My serial LCD for displaying directions

[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.