My serial LCD for displaying directions

[maraxle]

Hi all.  My cabinet is nearing completion, and I just wanted to share with you something a little different that I did on my cabinet.  Basically, I have a little serial port controlled text-mode LCD screen that's mounted just below the monitor.  The bezel will be designed with the artwork set up so that I can just cut out around the LCD and have it look like part of the bezel.  

I made a bunch of little text files, one for each game on the system, that have the directions for each specific game.  Then, when my menu launches MAME, it actually launches a batch file that copies the appropriate text file to the serial port, then launches the game.  The text files are tiny, so it adds only a few milliseconds to the start up time.  When you exit the game, it puts back up the directions for the menu screen.

To simplify creating the text files, I wrote a cheesy little program that looks through the controls.dat file, and the listinfo.xml file, and generates a file that way.  I still have to manually name the buttons on games that aren't in controls.dat, but it's better than nothing.

Anyway, check out the picture below.  Sorry it's a crappy pic, but it's kind of hard taking a picture of an LCD like that, especially since I still have the protective film over it.  For more info, check out my project page.  If you have any specific questions, reply to this thread.

[rampy]

Good job man... pretty cool implementation.

rampy

[mp2526]

Good Job.  I have been contimplating something similar for my Nintendo Vs. cocktail cabinet.  I had planned on using a backlit LCD like these

http://www.seetron.com/slcds.htm

Or maybe a vacuum fluorescent.

[crashwg]

For those who might want to follow in your footsteps, it would be realy nice of you to have the text files available somewhere.

I for one would consider adding an lcd to the cab I plan on building if that seemingly time consuming step were taken out of the process...

[maraxle]

For those who might want to follow in your footsteps, it would be realy nice of you to have the text files available somewhere.

The only catch is that the text files contain commands that are specific to the chip on the LCD that I'm using.  It has a string of characters that tell it to clear the screen, change to a specific font, scroll, or whatever.  I can make the program I wrote to generate the files available, and make it so that you can change those specific commands to suit your particular LCD.

[Stormy151]

Wow.  That is really cool!

Have you thought about maybe doing a tutorial, or offering them for sale?  

[cdbrown]

I have this type of LCD screen and would love to include it in the cab.  Could you provide a sample of the text files and your cheesy program?

Oh - and instead of adding the controls that aren't in controls.dat, how about adding them to the project for all to enjoy  

Cheers
-cdbrown

[Negativecreep0]

How do you guys program those things? can you do it using C++/C? or do you need assembly knowledge? I would love to try a project like this for my Mp3 jukebox im building

[isugoat]

How do you guys program those things? can you do it using C++/C? or do you need assembly knowledge? I would love to try a project like this for my Mp3 jukebox im building

hardforum has a pretty good collection of LCD info:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=0e8136550f65f960647acbf1e56fc132&threadid=248302

[SirPoonga]

Cool project.  Could this be easily done with a parallel lcd too?  I have a 20x2 lcd I'd like to do something with.  THough the biggest one possible would be best for this.

Your project page doesn't come up for me.

I still have to manually name the buttons on games that aren't in controls.dat, but it's better than nothing.

BTW, you do grab the parents control info from controls.dat for a clone, right?  Also if you want to help complete controls.dat you are welcome to add to it

[maraxle]

I'll try to answer a bunch of the questions in this one post:

Have you thought about maybe doing a tutorial, or offering them for sale?  

I'll probably put together a tutorial if I can find the time.  My project page has a lot of the steps on there, and includes links to the exact LCD I bought, the batch file for kicking off the text output, etc.

I have this type of LCD screen and would love to include it in the cab.  Could you provide a sample of the text files and your cheesy program?

Well, how about this?  Here's a link to the cheesy program *REMOVED* (I'm NOT providing tech support on this thing).  It will give you more sample text files than you can shake a stick at.  Beware, though.  It's an ALPHA release, meaning that I have done very little testing on it, so chances are good that it will crash, screw up, etc.  Download at your own risk. It should work on Windows 95 through XP.  1.4 mb download because it was whipped up in VB, so has VB runtime files included.

That said, there's 4 inputs on the screen that you'll have to fill out -
Listinfo XML file - specify the path to your list file generated with the MAME -listxml commandline flag
Controls.dat XML file - specify the path to your controls.dat XML file
Rom folder - specify where you keep your roms
Output folder - the tricky one.  specify an already created, empty folder where you want to put hundreds or thousands of little .lcd text files.

Then click Generate Files, go make yourself some coffee, and in a few minutes you'll have as many .lcd files as you have roms.

How do you guys program those things? can you do it using C++/C? or do you need assembly knowledge? I would love to try a project like this for my Mp3 jukebox im building

If I understand your question correctly, the LCD is programmed by the text files that are sent to the serial port.  See, the LCD that I'm using has a little controller board on it that contains logic for accepting commands.  I just make text files that have those commands mixed in with the text.  No knowledge of programming necessary whatsoever.

Could this be easily done with a parallel lcd too?  I have a 20x2 lcd I'd like to do something with.

I don't see why not.  I think you would just change the line in the batch file that says "com1" to "lpt1".  If that didn't work, I would also try changing the "copy" command to a "print" command.

Your project page doesn't come up for me.

Check it now.  Knowing my hosting provider, it probably had a temporary outage.

BTW, you do grab the parents control info from controls.dat for a clone, right?

I probably should, but as I don't have any clones on my system, I didn't think about that.  Maybe version 0.2 alpha will add that.

Oh - and instead of adding the controls that aren't in controls.dat, how about adding them to the project for all to enjoy

Also if you want to help complete controls.dat you are welcome to add to it

My understanding of the controls.dat project is that they're looking for the official button labels, as printed on the original control panel overlays.  Mine definitely aren't official.  I just go through, hit each button a couple of times and try to figure out what they do.  Then I make up a label that matches what I think it's doing, and is 24 characters or less (the width of my lcd screen).

[Aceldamor]

Very cool....

One question though...I am probably going to get flamed for asking, but the link to the actual LCD dosen't say anything about a serial cable, do you have to make one yourself or am I just retarded and don't see it.

[cdbrown]

Which link are you referring to?  Most LCD's will actually come with a serial cable, some have parrallel cable instead, but they will be specific for that type of LCD.  Mine is a flat serial cable which I don't think would work with other serial devices.

[maraxle]

One question though...I am probably going to get flamed for asking, but the link to the actual LCD dosen't say anything about a serial cable, do you have to make one yourself or am I just retarded and don't see it.

I had to make my own cable for my particular LCD.  If I were using Windows XP, I could have used a standard straight-through serial cable, but since I'm using DOS, I had to make my own...

[bioart]

Oh that is so cool.

I think I found my next project...  I'm thinking of getting a 4x40 display and use 2 lines for buttons (up to 6), 1 for control type and 1 for text from controls.dat.  Anyone that uses the 7th button on my cp would be shown next to the control type line.

The title would probably be shown in one of those lines too... I would really preffer a bigger LCD, but can't find one yet (any ideas?)  I'd like a 5x40 or 6x40 if possible...

[Aceldamor]

One question though...I am probably going to get flamed for asking, but the link to the actual LCD dosen't say anything about a serial cable, do you have to make one yourself or am I just retarded and don't see it.

I had to make my own cable for my particular LCD.  If I were using Windows XP, I could have used a standard straight-through serial cable, but since I'm using DOS, I had to make my own...

Can you post some pics of the interface between your pc and the LCD screen? That seems to be a pretty cool LCD screen for the money..

[Howard_Casto]

Very cool.... you are our first third-party developer.

If you wish feel free to mention your project on fe.donkeyfly.com and we'll sticky it.  

[maraxle]

Can you post some pics of the interface between your pc and the LCD screen? That seems to be a pretty cool LCD screen for the money..

Unfortunately, I already enclosed it in a housing, but the cable is a 9 pin serial cable that allows pins 2, 3, and 5 to go straight through, connects pins 1, 4, and 6 together on the PC end, and connects 7 and 8 together on the PC end.  Pin 9 is unused.  The reason for connecting the pins together on the PC end is to ensure that it always has a DSR/DTR signal and a CTS/RTS signal.  This is not necessary on XP, however, as it appears to be more forgiving of the serial communications standards than DOS and Win98 are...

Here's a link to an auction for the exact LCD and controller chip that I bought.  Actually, this is the same guy I bought mine from too.  Excellent price at only $19.99 plus shipping...

[Tiger-Heli]

My understanding of the controls.dat project is that they're looking for the official button labels, as printed on the original control panel overlays.  Mine definitely aren't official.  I just go through, hit each button a couple of times and try to figure out what they do.  Then I make up a label that matches what I think it's doing, and is 24 characters or less (the width of my lcd screen).

Neat project.  Not to be a pain, but is there any chance you could post the text files for the games that were NOT in controls.dat.  The people building the controls.dat file might be able to tell what the actual labels said and this would save repeating your steps of playing the game and guessing what the button does . . .

[maraxle]

Neat project.  Not to be a pain, but is there any chance you could post the text files for the games that were NOT in controls.dat.  The people building the controls.dat file might be able to tell what the actual labels said and this would save repeating your steps of playing the game and guessing what the button does . . .

Unfortunately, in a bunch of games I am remapping the buttons so they "feel" better on my particular control panel.  That would make my text files pretty much useless to anyone else.  The LCD file generator program uses controls.dat as a resource, but isn't much help in adding to the project, at least in its current state.

[Tiger-Heli]

Neat project.  Not to be a pain, but is there any chance you could post the text files for the games that were NOT in controls.dat.  The people building the controls.dat file might be able to tell what the actual labels said and this would save repeating your steps of playing the game and guessing what the button does . . .

Unfortunately, in a bunch of games I am remapping the buttons so they "feel" better on my particular control panel.  That would make my text files pretty much useless to anyone else.  The LCD file generator program uses controls.dat as a resource, but isn't much help in adding to the project, at least in its current state.

Ok then, thanks for sharing the project with us.  It looks pretty cool.

[Edgedamage]

Very cool project. Also someone could make a little circuit board that lights up the buttons that each different game uses. But still very cool project keeps you from hearing "Ugh how's this game work?"

[Tiger-Heli]

Very cool project. Also someone could make a little circuit board that lights up the buttons that each different game uses. But still very cool project keeps you from hearing "Ugh how's this game work?"

DinoRoger was working on the circuit board idea.

[SirPoonga]

Neat project.  Not to be a pain, but is there any chance you could post the text files for the games that were NOT in controls.dat.  The people building the controls.dat file might be able to tell what the actual labels said and this would save repeating your steps of playing the game and guessing what the button does . . .

Unfortunately, in a bunch of games I am remapping the buttons so they "feel" better on my particular control panel.  That would make my text files pretty much useless to anyone else.  The LCD file generator program uses controls.dat as a resource, but isn't much help in adding to the project, at least in its current state.

What he said.  Controls.dat, like mame, is about accuracy.  Accurately displaying the labels used on the arcade cabinet and what controls the game used.

[JoeB]

I wanted to do something similar to.. so congrats!

Couple of questions:

- How does the screen look like when the light is just coming from the arcade monitor? Have you considered getting the LCD backlit ?  What would such an LCD run?

- The install process should be the most difficult thing to do.  Most people have 3/4" MDF as their control pannel + something on top of that.  How would you integrate it to the point where it doesn't look wierd?  Any ideas from anyone?

Maybe since the CP from the top, put the LCD in, and make a nicer cover for it?  What about the inivisble look? That should be even more difficult to do.

Hmmm.. install in ontop with the marquee?

[maraxle]

- How does the screen look like when the light is just coming from the arcade monitor? Have you considered getting the LCD backlit ?  What would such an LCD run?

A backlight would definitely help.  I've seen a kit out there for adding a backlight to this particular LCD.  It's $38, if I remember correctly.  The LCD itself cost me $20.  If they made a red backlight, I'd get one in a second, but so far they only have blue.

- The install process should be the most difficult thing to do.  Most people have 3/4" MDF as their control pannel + something on top of that.  How would you integrate it to the point where it doesn't look wierd?  Any ideas from anyone?

I'm actually mounting mine behind the bezel.  I will leave a cutout in the artwork for the screen.  When I was going to mount the LCD in the control panel, I was thinking of cutting a hole the size of the screen, and routing out around the hole underneath.  The other alternative would have been making/buying a metal mounting plate, similar to the ones commonly used for trackballs.

[screaming]

When I was going to mount the LCD in the control panel, I was thinking of cutting a hole the size of the screen, and routing out around the hole underneath.

  That's exactly what I was going to do, but my LCD screen ended up being too big. If I could get a cheap color screen, I think it would be an awesome addition to an all-purpose cab.

/Steve

[micro571]

That's a great implimentation of the screen in the cab.

Just a word to anyone interested in obtaining one.

There are 2 main types.  The serial (mostly Matrix Orbital) and the parallel port types based on the HD44780 controller chip.

A couple years ago I bought a 4x20 screen, and wired it up to the parallel port.  A little DIY project is the cheapest way to go.  The best source of these LCD screens on the net is http://www.eio.com/lcdprodt.htm - where you can get em starting at $6.00 .

My screen is now in a project box and I use a program called LCD Smartie to control it.  You can see my screen at www.jbprojects.net/projects/lcd .

It's a great project to do.  Not too expensive and can be a great additional to a mame cab.

[chrisindfw]

What about the idea of getting small one line LCD's and place them each under a button and changing them instead of one big screen?

I would try that but not sure how to control all of them at once.

[maraxle]

What about the idea of getting small one line LCD's and place them each under a button and changing them instead of one big screen?

I would try that but not sure how to control all of them at once.

I considered that, but got such a good deal on this LCD that I passed on it.  Basically, you'd just need as many COM ports as you have buttons.  I can't remember if it's possible to go over 4 COM ports or not, but you could at least do a 4 button setup.  Your batch file would have 4 lines in it instead of 1, and you would have 4 separate text files.

[SirPoonga]

However, you could put a larger LCD for player 1 and player 2.  Have the lcd show button labels for that player's buttons.

[chrisindfw]

I tried and download that application however when I run it, I cant get it to create any files. I have all the vb runtime files.

Any ideas?

ALso, I understand the batch file when running a game, How do you get it to return when a game has ended?

[Aceldamor]

I actually have another question...

would it be possible to format the screen so that it shows the contol relevant to the position of the button?

for example the LCD Screen would show for my panel using Mortal Kombat:

Mortal Kombat

                    Not Used
High Punch                    High Kick
                      Block
Low Punch                    Low Kick

8 Way Joystick

However, you could put a larger LCD for player 1 and player 2.  Have the lcd show button labels for that player's buttons.

I actually considered doing what Poonga suggested, it would be a diffinative option if the LCD's could be programmed to do what I asked above

[crashwg]

I have absolutly no knowledge of lcds and how they work, which will soon be evident with the following question...

What are the chances of rippin' the lcd out of an old gameboy and hooking that up to a computer in some way that might be useful?

I may be wrong on this, but LCDs need some kind of processor, right?  I'd imagine that this would be the biggest step in the whole process but doable I would suppose.  There are programable chips out there that would be capable of this aren't there?

Eh, I don't know.  Just thought I'd throw out my crazy idea in the hopes that maybe someone with more electrical/software skills would maybe persue this asinine thought that poped into my head...  

[maraxle]

I tried and download that application however when I run it, I cant get it to create any files. I have all the vb runtime files.

Any ideas?

ALso, I understand the batch file when running a game, How do you get it to return when a game has ended?

Are your ROMs in ZIP files?  Did you verify that your xmlinfo file has stuff in it?  If so, it should work.

As for the batch file, it does its job with the LCD, and then runs MAME.  It automatically returns to the menu just like MAME does.

[maraxle]

I actually have another question...

would it be possible to format the screen so that it shows the contol relevant to the position of the button?

for example the LCD Screen would show for my panel using Mortal Kombat:

Mortal Kombat

                    Not Used
High Punch                    High Kick
                      Block
Low Punch                    Low Kick

8 Way Joystick

My LCD could definitely do that.  I suppose it depends on the controller chip on the LCD.  I know it works on mine because I have tried indenting things.

[maraxle]

I have absolutly no knowledge of lcds and how they work, which will soon be evident with the following question...

What are the chances of rippin' the lcd out of an old gameboy and hooking that up to a computer in some way that might be useful?

I may be wrong on this, but LCDs need some kind of processor, right?  I'd imagine that this would be the biggest step in the whole process but doable I would suppose.  There are programable chips out there that would be capable of this aren't there?

Eh, I don't know.  Just thought I'd throw out my crazy idea in the hopes that maybe someone with more electrical/software skills would maybe persue this asinine thought that poped into my head...  

If you have assembly programming skills, specs on the screen, and a way to make a custom chip (EEPROM programmer?), you could do it.  Otherwise, I would just pick up a prefabricated one.

[eli curtz]

What are the chances of rippin' the lcd out of an old gameboy and hooking that up to a computer in some way that might be useful?

I may be wrong on this, but LCDs need some kind of processor, right?  I'd imagine that this would be the biggest step in the whole process but doable I would suppose.  There are programable chips out there that would be capable of this aren't there?

The lcds these guys are using have a built in chip to decode serial data, so you don't need to program the chip for them, just send it formatted data.

There is a huge GBA hobbyist programming scene (see http://www.gbadev.org for example) and that is what I would use for this. More expensive, but you get color and backlighting, and there are a number of USB cables you can buy or build for hooking it up.

[crashwg]

There is a huge GBA hobbyist programming scene (see http://www.gbadev.org

I've posted on the site you suggested and I'll keep anyone updated if they would like to be.  I for one am very hopeful now that I've seen some of the things that have been done by these GBA hobbyists.  Also, the price of gba, even sp, isn't much more than some of the larger lcds available, so it seems like if this is plausable it will also be something worth persuing.

If someone acctually does this, before I do of course, make sure you give me credit...  

[Aceldamor]

I actually have another question...

would it be possible to format the screen so that it shows the contol relevant to the position of the button?

for example the LCD Screen would show for my panel using Mortal Kombat:

Mortal Kombat

                    Not Used
High Punch                    High Kick
                      Block
Low Punch                    Low Kick

8 Way Joystick

My LCD could definitely do that.  I suppose it depends on the controller chip on the LCD.  I know it works on mine because I have tried indenting things.

Well, I'm buying 2 of the same ones you have...so mabye we can colaborate on getting that to work...though I really don't have any programming skills.

[zzsprade]

I actually have another question...

would it be possible to format the screen so that it shows the contol relevant to the position of the button?

for example the LCD Screen would show for my panel using Mortal Kombat:

Mortal Kombat

                    Not Used
High Punch                    High Kick
                      Block
Low Punch                    Low Kick

8 Way Joystick

However, you could put a larger LCD for player 1 and player 2.  Have the lcd show button labels for that player's buttons.

I actually considered doing what Poonga suggested, it would be a diffinative option if the LCD's could be programmed to do what I asked above

Aceldamor,

Mate you are certainly on to something there. It is a little scary reading this thred as everything that I have thought of whilst reading it was brought up just further down. Would certainly be VERY interested in getting this to work... maybe even a little extension of Dino Rogers Project???

-Alex

[maraxle]

Well, I'm buying 2 of the same ones you have...so mabye we can colaborate on getting that to work...though I really don't have any programming skills.

No programming skills are required.  All you're doing is copying a text file to a serial port.  "copy yourtext.txt com1"  Simply put spaces in your text file to make it look the way you want it to, and you're good to go.

[crashwg]

If anyone is interested in using a gba as a display for your pc it seems as though it will be posible.

See here:http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?p=19002#19002

[GadgetGeek]

Might be able to do something similar with an old palm pilot using the hot-sync cradle as well.  Time to go into thinking mode....

[Aceldamor]

If anyone is interested in using a gba as a display for your pc it seems as though it will be posible.

See here:http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?p=19002#19002

Dosen't look like it's going to be easy to do, or free for that matter..

maraxle:  you said it's easy to do via indents and spacing, but I actually have another question. On your LCD your buttons read  "Button 1: XXX" (where X is what button does) I'm trying to eliminate the "button 1" and just have it read what the function is...(i.e. High Punch) would you have to modify much to have it do that?

[CitznFish]

welp, I just won an auction for the same item. Call me a copy-catter, or whatever, but this idea is too good to skip.

Now if i could just get along and build a cab.

[Aceldamor]

welp, I just won an auction for the same item. Call me a copy-catter, or whatever, but this idea is too good to skip.

Now if i could just get along and build a cab.

Yeah...thanks for sniping me out of mine....that was awsome.

[maraxle]

maraxle:  you said it's easy to do via indents and spacing, but I actually have another question. On your LCD your buttons read  "Button 1: XXX" (where X is what button does) I'm trying to eliminate the "button 1" and just have it read what the function is...(i.e. High Punch) would you have to modify much to have it do that?

I'm not sure I understand the question.  You can pass whatever text you want to the LCD without any modification.  You just setup your text files to look the way you want.  If you're asking whether my little text file generator would need modification to do that, then the answer is yes.  Everything in it is currently hardcoded, as it was just meant for my personal use.  I'll make a more customizable version of the program soon so you can do whatever you like.

[Aceldamor]

Sweet....

I'm going to go (hopefully) pick up 2 panels from the guy with the auction, I e-mailed him and he's got a couple of extras that he'll sell me and I can just go pick them up since he lives here in Phoenix.

[vpiccoli]

maraxle,

The LCD is a great idea.  So great that I picked up a couple of those LCD screens off ebay.

Any chance you would be willing to post (or send me) your VB code?  I might like to alter the VB code to format the LCD screen a little differently.

I understand if you don't want to.

Thanks

[maraxle]

I've had a couple of requests for the code, but it's not something I'd like to give out.  It is very sloppy as it was written in about 10 minutes, and rather embarrassing...  

Anyway, what the VB code is doing is a simple exercise in file I/O, so it shouldn't be too tough to duplicate (and improve) without the source.  It just gathers file names from a directory, compares them to the XML file to find the section in the file that corresponds to that rom, and prints it out to another file (with LCD control codes added) - nothing magical about it.  Copy the control codes from one of the text files generated by the example program and you're good to go.

[bioart]

That's too bad that you dont want to give the code  I was hoping to build on it and make it work with my stuff (giving it back to the community afterwards, of course )

Anyways,  The link to the executable does not work, I'd love to at least be able to run that to figure out the format for the text files...

Thanks!

Art

[Rawker]

i just wanted to bump this thread and say thanks to maraxle for the inspiration, like everyone else i'm planning on adding a lcd screen to my cab now.

[Aceldamor]

 I'll make a more customizable version of the program soon so you can do whatever you like.

Marlaxle...just curious to know if you were still planning on doing this?

I'm picking up my Screens on Wed. and if not i'll have to see if I can do it myself or recruit some resourses I have..

[maraxle]

 I'll make a more customizable version of the program soon so you can do whatever you like.

Marlaxle...just curious to know if you were still planning on doing this?

I'm picking up my Screens on Wed. and if not i'll have to see if I can do it myself or recruit some resourses I have..

Well, since I said I would do it, I just put a more flexible version out there at the same URL.  Basically there's little text fields where you can change the header, what it says when it's a trackball game, and what it says when the button label can't be found in controls.dat.  There's a checkbox that lets you choose whether or not to have it scroll long titles automatically.  Finally, there's some radio buttons that let you choose from some different button label styles (Button 1-6:, Button A-F:, 1-6:, A-F:, or no label).  

Unfortunately, it's still got the bugs from the original version (only labels 6 buttons, if you try to exit before it's done it crashes, if you don't fill in all the inputs it doesn't work and doesn't tell you why, etc).  As I'm kind of taking a break from programming right now (it's not fun to me anymore - this program was only written out of necessity), I'm not planning any further updates at this time.

[Rawker]

thanks Marlaxle i'm sure alot of people appreciate you taking the time even though they don't say they do, i'm sure you'll update it again later  

[chrisindfw]

I got my panel off of ebay. Looks good. Quick questions..

1) All I need to connect it is a 9 pin serial cable? Is power supplied through that?

2) I tried using the software to create the lcd files but it is not working. I created both the xml files. I click generate and it pauses for 2 seconds and then returns. Nothing happens.

Any ideas?

[maraxle]

I got my panel off of ebay. Looks good. Quick questions..

1) All I need to connect it is a 9 pin serial cable? Is power supplied through that?

You need a straight through 9 pin serial cable if you're using XP for communications.  You need to connect a 5v power source per the instructions the seller (if it's the same guy I got mine from) will email to you.  It's hooked to the left side of the 4-pin-header that's on the right hand side of the unit.

2) I tried using the software to create the lcd files but it is not working. I created both the xml files. I click generate and it pauses for 2 seconds and then returns. Nothing happens.

Are you putting in the correct rom directory?  Also, did you check your output directory to see if there's files there?  Finally, are your roms in zip files?  It doesn't work with unzipped roms.

[chrisindfw]

If you can, shoot me an email please. There were no instructions given.

Also, I had some files that were not zip files in my roms directory, I removed them and tried again and still nothing. I checked all the folders and nothing. I am sure I have all the VB runtime objects as I do nothing but VB programming at work.

[maraxle]

If you can, shoot me an email please. There were no instructions given.

You'll have to get the instructions from the guy you bought it from.  I didn't keep a copy of the email once I got it hooked up.

Also, I had some files that were not zip files in my roms directory, I removed them and tried again and still nothing. I checked all the folders and nothing. I am sure I have all the VB runtime objects as I do nothing but VB programming at work.

Is the output directory you specified writeable, and already existing?  Or maybe the version of MAME you're using makes different xmlinfo files than the one I used (AdvanceMAME).  

Other than that, I don't know what to tell you.  It's an alpha build, untested, etc.  It was only meant for my system, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was incompatible with someone else's machine.

[chrisindfw]

Thanks! That could be. I made my xml with my mame version.

I emailed the sender on the instructions.

[chrisindfw]

I am still waiting to hear back from the person who I got it from on how to power it.

Does anyone who purchased one of these know how I can get power to this? If I had a camera id take pictures of the power connector. Its a 4 pin, 2 on top 2 on bottom.

[maraxle]

It's the two pins on the left side of the four pin header.  If you look at the board, you should be able to see the label that shows which one is ground and which one is power.

[Aceldamor]

holding the screen face up and horizontal, the two pins on the left of the daughter board (where the db9 connector is) are the 5 volt lines. Top being current bottom being ground.

If you hold the LDC Vertical with the contrast lever up they would be the two bottom pins, right side being ground, left side being current.

[chrisindfw]

Thanks everyone for the help. I am still new to all of this and you guys make it easy.

Is there a connector that I can get that easily attaches to one of the leads on the computer? I thought I have seen them here before.

Additionally, is there a way to draw 5 volts from the IPAC? I am just trying to mount this on the control panel without having to run 15 different wires to the cabinet.

Thanks again

[maraxle]

Is there a connector that I can get that easily attaches to one of the leads on the computer? I thought I have seen them here before.

I used 2 of the holes on a 3-pin fan lead, and it worked pretty well.

[chrisindfw]

Thanks...

What about a battery? Could I use that. I was told it takes 5-9 volts. hmmm

[maraxle]

What about a battery? Could I use that. I was told it takes 5-9 volts. hmmm

Sure, if you don't mind replacing a battery once a day...

[JoeB]

maraxle:

you got any updated pictures of how it looks like installed in your CP?

[maraxle]

you got any updated pictures of how it looks like installed in your CP?

Actually, I will be doing the cut-out this weekend, so I should have some pics next week.  

[bioart]

Hey Maraxle

Thanks for updating the program.  I generated the files and I would preffer to change the format and layout of the buttons, but it's a great start.  I'm going to try and use my limited VB skills to write something from scratch to generate the files in the format I'm looking for.

I'm considering generating them on the fly (just before launching mame)... I'll see how that works

Thanks again for the idea, this is great!

Art

[Aceldamor]

Hey Bio...what about getting permission from Marlaxle (since his agreement says not to modify his code) and modding his program.

I'm tempted to start looking at all the web tutorials for C+ and VB and start toying with all that stuff so I could actually contribute to this place...

BTW...ANYBODY ELSE INTERESTED IN THE SAME LCD SCREEN THAT MARLAXLE, BIO, AND MYSLEF HAVE..PM ME. THE GUY WHO MAKES THEM AND SELLS THEM ON EBAY LIVES ABOUT 4 MILES FROM ME AND ASKED ME IF THERE WERE ANY OTHER PARTIES INTERESTED.  I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE QUANTITIES WOULD BE, BUT HE WOULD SELL THEM FOR 20 BUCKS A SHOT.

[chrisindfw]

I wrote a quick VB program that creates the files for me. I tried the one earlier but I think his version of the XML files were different than mine.

It worked pretty good. I just need to plug everything in and test.

Also, regarding the power.... Looking at my IPAC, there are the 10 pins that are used for the LED harness. There are two pins on there that are for +5 and Ground... I will try to plug that into the LCD panel to get the power rather than having to run a wire from the pc.

If you see that guy, tell him I did not get any documentation with my screen I got from him. Other than that. Great!

[Aceldamor]

If you see that guy, tell him I did not get any documentation with my screen I got from him. Other than that. Great!

Chris...I can forward you the e-mail I got with instructions, pinouts and links for c+ code..You'll have to wait until I get home though...

BTW....cool to hear something on the prospect of another means to use theese LCD screens, Marlaxle's App is great, but since he isn't going to update, another "hand in the pot" is pretty cool! You'll have to post some screenies of the app/lcd in action when you get it working

[wj2k3]

Aceldamor:  I would take a couple.  

[chrisindfw]

It works pretty good right now but its not customizable. Its all hard coded.. I will see what I can do and get some pics.

If you see that guy, tell him I did not get any documentation with my screen I got from him. Other than that. Great!

Chris...I can forward you the e-mail I got with instructions, pinouts and links for c+ code..You'll have to wait until I get home though...

BTW....cool to hear something on the prospect of another means to use theese LCD screens, Marlaxle's App is great, but since he isn't going to update, another "hand in the pot" is pretty cool! You'll have to post some screenies of the app/lcd in action when you get it working

[Aceldamor]

It works pretty good right now but its not customizable. Its all hard coded.. I will see what I can do and get some pics.

Cool....IM me your e-mail addy if it isn't in your profile and i'll send you the instructions.

I'll take a couple

I'll talk to him this weekend and have him whip up 2 of them..IM me your info so I know where to have them shipped.

[chrisindfw]

Well, I got my LCD Panel from E-Bay. It works great. I was wondering about the power supply as I am first building a stand alone control panel before I do my cabinet and didnt want to run an extra wire from the pc to the box. Behold the power of the IPAC! I took two of the pins from the LED connectors on the IPAC and used the +5 and GND from that to power the LCD panel!

IT CAME TO LIFE! MUHAHAHAHAHA! (evil laugh)

I wrote a quick program to create lcd files based on the controls.dat file. It worked great. I sent the file to the LCD and BAM! It appeared!

Now the task of mounting it on my panel. I am debating the option of cutting a rectangle in my plexi for it or to just put the plexi over it. I have to try both.

Now the next part is to make a front end that will display the list of games that are not in the controls.dat file, allow you to play the game, then create the lcd file based on the button labels you choose.

That is dependent on how much work I have to do for my actual job! hehe

I want to thank everyone for putting up with my stupid questions. I will post pics shortly.

[Aceldamor]

Are you going to put out your little app that spits out those files?

[chrisindfw]

Yes.

I wish I could get mame to run in a smaller window that way you can run the game, get the inputs and create a new lcd file all at once.

I am still learning the powers of mame and the misc utilities.

Are you going to put out your little app that spits out those files?

[Aceldamor]

Sweetness, thanks for working on something like this for the benefit of all of us......the more options we have out there the better. I know Bioart is working on something also.


Edit *  BTW...did you get my e-mail with the LCD info?

[TheGatesofBill]

I PMed you, Aceldamor, about the screens and got no response. And the seller said he would sell me one, than stopped answering my e-mails.

[Aceldamor]

Got your PM....sent him an e-mail...waiting to see how many he's got together..I'll PM you with quantities  

[BobBorakovitz]

just wanted to say, i bought one too, i have it here now, and i'm going to start to hook it up in the morning.  My cabinet will be done within a week or two tops, and i just had to have this.  I hope we can all help each other here, i'm kind of shooting in the dark, here.

good luck to you all!

Bob Borakovitz

[BobBorakovitz]

ok, i got power to it, i tried to use the fan power, but after testing, i found that it only produced around 4VDC, so i used the extra floppy power wire, the red produced 5VDC and the Blacks are GND, don't use yellow, it has 12VDC i used an spdif cable from a local computer store for 2.98 and used 1 staple from a staple gun, cut the staple into 3 pieces,  jammed the 2 short pieces into the spdif cable then connected the spdif cable to the floppy cable, and it powered up!  I got every "text box" to light up in black. I also bought a serial extension cable (straight through) 10ft for 8.98, but am having problems getting it to connect so far.  I'm using Windows 2000, I'm not sure if that's the problem or not, I may have to hack the cable like Maraxle.  If anyone has any useful info, it'd be appreciated, I hope the info I provided will be of some use to someone.  
 
thanx in advance

BobBorakovitz

[maraxle]

Make sure to set your com port settings to 19200,N,8,1.  Also, turn down the contrast to about halfway, or you won't be able to see the letters.

[froggerman]

Try using Hyperterminal to send a test to the panel. Hyperteminal is under Start-->Accessories-->Communications. Make sure your use the settings that Maraxle posted. I found that once Hyperterminal opened the Com port everything worked fine. I haven't had time to why the port didn't open when I just tried copying the file to the com port.

[BobBorakovitz]

Thanx for the reply, Maraxle, I just double checked my com port settings, they're right.  I turned the contrast everywhere, but it doesn't display anything but the letter blocks.    I'll figure it out, I'm sure, but I just don't know enough about serial ports or com ports.

here's my test.bat:
"copy test.lcd com1 > lcd.tmp"

and here's my test.lcd:
"PLEASE WORK!!!!!!"

Maybe the test.lcd format is wrong?  I was under the impression that it was just a text file renamed to .lcd

Very fun project, though, and a nice deviation from working on the cab for a bit.    

[JoyMonkey]

here's my test.bat:
"copy test.lcd com1 > lcd.tmp"
and here's my test.lcd:
"PLEASE WORK!!!!!!"
Maybe the test.lcd format is wrong?  I was under the impression that it was just a text file renamed to .lcd

I haven't received my LCD unit yet (I'm also joining in this LCD buying madness), but I have played around with Maraxle's program for generating text files from listinfo and controls.dat. Here's a sample of what one of the text files contains:
\@ 0\C!1942

\C#Button A: Fire
\C#Button B: Loop
Perhaps you need to add \C# to the beginning of each line of text.

[BobBorakovitz]

thanx for the replies!

froggerman:
I just tried hyperterminal, it says connected, but i can't do anything else.  I used the recommended settings.  How would i try to send it a test through hyperterminal?  I tried send text and it didn't work...

Joymonkey:
Thanx for the sample text!
I also tried to put "\C#" in front of the line and it did nothing.
I'm wondering what the \@ 0\C!1942 is for...  I'm guessing 0\ is bold...

Maraxle:  the link to your program doesn't seem to work, could you check that for me when you have a chance?  it'd save me a little time.
thanx...

[maraxle]

\@ 0 clears the screen
\C! is bold
\C# is regular text

Neither is required to output to the LCD.  It's only for formating purposes.

If you're getting the blocks/boxes on the screen no matter what contrast level you're using then something is wrong.  Make sure you're not supplying too much voltage or have the ground and power reversed.

Also, try taking out the "> lcd.tmp" so that you can see what your error messages are.

Froggerman - If it seems like you need to run Hyperterminal to get the com port open, try using the mode command instead.  I just have my machine run a mode command on startup.  Drop to a command line and type:

mode com1: baud=19200 parity=n data=8 stop=1

[BobBorakovitz]

no, the boxes go away, when i turn the contrast down halfway, i checked the voltage and I'm getting exactly 5VDC, I think it's a problem with my computer though.  Thanx for the explination on the formatting.
Is there a forum or something that you know of that has some good info on this?  thank you again.

When i try running it in the command prompt it says handle invalid.

My new test.bat:
copy test.lcd com1
My new test.lcd:
\C 0\C!HERE YOU GO - A SAMPLE!!
\C#Button 1: Fire
\C#Button 2: Loop

[froggerman]

mode com1: baud=19200 parity=n data=8 stop=1

Thanks for the tip! I knew that there was a 'correct' way to open the com port but I could not remember it for the life of me.

[BobBorakovitz]

ok, a couple of quick questions, if you turn the contrast level all the way up, you see the black boxes, too?  I just want to make sure that i didn't do anything wrong, i'm going to go try it on another computer in a couple of hours, i hope it works, i've been messing with this screen all day long...  oh, well...

thanx for the help

[froggerman]

I tested the Mode command in a little batch file and it works great - first time every time. Thanks again.

[maraxle]

if you turn the contrast level all the way up, you see the black boxes, too?

Yes.  I leave mine at about 50-60% to the right, and it shows up fine without any boxes.  Anything above that and I start seeing the outlines.  At 100% they are solid.

[BobBorakovitz]

ok, i just wanted to say that i got it working the other night, it was a problem with the serial or com ports on this computer.  I changed computers, and it worked beautifully.

thanx for all the help, and how're those programs coming along, everyone?

[Industen]

I'm going to change the font and using the second image format because it just looks better. I'll post more pics later.

All that's left is mounting and a ton of re-editing MAME pictures. Nice idea whoever suggested it  

[Minwah]

I'm going to change the font and using the second image format because it just looks better. I'll post more pics later.

All that's left is mounting and a ton of re-editing MAME pictures. Nice idea whoever suggested it  

That's pretty damn cool  How d'ya do it?

[Industen]

The image is 240 X 160 and contains 256 color. It takes a while to create one but you get the hang of it after time. You can also create a slideshow of pictures if you wanted. You could have the game screen then delay to a control screen. The sky is the limit.

1. You edit a MAME picture then add your button assignments.

2. Create a GBA ROM of the picture

3. Connect your GBA to your computer

4. Link that ROM picture to the MAME ROM you are launching with a little programming.

Then viola you now have a simple way to use an $80 GBA SP. Looks much better in person. Probably going to put it between my speakers...maybe when the panel ends and the monitor begins.

[maraxle]

That's pretty cool.  You could also use that for another thought I had, which is mounting a graphical LCD in the marquee area to display the marquee of the game you're currently playing.

[GadgetGeek]

The image is 240 X 160 and contains 256 color. It takes a while to create one but you get the hang of it after time. You can also create a slideshow of pictures if you wanted. You could have the game screen then delay to a control screen. The sky is the limit.

1. You edit a MAME picture then add your button assignments.

2. Create a GBA ROM of the picture

3. Connect your GBA to your computer

4. Link that ROM picture to the MAME ROM you are launching with a little programming.

Then viola you now have a simple way to use an $80 GBA SP. Looks much better in person. Probably going to put it between my speakers...maybe when the panel ends and the monitor begins.

You going to do a nice write-up on how you linked it to the computer and what not?  Time to start checking the pawn shops for a cheap GBA.

[holycow]

ok, i just found this thread and it looks like there are no more lcds on ebay.  any idea where i can get a good backlit one that's ready to go?

also, i'm very new to all this.  is there anywhere i can go that gives better step-by-step instructions?

[Industen]

Well I've been messing around some more with the layout. Seems that I'm taking a liking to #3 now. Although the screen image is stretched there really is no way around this. The GBA has a poor text display unless it passes a certain size. I did create a animation that displays the screen for 5 seconds then the controls for 20 but it's hard to post the outcome. Of course you could just use the text to fill the complete screen without an image.







Here's the animation

[Matt, GoC]

Awesome awesome awesome!

Check my post here: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=18850

I wanna take this a step further, heh heh.

Awesome Awesome!


One more: Awesome!

[Generic Eric]

I have a similar idea, inspired by the Neo Geo marquee as seen in this project.  orntar's project is screaming for the 7 to 10 inch LCD fitted into the Marquee.  That is what I would like to build...one of these days.

[Aceldamor]

Very cool on the Advance LCD....you'll have to write up a little tutorial on that..might upgrade  

[chrisindfw]

Well...
I got the LCD to work great! Had to modify some of the lcd files... I am working on a little program to help you program them.

Now the ---smurfy--- part. I drilled the hole for it on my control panel and took the db9 connector off to see if I can extend it to make some room and ...

ZAP... The damn thing dont work now.

back to ebay I go to buy another...

[Aceldamor]

bummer about your screen  ....but cool about the program.   did you have to hard solder the db9? Are you going to write a little tutorial on how you did this?

I've got to see how this whole shabang works before I replace my LCD screen plans..

I've got the old version of an Advance that is screaming to be used again....

[chrisindfw]

Well... It turns out I didnt fry it after all... I took the second board off and when I put it back on it didnt make a good connection. Basically all I did was to bend the pins a little to complete the connection and then screwed the second board back on.

I was going to take it off and find a way to extend it so it would fit on my panel. Basically I just cut a hole for the screen and made a cutout for my serial cable.

Now all I have to do is to mount it.

Pictures will be coming soon.

bummer about your screen  ....but cool about the program.   did you have to hard solder the db9? Are you going to write a little tutorial on how you did this?

I've got to see how this whole shabang works before I replace my LCD screen plans..

I've got the old version of an Advance that is screaming to be used again....

[Industen]

Well, I decided to turn the GBA on it's side so I can retain a screenshot of it's aspect ratio. Thought just came to me and you get even more text space. I put the LCD center on the monitor bezel. Take a look. Yeah I know I have a pic of MS4 on the GBA and MS3 is in the background. I fixed that   I'll get around to the webpage on how to do it shortly.









6 Buttons are easily read on the GBA. I'm also getting better at taking the pictures  

[bioart]

The GBA looks great.  I haven't time to work on mine yet because of some home remodeling and the fact that I'm waiting for my new laptop, but I'll get to it soon

Art

[JoyMonkey]

I bought one of the LCD displays from the seller on eBay a couple of weeks ago (April 22nd) but I haven't heard anything from him yet and he's not responding to emails.

How quickly did everyone else get theirs?

[Santoro]

I got mine in about a week and a half.

[mp2526]

I bought one of the LCD displays from the seller on eBay a couple of weeks ago (April 22nd) but I haven't heard anything from him yet and he's not responding to emails.

How quickly did everyone else get theirs?

I got mine within a week

[JackTucky]

I bought one of the LCD displays from the seller on eBay a couple of weeks ago (April 22nd) but I haven't heard anything from him yet and he's not responding to emails.
How quickly did everyone else get theirs?

JoyMonkey:

I had won an auction, but never heard from him.  I finally remembered and emailed him.  I sent payment, but it never shipped.  

When I asked later if it shipped, it took a day to check, and he said it would ship Wednesday.

So, long story, I don't have mine yet.  I won auction on April 17th.  

Art

[maraxle]

Mine took about a week and a half if I remember correctly.

[Aceldamor]

*BUMP*

Just curious on progress of Advance tutorial

[Rawker]

i'm having trouble getting power to my lcd, i have the ipac4 and i'm wondering if anyone knows if and how i can get +5 volts from it?

[maraxle]

i'm having trouble getting power to my lcd, i have the ipac4 and i'm wondering if anyone knows if and how i can get +5 volts from it?

Does the LCD work with power coming straight from the motherboard?  I know nothing about ipacs, so I can't help you there.

[Rawker]

maybe i should try that, the manual says the usb has a 5v and a gnd so i'll try hooking it up to that

edit: got it working, now to figure out how to send files to it

edit #2: i'm having trouble sending files to it, i tried everything in the thread and i can't seem to get anything to display on the screen. I know the screen works because i can adjust the screen's contrast level or brightness or whatever it is. anyways if anyone has the time to help me out my icq is 118287640 as i can't seem to figure out what the problem is.

i tried the stuff BobBorakovitz posted
configured the ports like maraxle said

i tried both of my comps and no luck and the only thing i can think of is that it's my cable which is http://www.radioshack.ca/estore/Product.aspx?language=en-CA&product=2600117&category=Parallel+%26+Serial&catalog=RadioShack

[Rawker]

btw i get this error when trying copy test.txt com1 in >run>cmd> "The handle is invalid. 0 file(s) copied."

bump do you think i have to do this?

"but the cable is a 9 pin serial cable that allows pins 2, 3, and 5 to go straight through, connects pins 1, 4, and 6 together on the PC end, and connects 7 and 8 together on the PC end.  Pin 9 is unused.  The reason for connecting the pins together on the PC end is to ensure that it always has a DSR/DTR signal and a CTS/RTS signal.  This is not necessary on XP, however, as it appears to be more forgiving of the serial communications standards than DOS and Win98 are..."

[maraxle]

What OS are you using?  If it's not XP (or maybe 2000, haven't tested), you need the custom cable.

Also, run a "mode" command before you try copying the file for the first time.  I think that's mentioned somewhere else in this thread too.

[Rawker]

i'm running windows xp
i tried the "mode" command and here's what i got:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\default>mode

Status for device LPT1:
-----------------------
    Printer output is not being rerouted.


Status for device COM1:
-----------------------
    Baud:            19200
    Parity:          None
    Data Bits:       8
    Stop Bits:       1
    Timeout:         ON
    XON/XOFF:        OFF
    CTS handshaking: ON
    DSR handshaking: OFF
    DSR sensitivity: OFF
    DTR circuit:     ON
    RTS circuit:     HANDSHAKE


Status for device COM2:
-----------------------
    Baud:            1200
    Parity:          None
    Data Bits:       7
    Stop Bits:       1
    Timeout:         OFF
    XON/XOFF:        OFF
    CTS handshaking: OFF
    DSR handshaking: OFF
    DSR sensitivity: OFF
    DTR circuit:     ON
    RTS circuit:     ON


Status for device CON:
----------------------
    Lines:          300
    Columns:        80
    Keyboard rate:  31
    Keyboard delay: 1
    Code page:      437


C:\Documents and Settings\default>copy desktop\test.txt com1
The handle is invalid.
        0 file(s) copied.

C:\Documents and Settings\default>

[maraxle]

Hmmm...  My com1 looks like this:

Status for device COM1:
-----------------------
    Baud:            19200
    Parity:          None
    Data Bits:       8
    Stop Bits:       1
    Timeout:         OFF
    XON/XOFF:        OFF
    CTS handshaking: OFF
    DSR handshaking: OFF
    DSR sensitivity: OFF
    DTR circuit:     ON
    RTS circuit:     ON

If you can make yours look like that using some of the mode command line switches, you should have no problem.  If you type "mode /?" it'll give you a list of the available switches to try.  It'll end up looking something like this (all on one line):

mode com1: baud=19200 parity=n data=8 stop=1  dtr=on rts=on octs=off odsr=off

[Rawker]

sweet i got it working now maraxle thanks alot, although my parity kept changing to 7 whenever i changed the rts circuit but whatever it WORKS!!! this is so effin sweet i can't tell you how much i appreciate all your work and help maraxle thanks again.

[REBIRTH]

This whole thing is awesome!  Seemed like a pipe dream a year ago when I built my machine.  The guys that are doing this - how bright are the displays?  They don't seem to be backlit, so can you see them well in normal room light or do you plan on placing a little LED light near it to light it up?

[TheGatesofBill]

I'm planning on adding several LEDs to light it. An unlight LCD is very hard to read in less than optimal light.

[maraxle]

This whole thing is awesome!  Seemed like a pipe dream a year ago when I built my machine.  The guys that are doing this - how bright are the displays?  They don't seem to be backlit, so can you see them well in normal room light or do you plan on placing a little LED light near it to light it up?

Admittedly, it is a little dim.  I found a backlight kit for this particular LCD, but it doesn't match the color scheme of my cabinet, so I don't want it.  It's kind of a bluish white color, which doesn't go all that well with my black and red cabinet.  If they come out with a red backlight kit, I'm all over it.

[mp2526]

Admittedly, it is a little dim.  I found a backlight kit for this particular LCD, but it doesn't match the color scheme of my cabinet, so I don't want it.  It's kind of a bluish white color, which doesn't go all that well with my black and red cabinet.  If they come out with a red backlight kit, I'm all over it.

I think I've seen the back light you are referring to, however I don't think the guy makes em any more as I haven't gotten any responses from his online store.  Maybe if enough of us want some he will produce another run.

http://www.techknowman.com/Kits/Kits.htm

[TheGatesofBill]

You could buy EL sheets other places.

I just got my screen, and I can't get it working. I'm sure its something stupid though.

[Aceldamor]

Glad to know you got your screen....was worried that I hadn't heard anything from either of you on if it was sent/received.  

[TheGatesofBill]

Well, I had it sent to my mom's house, and I just now got a chance to pick it up. Any ideas what stupid thing I'm doing?

[Aceldamor]

Well....I take it you've done everything on the board so far?

[TheGatesofBill]

D'oh! You need to build a power cable, don't you. I don't think I saw how anywhere though.

[bioart]

I took a USB cable and identified the +5 and ground (red and black on mine,  but used a voltmeter anyways).  I spliced that cable into a dvd digital out cable that fits perfectly into the power header on the lcd.  Now the LCD usb powered

I emailed the guy selling the backlight many times, but have never gotten a response... what else do I need if I buy the EL sheet?

I started working on my app to drive it, and it may become a full featured FE... we'll see

[TheGatesofBill]

You'd need an EL sheet, and EL inverter, and a pair of scissors.

[mp2526]

Ah, cool, I didn't look close enough to realize that was all it would take.  Thanks for the tip.

[Aceldamor]

D'oh! You need to build a power cable, don't you. I don't think I saw how anywhere though.

Yeah, check this post:

holding the screen face up and horizontal, the two pins on the left of the daughter board (where the db9 connector is) are the 5 volt lines. Top being current bottom being ground.

If you hold the LCD Vertical with the contrast lever up they would be the two bottom pins, right side being ground, left side being current.

You can use a small 2 pin molex connector to wire it up.  Your best bet is to use an IPAQ (though I don't know how) or to wire it directly to one of the device power leads from the pc (5 volt & ground)

[opcode]

BTW, the techknowman site you were referring to earlier (http://www.techknowman.com/Kits/Kits.htm) took my order for a backlight so he must still be around, I got an email from him today and paypalled the total cost ($42 for the kit w/ usps shipping).  So he definintely is around, although it looks like he is almost out of kits (said 5 left when I ordered).  Just thought I would mention this for everyone looking for backlights on these LCDs.

[Silver]

Hmmm. anyone know any UK distributors for the backlight kit? Or ideally some info on a d-i-y job for backlighting LCD's?

I've dug out my LCD (originally planned for an MP3 display) after reading this thread and thrown some commands together in VB. just need to solder on a serial connection....

Also Minwah -  if you read this - I am keen to implement this feature in my setup, ideally without making up millions of batch files for each game/emu. I was thinking of writing an app in VB to run in the background and catch commands to load romd and then kick out the right file to the LCD, but realise that its far from ideal. Is MAmewah written in VB? Would you be interested in sticking an option in to allow sending a txt file to the com port on loading a game? (extremely easy if you're using mscomm.ocx in VB). Then anyone with an LCd can work out what control characters their LCD requires and stick it their txt files.

Oh - and I'm only picking on you as I love Mamewah so much! ;-)

[maraxle]

Also Minwah -  if you read this - I am keen to implement this feature in my setup, ideally without making up millions of batch files for each game/emu.

It's actually only one batch file per emulator.

[Silver]

woops yes, obvious really - change the exe for the bat with %1 as the romname... Obvious really.

thanks for the pointer!

[gprime]

I only read half this thread, and I remember seeing something earlier today that looked pretty cool:



Anyone know where to find those kind of LCDs? and the price range on them? I'd love to have a) something with a backlight and b) something i could have fun with graphics on.

[TheGatesofBill]

http://www.crystalfontz.com/products/index-grph.html

They are pretty pricey though ($100+).

[Silver]

These LCD's are superb....

I've knocked together a little VB app that will scan controlsdat and listinfo XML files and make a bunch of lcd files based on the contents of your rom folder.... but is still early days for me in the land of VB speaking to XML.

It seems works fine (although only tested on about 15 roms in a dir) - the end files display fine on the LCD. However, it seems to eat up a monster 150 megs of ram when running (listinfo.xml is 20 megs, controlsdat.xml about 0.5meg) - anyone have any tips to parse xml from vb6 without loading the xml first?

Cheers for any help,
Silver

[maraxle]

I had my version of that program read it line-by-line like a text file, rather than truly parsing it.  It's potentially slower, and definitely not the most clean way of doing things, but it's certainly less memory-intensive.  Plus the whole program was only 15-20 lines of code.  It was tested on 500 or so roms in a directory.

[Silver]

aha.  well you live and learn - I was going nuts trying to figure out all this Xpath expressions....

maybe I'll try that way and see how it goes. Out of interest how long did it take doing 500? Mind you I suppose the disc cache negates any advantage of loading it all first.... Hmmm.

Still - if it works it works. ;-)

[bioart]

I got my backlight kit today... taking off the film on the screen was a major pain in the neck, but 20-30 minutes later, it was out and clean... (hint, use lots of windex )  

Anyways, it looks great!  I'm going to work on the program now  I just need to get my XML parsing to a better point...

Art

[Silver]

I'd like to get mine backlit too.... although the kits seem very pricey, and can't find any in the UK.....

anyway, you would be welcome to use my prog if you want - although I have now found a bug trying to run it on a larger roms dir. Once I sus that I will probably stick it up for d/l. (so long as no one has a go at my sketchy VB and horrendous mem usage!)

[JoeB]

Folks, why are you writing your own XML parsers, when there are so many free great ones out there?

Check out the XERCES parser (www.apache.org) just as an example.  It supports java, perl and C/C++.. so many other free ones out there.

No need to re-invent the wheel!

[Silver]

Hoho, thanks for the advice but I think you are overestimating my abilities. I'm not talking about having written my own XML parser - I'm using the MS DOMDocument and IXMLDOMDocument parser for VB. It works well - I've now ironed out the bugs and have successfully generated files for a complete 82 romset.

I was just surprised that it 1)takes around 170megs ram to run 2)is pretty slow - several minutes worth of processing on a high end athlonxp. I'm new to VB and XML so I'm sure my code could be improved, but theres not much there. It seems the entire XML files must be loaded into memory to recall data from them, and that is not massively fast. Howver, I will tweak the code - and am also going to try a more direct text scan approach which seems to work fine for various FE's and other progs out there.....

[opcode]

Silver...

If you use SAX instead of dom to parse the xml files you will use WAYYYY less memory.  The method you are using is called DOM which loads the whole XML tree into memory, then you grab the nodes out of memory.  With SAX (supported by the MS XML parse 4.0) you don't load all the xml into memory, instead the nodes are fed to you as its being parsed, then you grab the parts you need, WAY less memory usage, but a little trickier to understand.  Here is a good developers guide on it: http://www.nedcomp.nl/support/origdocs/xml4/extracted/sax_devgd_overview_0jef.aspx.  Hope that helps  

[Silver]

And to think this was going to be easy.... ;-)

Cheers for that - I will take a look. I'm away for a bit but I'll come back to it and see if I can spruce things up. I would also like to add a few facilities - such as allowing the postion of the text tobe moved to  reflect an individual cp to make it nice and clear.

On a more general note, this great LCD has made me realise how completely superb the controls.dat project is.  The majority of games come back with "unknown" as there keys as they are pulled from the mame listinfo. I can only recommend that people contribute and add some info over on there site....

[dvdapex]

Are the LCDs you guys are getting for ~ $20 still available from anyone?  If so, please PM me with info.

Thanks.

[Witchboard]

This may be a little off topic, but somewhere on the same level.  I've been waiting for this thread to resurface so I could ask.

How hard would it be to make a LED driver that would light up buttons used in a game?  Like if you play Defender, all the buttons the game uses lights up then when you change to Missile Command the trackball and buttons used for that game light up.  I figured it could basically use the controls.dat, but the LED driver board would be the hard part to make.

[REBIRTH]

http://www.crystalfontz.com/products/index-grph.html

They are pretty pricey though ($100+).

Which LCD on that order page is the one being used?  Thanks

[Silver]

Rebirth:

  I've got none of those - they are all much bigger. Mine is only a 24x8 characters LCD  (thats 8 lines of text, with 24 characters on each line). But also much cheaper ;-)

Mine is essentially the same one as the one sold on the http://www.pjrc.com/ website as part of there MP3 player project. They sell the LCD with some buttons for $42 at http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_display.html
I presume its the same/similar to maraxle as he uses the same control codes as mine - again these are all listed on the pjrc website as mine has had its rom flashed with pjrc's rom.

I got my LCD in the UK without any buttons off ebay - and i think others have got similar ones in the US off ebay too. I don't think it really matters if its not the same one - so long as it can be wired up to a com port via RS232 and the instructions to the LCD are documented. I'm still rewritting by little program to generate all the text files but its easy to set up different instructions for different LCD's.

Witchboard:

Yes a superb idea - its been mentioned before, and I seem to recall that it was the LAME arcade website that was attemped to kick the project off? there is thread a thread asking what happened to him/it at: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16989;start=msg162692#msg162692

but it seems to have died out. I don't know how they were thinking of wiring it up but I hope it gets back on track!

[Witchboard]

Witchboard:

Yes a superb idea - its been mentioned before, and I seem to recall that it was the LAME arcade website that was attemped to kick the project off? there is thread a thread asking what happened to him/it at: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16989;start=msg162692#msg162692

but it seems to have died out. I don't know how they were thinking of wiring it up but I hope it gets back on track!

Haha.. I guess I got in this hobby a little too late.  All the cool ideas are already taken!  Thanks for the link.

[Silver]

Well I posted this in the listxml topic, but realise this is the more appropriate spot:

Mame Lcd Gen 0.94beta - generate those control txt files for lcd display.

This is pretty much the first program I've let loose to the general public. Please give it a try and let me know if it works for you etc....

Just point it at your roms dir, an empty destination dir, the listinfo.xml (sorry does not autogenerate from mame yet.....) and the controlsDAT xml (or just one of them) and it should do the rest. The defaults are for the PJRC LCD I own, but LCD instructions/headers can be entered manually. Or send me codes that work for you and I will add it to the drop down selection.

Please note this is BETA software and hence will probably wreck your pc/steal your passwords/emails/creditcardinfo/adresss/soul.

Support coming soon to MameWah.

Found at:

http://www.silverfoxy.plus.com/

PS: It uses the SAX parser in VB and I've stuck in a counter so you can see how fast it parses the xml's as it goes. To test just set up the xml locations and point it at a dud rom dir and it will parse the xmls.  Its not max speed as its also DoEventing/refreshing the counter everyloop.

EDIT: New Web Address

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Industen,

Great work!

Any progress with the GBA tutorial...I'm drooling over this option and I imagine people in this scene could help automate the GBA ROM creation process so it'd be easier to create the screens. The sooner you release the tips, the sooner we can get started on improving the function!!

mrC

[SirPoonga]

Before I read through many pages of this thread again, is there a website setup for this?  I know it uses controls.dat and I'd like to link to it from the website.

[Silver]

Well I don't think anyone ever actaully put together a website for either the LCD or the GBA.

LCD:

maraxle has some info on his project page for his cabinet at:

http://www.jhanson.com/aquajack.shtm

The LCD setup is easy if you use a PJRC one (as maraxle and several others, including me have) - you just hook it up to a com port (it has a RS232 interface) and copy txt files out to the com port. The txt files can include instructions for font/scrolling etc...

There were a couple of programs knocking around that used controlsdat (and listinfo) to generate the txt files. You can download mine at

http://www.silverfoxy.plus.com/LCDGen.html

It pulls the info from controls dat, and if there is no entry it gets the info from listinfo (which is ovbiously less useful). I'm also working with someone who wants to use it for a BetaBrite sign, so it should support those in the future too.

GBA:

No idea, but would love to know what it was done with, I've got a USB link to my GBA but would like to know how to communicate to tell it about game changes etc... Not sure if its done with a rom per pic or what....

[wj2k3]

You can use the attached program to turn an image into a GBA ROM.  It is actually meant to create a slide but for this purpose we would just use one.  (change the extension from TXT to ZIP)

If have created several to test and can verify they work with VisualBoyAdvance but I am unfamiliar with hot to send them to the GBA.

Can you send roms to your GBA via the USB link?  I suppose you would use a batch file to send the rom and then launch MAME.

I don't have a GBA to try this out but have been thinking about picking one up.

What do you use the USB link for now?

[wj2k3]

Here is a sample GBA rom I created with this program.   (change the extension form TXT to GBA)

[SirPoonga]

Ok, then, I'll just point to this thread.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

SirPoonga,

Industen has a page for the GBA hack: http://joelsgadgets.com/gba.html

It doesn't have any additional info, but I imagine this is where the instructions will be posted.

mrC

[JoyMonkey]

Doesn't it look like he PhotoShop'd out his GBA, leaving only the screen on that page (see the blurry bit on the bezel to the right of the GBA screen).
I imagine that the GBA would need to be left in-tact for this to work, I won't have to tear my GBA apart, will I?

[wj2k3]

Per his page:

Ripping the GBA is an easy process just be careful with the internals and everything should be a piece of cake. You could figure other ways to mount it without removing anything. I really didn't want to be bothered and the ability to mount the screen vertical makes the "whole" install harder then say a horizontal or reverse horizontal install.

Sounds like he did take his apart, but your right, it does look like a photoshop job.
It probably all depends on how you want to mount it.  If/When I do this, I am thinking of putting it behind my tinted plexi so I should be able to leave it in one piece. (not that it matters to me)

I sent Industen an e-mail to request info.  I will le you know what I hear.

-wj2k3

[Hoagie_one]

i sent hima PM months ago about this and he replied ot me....when he gets around to it

[mr.Curmudgeon]

....when he gets around to it

Ugh!

I'm sure he's benefited from someone else's time, as he's using MAME. The least he could do is 'get around' to sharing the details of this hack with the community. A lot of people are looking to add this feature to their cab. My fingers are crossed...

[ChadTower]

As I'm working on my cab, I'm seriously considering adding this.  When I do you can be sure I'll share the details as I don't see his having done anything that hard here.

[Silver]

Can you send roms to your GBA via the USB link?

[Trimoor]

Wouldn't it be cheaper to just use an LCD that takes composite video?
A GBA costs $70-80, while you can get a 5" video display for ~$50.

It would be cheaper, have a bigger screen, a backlight (unlike GBA original), and be infinitely easier to drive.

Something like those portable playstation LCDs would work nicely.

[Silver]

I imagine most people considering this already have a GBA so the cost is negligible.

Also - how would you connect a second screen up? You would either need a 2nd graphics card or a dualport - and in my experience that has a detrimental effect on performance, and restricts resolutions. I could be wrong though.....

GBA's (USB probably) and LCD's (serial port) have the advantage of not messing with te gfx output of the pc....

[ChadTower]

Okay, forget the LCDs.  I am working on independently controllable CRT displays... I'm actually not too far off right now.

[LordDamo]

Okay, forget the LCDs. I am working on independently controllable CRT displays... I'm actually not too far off right now.

I am also considering doing it this way, I have a second hand LCD with its own special video card. Its second hand from the commonwealth bank. I was thinking of mounting it above my TV in my cab, and using it to display game instructions on.  Can you let me know Chad when you've got yours working? I might be able to do something similar to yours, thanks in advance.

[Trimoor]

Let me know too.  I have dual 15" monitors in my cab but no way of driving them.

[ChadTower]

That's *if* I get it working.   

It may not be that quick, though, as that isn't the highest priority for my MAME project right now.

[JoeB]

Doesn't the arcadeVGA have a 2nd video out port?  If that's the case, then why not use that to drive the 2nd LCD screen??

[Buddabing]

Doesn't the arcadeVGA have a 2nd video out port?

[Silver]

I'm sure there are lots of cards that can output to two monitors. The Matrox Dual-Head cards have been around for ages.

Also I've used the tv-out on my radeon as a seperate monitor - I was sending full-screen video to the tv-out and had the desktop on the vga working at the same time.

This works absolutely fine for testing/development/general use - however, as I mentioned previously, it DOES impact performance both in speed and what resolutions/refresh rate is available on each. Not perfect for a Cab IMHO.

[Lilwolf]

One of the advantages of using a GBA would be sending the image before launching mame and your done.  No worry...

If your going to have a second monitor running on your PC.  I would consider going with a specialized frontend.  I considered converting my frontend to run 100% in one screen, always having a game running in the other.  Having the controls and history displaying, until you tried to change games.  But I never figured a way to get the controls to work right.... And I don't have a second monitor on my cabinet.  But thought it would be cool to plug my little car TV (that my kids fight about so we don't put it in the car anymore) in for that.  Put it up in the marquee or something).

[LordDamo]

Lilwolf, what front end can do what your seggesting? Im using a Nvida geforce MX 420 64 mb vith TV out to go to my TV, and was waning to use a LCD monitor that has it own seperate card, as it has a special plug. Its a second hand one from a bank. Im just needing to know how to send the apprprate image to the spesific monitor. Im using Windows 2K. But can run anything from Win ver.1 through to XP.

Hope this helps answer my question

[ChadTower]

Yeah, the trick here is going to be figuring out how to separately address each monitor... mame running in one, something else displaying directions/etc in the other.  I'm going to look into two video cards, one an Avga and the other something else.

[Lilwolf]

None right now.

I thought I might convert JFront do it.  It would have been easy..... but for the major trouble of not being able to capture the keystrokes.  There is a chance I could do it through java, but I thought it might slow things down...

but in the end, I didn't get the go ahead from my wife...  And that was the real problem.  So without a second monitor on my cab, the development stopped...

[Aceldamor]

I just thought I would bump this to see if anything is going on....been a long time since i've been here, been stuck in a place where I can't work on my arcade 

[Acids]

I just thought I would bump this to see if anything is going on....been a long time since i've been here, been stuck in a place where I can't work on my arcade

[Thndrbug]

I use a CrystalFontz 634  usb 20 x 4.  I have two, one above each joystick.

They are very nice, well lit too.

Thndrbug

[CJK]

I use a CrystalFontz 634

[JoyMonkey]

Incase anyone missed it, there was a thread related to this over on the software forum a while back:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,34870.0.html

[CJK]

I missed that thread -- thanks for the pointer!

-- Chris