Im from South Africa and looking to add one last touch to my custom HTPC in the form of a VFD using LCDsmartie as the display driver.
I am using Vista x64 with MediaPortal. My requirements of a display panel are only this: (1) no backlighting, but bright characters (similar to the MatrixOrbital VK202-25 shown below), and (2) be able to project thru 2mm of black perspex/acrylic.
Firstly, I am new to this, so please excuse me. I see that most of these require a Parallel or Serial port connection. Um...my motherboard doesnt have either, so what options do I have with regards to a 2x20 or 4x20 display panel? Secondly, how would I connect this to my motherboard?
Hey limbo! Thans for the reply. So I can use any VFD that has a HD44780 controller, and add the USB FTDI chip...do I have that right??
I have found a Futaba VFD on some site (as below). It is a "Futaba 4X20 LCD Emulator VFD NA204SD02 4 Line 20 Char" and utilizes the Hitachi HD44780U LCD controller/driver.
It costs a bit, and I will have to have it shipped down to me, so I want to ensure Im doing the right thing. My soldering skills are quite good, and I can follow an electronic diagram.
All I want to know is...is the chip I've identified above good to use?
or you can use a hd44780 compatible display and a pci-parallel card
or you can make a serial backpack with a pic16f628a and a max232 and connect it trough an usb to serial converter.
I have a paralell vfd myself, and i use the FTDI solution that limbo pasted url to, very simple and cheap. It should work, but to be safe you should check the difference between HD44780U and HD44780.
