Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: unclet on February 28, 2007, 01:50:45 pm
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I am looking into purchasing a touch screen monitor (perhaps two of them) and had some questions:
General questions
1) Are certain brands better than others?
2) Does the display screen eventually become "blurry" do to all the finger touching in which a normal cleaning will not fix the blurriness (ie: does the monitor display glass get bad over time)? If so, what is the age of an averaged used touchscreen monitor?
3) I would prefer an LCD touchscreen of course since the footprint if smaller than the traditional CRT models, but these things are expensive. What is my best bet (money wise) on finding a good deal on a touchscreen monitor?
4) Shall I be looking to purchase via Ebay, or is there some other place I should be looking as well?
Technical questions
5) I am currently running WinXP. Are there certain touchscreen monitors which exist which will NOT work on WinXP? I would hate to purchase a touchsceen monitor and find out the drivers are not supported.
6) I currently have two CRT monitors connected to my computer using an additional video card (for dual monitor support). Is it possible for me to replace these two monitors with two touchscreen monitors? Basically, can I connect two touchscreen monitors to the same computer at the same time or will I run into problems with the drivers not understanding how to read input (ie: getting confused). Do both touchscreen monitors connected have to be from the same manufacturer for same strange reason?
7) If I purchase a touchscreen from Ebay (which most likely will not include cables, drivers or anything) then is it possible for me to find the cables and drivers I need easily (ie: is all this stuff standard)? I would hate to buy a touchscreen and then find out I can not find appropriate drivers and cables for it ..... or have to spend a bunch more money getting the drivers and cables.
8 ) Since the only touchscreen monitors I can remember actually seeing up close are the ones at McDonalds ..... I clearly do not have any idea how a touchscreen actually attaches to a computer or if touchscreen monitors have any secret problems or configurations which are necessary. Do touchscreen monitors simply attach to a computer via the same VGA cable as does a home computer monitor? What other attachment stuff do I need to know?
9) I understand some touchscreen monitors come with a serial port connection for the "touch" data to be transferred to the computer. Is this the standard input/output for touchscreen monitors or is there another type which I should know about? Also, I am assuming the serial cable is a standard serial cable ... correct?
I would just like to learn more about what touchscreen monitors are and how to connect and use them before buying one (or even two).
Thanks
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Elo accounts for a lot of the touchscreen technology that's been out there. It was / is used on a lot of OEM monitors.
If you don't get drivers with your purchase, make sure you get enough information to download some before making the purchase. Do ALL of your research ahead of time.
Old TS's are mostly serial, but you'll need specific drivers to use them. You can't roll your own easily.
Resistive touchscreens are a double layer overlay, so they inherently aren't as sharp as the capacitive style which is usually an evaporated coating on a glass plate.
Resistive touchscreens are durable, but can be damaged more easily. They all should be cleaned carefully and as often as required.
Resistive touchscreens can be used with a pointer or gloved hand, while capacitive need flesh.
Most are just ordinary VGA with a separate connection for the TS stuff.
DB-9 cables are DB-9 cables. Just make sure that the unit has the power cable / adapter if one is required. Newer ones will use USB, but if you are looking for cheap / old, then it will most likely be serial. Some are powered by the PS/2 port through a splitter, so you might want to make sure that all of these things are discovered and included before purchasing.
RandyT
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I guess I do not need to go with "old" and "cheap" ..... I typically tend to think that if I am going to buy a "nice" item, then I should spend more money at the front end to get a better product then worrying about whether it will fail later on ...... at least think I am bettering my odds of not buying a dud.
What do you mean "pointer" .... I am assuming this is some type of hardware pointer thing which means a "resistive touchscreen" can NOT be used by the bare finger .... is this correct?
I also would assume touchscreen list whether they are resistive or capacitive in their product description ?
I am looking at this model, but can not find any model specifications about it, perhaps someone can help me find this information (I will keep looking of course):
18inch LCD NEC 1860NX ELO TOUCHSCREEN
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If you go with ELO and their windows certified driver for XP you can easily set it up for 2 monitors. The monitor you are looking at has the older serial port interface so you will need 2 free serial ports on your PC to interface the 2 touchscreen controllers. Each monitor has its own controller.
The touchscreens on the ELO monitors are very durable and I have not seen any sign of wear on mine. I use my finger and it works fine without a stylus or pointer. Accouracy of thouch depends on the size of your onscreen controls. If they are too small then they are hard to select with a fat finger. Make sure you get a software package with adjustable or made for touch use control sizes.
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What do you mean "pointer" .... I am assuming this is some type of hardware pointer thing which means a "resistive touchscreen" can NOT be used by the bare finger .... is this correct?
I guess a better term would have been "stylus". A resistive model can be activated by anything with enough force to cause the two layers of material to compress and make contact with each other. So a bare finger is fine on these as well.
I also would assume touchscreen list whether they are resistive or capacitive in their product description ?
They should, but that would be assuming the seller has a "clue." Looking at the listing for that monitor, they apparently don't, or neglected to specify the technology used.
It's appears to be an OEM touchscreen using Elo Technology. That means the unified drivers will work with it, but the model doesn't offer any clues as to which it is.
To be honest, if you aren't going to be using a stylus or a gloved hand, it really doesn't matter much.
RandyT
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BobA
What do you mean by:
"Make sure you get a software package with adjustable or made for touch use control sizes"
This makes it sound like I need to go buy some software to run the touchscreen monitors ..... is this what you are saying? I thought I would only need to hook the touchscreen monitor up and install the drivers (if winXP did not already recognize it) and that was it. Please tell me what you are referring to ....... perhaps you are stating that I do not need extra software to run the monitor but if I did get some software then I would be able to adjust some of the settings better? Please explain.
Also, I am assuming I could go buy a cheap PCI card which has two serial connectors on it and then I will be set. Is this true? I guess I was worried about the drivers actually being able to handle two monitors at one time and not getting confused.
RandyT
You stated "unified drivers will work with it" .... does this mean that WinXP should recognize the monitor when I connect it?
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BobA
What do you mean by:
"Make sure you get a software package with adjustable or made for touch use control sizes"
This makes it sound like I need to go buy some software to run the touchscreen monitors ..... is this what you are saying? I thought I would only need to hook the touchscreen monitor up and install the drivers (if winXP did not already recognize it) and that was it. Please tell me what you are referring to ....... perhaps you are stating that I do not need extra software to run the monitor but if I did get some software then I would be able to adjust some of the settings better? Please explain.
I think what he means is that when you use a finger on a touch screen it is not as accurate as a pointing device like a mouse, so buttons and text needs to be BIGGER rather than trying to use a small box on the screen that is difficult to press on with a finger but would be fine with a mouse.
Hope that made sense. Best example I can think of is some touchscreen software converts the links in Internet Explorer so that they are much bigger and easier to press onto. Or its like trying to use your finger instead of your stylus with your PDA, unless you use your nail it can be awkward at times.
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My friend just bought a ELO 18" new on ebay for $400 for his jukebox and it works great.
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So I can get the following USED touchscreen for $200 shipped.
18inch LCD NEC 1860NX ELO TOUCHSCREEN
It has been confirmed to be working and also that a person can use their finger, glove or stylus to interact with the touchscreen monitor. Drivers are not included but I believe I could probably get these from ELO's site? Maybe someone can help me find these ....... so I know exactly what I need? I will try to find them as well....
Also, all cables are included, however the buyer indicates I "may need to get a female to female adapter depending on your computer set up". I am not sure what adpater he is referring to .... need to ask.
This sounds like a good deal to me .... what do you think?
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I looked at it and it seems ok. I think its serial though, I prefer USB
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It is serial, but do you think I could find an 18" USB touchscreen for a similiar deal?
The serial interface is simply to transfer the finger touch data to the computer correct? Why would you prefer USB, other than the obvious of possibly not having a serial port anymore on your computer ........ Is there something I should consider before buying a serial port touchscreen monitor?
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For the price I don't think you can beat it. Yes that's what the serial interface does. I have never used a serial touch screen before, I would say the only draw back is it might be a little more difficult to get it to work but probably not.
Here is the one my friend got, I plan on getting one very soon.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-18-ELO-ENTUITIVE-TOUCH-SCREEN-LCD-MONITOR-BLACK_W0QQitemZ190087250014QQihZ009QQcategoryZ29503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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Yes Treebor was right on what I was trying to say. You want good sized buttons in whatever jukebox software you are going to use. The elo driver sw600071.exe at the link below is the usb/serial driver for XP.
http://www.elotouch.com/Support/Downloads/dnld.asp (http://www.elotouch.com/Support/Downloads/dnld.asp)
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Thanks for the driver information .... when I looked there I was not sure the difference between "XP Universal" and "XP Embedded" :dunno
Thanks a lot for everyone's input ......
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RandyT
You stated "unified drivers will work with it" .... does this mean that WinXP should recognize the monitor when I connect it?
What I mean is that the drivers from Elo for XP (not embedded) include drivers for all(?) of their models in one distribution. So as long as it's an Elo, the posted drivers (http://www.elotouch.com/Support/Downloads/dnld.asp)should work with it.
RandyT
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Thanks for the driver information .... when I looked there I was not sure the difference between "XP Universal" and "XP Embedded" :dunno
Thanks a lot for everyone's input ......
XP Universal would be the ones that you want for a standard PC. XP Embedded is a lightweight operating system for builders of things like interactive terminals and devices.
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I just found out that the model number of the extra touchscreen he is selling is NOT the 1860NX, but is the 1850E instead (see below):
18" NEC 1850E ELO TOUCHSCREEN LCD MONITOR
Here is the link --> http://www.accurateit.com/details.asp?iid=544
Is there any reason to be believe buying the 1850E instead of the 1860NX is a worse deal?
I can not find any specifics on the 1860NX to see what the differences are between it and the 1850E .....
PS: I am assuming the drivers are the same since it has been mentioned as the drivers come bundles together.
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Here is a link to the nx info. Not specificaly the ELO model but the LCD specs look identical.
http://www.aurora.se/nec/nec-1860nx.htm (http://www.aurora.se/nec/nec-1860nx.htm)
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I do not believe this is the touchscreen model ........ I guess that is what you meant by "not specifically the ELO model".
I guess ELO takes NEC monitors and converts them to touchscreens then .......
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ELO puts their touchscreen tech on many other manufacturers LCDs. There are only a few common technologies used on ELOs current LCDs so if you determine from the vendor of you CRT if it its 5 wire resistive or surface wave you can determine the quality of the ELO touchscreen. The 5 wire is used in ELOs enty and mid range and the surface wave is used in the mid range and special apps area such as medical. There are other ELO technologies but they are not commonly used for regular touchscreen applications.
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Ok, I bought it for $200 total including shipping ..... I decided to only get one .... thanks for everyone's help.
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I have problem and need help ..... please see the following thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=64079.msg640150#msg640150