Kicking idea around lcd button label

[radmanrugg]

Anyone ever try to automate button labels in a MAME system?

IE put a small LCD or VFD display next to the buttons.
Some are cost effective enough that it could be doable without adding too much to the budget.  Of course this would depend on button count you want to label.

Examples
http://tinyurl.com/6qrea2
or
http://tinyurl.com/69n3gs

Don't know if a front end like GameEX can pump words or images to those or not though.

I also don't know if you could have several of those display hooked up at once and have them easily addressable for correct button labeling.

Of course you may have to get some USB hubs as well.

Anyone try this?

-Scott

[Ummon]

The first one might be problematic in that it may only store images then display them, vs live feed. The second one looks appropriate in this manner, but of course it's not color, and it may not even be lighted.

[Bender]

I've been thinking a lot about this actually and I was thinking you could have a couple of LED's hooked up to Led Blinky so that whatever console or game or front end your in it would light up a different words, so for example you could have "Exit" above a button and "Player 1" below the button and only have the appropriate one turned on at any given time...

what I'm having trouble figuring out is how to get the CP overlay to be transparent where the words are so they don't show up unless there lit

[radmanrugg]

I asked the key chain auctioneer about how the device operates.  Not sure if they know english very well being out of Hong Kong.   Will see if they reply.

Bender I would think if you just want words to show up you could do this easily enough with a Plexiglas / acrylic type control panel top.  As you could allow holes in the support wood / MDF for light to pass through to the underlying marque stuck to the underside of the plexi.  Use a secondary mask of light blocking material (black, sliver, foil, whatever) to block the light that is not part of the word. The marque should be a solid color as to not give up what lies underneath (mask).

[SavannahLion]

Just a thought but....

Take a cue from the RC hobby on this one. RC cars use clear Lexan bodies and the paint is applied on the inside, like old school marquees. A google search can reveal some very interesting and skilled paint jobs that are possible.

So... mask off the areas that need to be tinted. Do whatever technique you choose to paint your CP design (masking, freehand, whatever). Once you complete your artwork, remove the mask and carefully apply tinting, like that used in auto windows or even use some spray on window tinting.

Just an idea.

[(+_+)]

How about dismantling an optimus keyboard and using its built in functionality. May be feasible. Resolution may not have enough detail though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Optimus_Keyboard_Quake_III_layout.jpg

[SavannahLion]

How about dismantling an optimus keyboard and using its built in functionality. May be feasible. Resolution may not have enough detail though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Optimus_Keyboard_Quake_III_layout.jpg

That is an awful lot of fine de\soldering to do there. The way I understand it, those OLED's are fixed and the key is simply a cap that goes over and around the OLED. I haven't seen the guts of one yet, but that configuration implies those OLEDs are very firmly attached to a PCB, not just wired in. And the cost, holy hell, I'd rather pour that money elsewhere into a project like that.

Might be easier and cheaper to order a bunch of cell phone LCD's and controller boards from Sparkfun?

[NickG]

I have been thinking about button labeling a lot and have concocted a few hare-brained ideas for labeling the buttons from inside the actual button itself, which you might get a kick out of:
  First idea was a sort of endoscopy in reverse:  Video buttons; all the video would come off from a single LCD via fiber optics arrays and enhanced backlighting.  I've looked into this further and couldn't find any fiber optic strands small enough for a good button resolution so I gave up on it.
  A second idea I have is to use the same design as the toy flashlight projectors one might find at a carnival. The idea is use change out the images, place them underneath buttons with displaced switches and/or utilize 45° mirrors, and finally automate the image switching via step motor(s) or a single manual crank.  Would be a lot of work and may still look cheapy/stupid.
  A third idea flashed to my mind while reading this thread.  I have seen quite a few people implement simple animations for signage and computer cases by using layered etchings in clear plastic layers.  They light the layers independently of one another via separate LEDs for separate colors.  It may be possible to different images on separate button disc inserts in this manner, albeit with a bit of ghosting. 
 
Yeah, fun ideas, but I haven't even bothered to install my LED-Wiz, so I will probably never bother with them.

[radmanrugg]

Looked into the lcd keychains a bit more.  They don't display what you want until you unhook the USB cable.  They require you to use their special software to load pictures.

There is a hack for linux though.

See
http://spritesmods.com/?art=picframe&page=1
and
http://picframe.spritesserver.nl/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Video of hacked keychain.  Approx 8fps
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywr0A2aC_Jk&eurl=http://www.planetsurfer.net/2008/06/05/use-a-cheap-digital-picture-frame-as-a-secondary-display/[/youtube]

Cool but a ways off from what I want to do with it (GameEX / multiple displays).  Sigh

-Scott

[Neverending Project]

What about something like this, for $20?
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=569



I am not entirely sure what you are picturing, but the price is right. Of course, you will need a microcontroller to interface with it - at least another $20 right there.

[nox771]

Interesting you mention that - I actually got that Sparkfun LCD display for a different project, and had considered it for exactly this application. 

The thought I had with it was to mount it above the CP, perhaps on the lower part of the bezel, and load in a graphic diagram of the buttons and their functions.  Problem with that specific display is the size.  Those were Nokia knock offs used for cheap cell phones, so they are quite small, around inch and a half on a side.  You could maybe do it by giving each player's control set their own display (they are quite cheap, so multiple displays using a central controller would work), or using a larger central display (perhaps some kind of OLED, although that defeats the main advantage of that display which is cost).

Another thought I had was to code up a alphanumeric interface for it so it could be plugged into something like LCDsmartie (essentially a HD44780 emulation of sorts).  I've built custom USB interfaces for these kinds of things before, in fact I even had the controller board picked out - the Atmel USBKEY demo board:
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=3879
Those are awesome little demo boards, and can be had on Digikey for $30.

It's a project to be sure, but definitely doable.