, so you would need a RS232 converter chip also.

http://www.alltronics.com/download/25l001.pdf has all the info you need
It tells you what input give what character/desgin. The rest is mostly on the software end. Minor hardware if you want to fool with it.

[gablekevin]

im hoping i can use a mainstream type program for displaying things like temps and stuff like that LCDC is one of the main ones ive heard of but the main problem no one seems to be understanding is i dont know how to hook it up i know how it needs to be hooked up i just dont know how to go about it doing it.

[Guttenaffe]

I don't understand what else you want? All the pin-out's and everything is on that data sheet.

[gablekevin]

but which one is to hook it up to the serial port it doesnt say anywhere on the spec sheet which pin on the vfd display goes to what pin on the serial port it doesnt say anywhere and if it does i wouldnt know. People have to realize im not an expert on this stuff this is the first time ive done anything like this you cant assume i know what everything means i try my best to research what i can so i dont have to ask a question about everything and for the most part people in these forums have taught me alot about case modding and such all im asking for is a simple how to for hooking this display up serially which i know is much easier than parallel so can someone please help me

thanks and sorry for the length

[Frakk]

if this is the first time ure dealing with electronics and interfacing with parallel/serial ports you shouldnt have started with an lcd imo. lot of new modders do the same mistake by jumping right into the complicated stuff and get overwhelmed in the beginning. i think the tutorial that i gave u explains it very clearly and i know i could do it.

There are some basics you have to know. the lcd needs to be powered and there are pins for its essential setup (main power and ground, backlight, contrast etc..) then you have the data pins that tell the lcd what to display. everything is listed in the specsheet, each pin function and even the characters and commands for programming. i havent done anything like this in life and i cannot tell you anything for certain.

i dont think you can hook it up to the serial port since it has 9 pins and the lcd has 16 plus power, but after all, you only need 8 data pins i believe.

[gablekevin]

well thank you for your time anyways but i still am not sure what to do if you can find someone that could help i could provide pictures and be more thorough on what i want to do and what needs to be done

[Guttenaffe]

If you ever looked at that spec sheet there are two places for Serial In...

Also you will have to set the baud rate to a normal serial port speed, I'm not going to say more. It's easy to tell you this stuff and you do it but then you have no idea what you did if you struggle and fool with it for quite a bit and then you figure it out you will then learn from the experience. Sorry but it's tuff love for a reason.

[gablekevin]

thank you for the help i happened to have found a guide for my exact vfd display using parallel though so now i think i'll get it thanks though

[spaceduel]

Here's how to connect it with only 3 wires (don't bother with the parallel port, it's just too much work!)

You feed it 5v through pins 1 and 3 of the 3-pin connector. The middle pin is the serial input BUT WAIT: DON'T HOOK IT UP JUST YET OR YOU WILL FRY IT. You will need to assemble or buy an RS-232 to TTL converter which basically brings the PC port's 12volt serial signal down to 5v. You typically use a MAX232 IC chip to do this. So you connect the output of your PC serial port to the *RS232* input of the Max232 chip and the *TTL output* of the MAX232 chip to the middle pin of the 3-pin connector.

LCD smartie will drive it directly, just set your baud rate at 19,200 and that's it. Mail me if you have any Q's. Better yet, I have a spare Serial-TTL convertor that I can exchange for one of your VFD's (mine is a 4x20, so I need one like yours), plus support to get yours going.

LMK

-=: Space Duel :=-

[Guttenaffe]

I'd say a MC1489 would work as well, it should be cheeper too I think...