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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Colour on the Maximite
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haiqu Senior Member  Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Yesterday I got to thinking about how to implement a colour LCD on the Maximite. I know the topic of colour itself has been broached before (Hi Nick!) but I wanted to analyze the possibilities of LCDs because of a few project I have on the back burner that will actually require it. My first thought was to use the Nokia 6100 screen which is available for about $7.00 including the special connector, but they're kind-of dinky at 1.8" diagonal and 128 x 128 resolution. So I started looking over other mobile phone displays, and think I've found a reasonable solution. The Apple iPhone G2 and G3 models used a 3.4" diagonal 320 x 240 display (known as QVGA, or Quarter VGA) and these are becoming really common as spare parts. Let's take a look at what that means in terms of memory usage: 320 * 240 * 3 = 230,400 We currently use: 432 * 480 * 1 = 207,360 Waddya know? It will fit, with hardly any extra memory usage at all. It will give us a 40 column x 26 line display in 3 colours, bit-addressable. That's only 8 colours but somewhat better than white only. Great for simple games, menus and the stuff I have planned as well. The modules are addressed by either a Himax HX8238-A or Ilitek ILI9325 single-chip driver. I haven't yet read the specs but if they have onboard memory it might even be possible to use the full 262k colour resolution available. Some types also used the NatSemi LM2512A 24-bit serializer (genuine Apple for instance) and may not be usable since they're deigned for streaming video. Anyhow, something to consider... Rob unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Oops, quoted instead of editing, please ignore. unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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Keith @ Senior Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 167 |
Rob have a look at this link ... it may save you some time 
www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nod eId=2680&dDocName=en547784 Keith The more we know, the more we know we don't know ! |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Sorry Keith but I got a server error there. If it requires being logged in I'm doomed, because their password recovery function is broken, and has been for months. Edit: Got it. I take it you're referring to the graphics library? Won't help much with the hardware I'm afraid. Rob unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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jman Guru  Joined: 12/06/2011 Location: New ZealandPosts: 711 |
Hi Have you seen this http://www.carnut.info/tftpcb/tft.htm It is I2C so it's allready to go Maybe not quick enough for games but pretty good for everything else John |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Hi John, Actually that's pretty much in line with one of my applications. I've been running a FlexRadio SDR-1000 since 2003 but it would be nice to prise it away from the PC and go mobile occasionally. I'm doing the DSP stuff in an Altera FPGA. Rob (VK3XVK - expired for now, must renew it soon) unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Here's an idea of what I'd like to achieve with it. Of course it wouldn't be written in BASIC ... 
Sorry about the green background, it was an experiment. Rob unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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| Keith @ Senior Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 167 |
Rob sorry about the previous link ... I checked it at the time but I notice that it keeps changing the the digits on the end of the link???? anyhow try this www.microchip.com/en_us/technology/graphics/ Keith The more we know, the more we know we don't know ! |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Hi Keith, That's a better link, thanks. It just makes me wonder how 179Mb of libraries and 49Mb of Help files will ever make someone a better programmer ... but then I'm an old do-it-yourself kinda guy. I'll look it over once the hardware arrives (yeah, I finally found some!). One thing is obvious, it will need a separate graphics co-processor to do anything useful. Rob unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Oh yeah, I should also link to the LCD module found, FYI. 320 x 240 mini LCD Once software is working on this it should be usable on any 320 x 240 module with a compatible controller. This one uses a Solomon Systech SSD1289 which contains 6800 and 8080 interfaces, a generic interface and 172,800 bytes of graphics memory for animations. The board itself has the required regulators onboard, and the touch screen driver chip. Not a bad deal at all for US$22.50 shipped. I tried going direct to a couple of Asian LCD manufacturers and they couldn't come close to this value. Rob unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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| Keith @ Senior Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 167 |
Rob Have you or are going to purchase one one of these LCD modules? In my roamings I came across one site that advised there was a limited selection of controllers that will work with the PIC32 and if I remember correctly there were only 2 recommended for ease of use .... but damned if I can find it now ... I'll keep looking. Keith The more we know, the more we know we don't know ! |
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| haiqu Senior Member Joined: 30/07/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Keith, I came across that information already. The Solomon Systech SD1963 is one of those recommended (mine has the SD 1289) and I can't remember the other one. Don't worry, I'll just hack up a driver for it. The warning was meant for those who wanted to use the standard graphics library "out of the box" with no mods. Cheers, Rob unzip, strip, touch, finger, grep, mount, fsck, more, yes, fsck, fsck, fsck, umount, sleep |
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