Tag: LCD

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Back to the mc-17 Remote Control

After the Maker Faire, I went back to the Graupner mc-17 remote control.

The arduino library from tronixstuff for the KTM-S1201 LCD which is also using a mPD7225 controller was a good starting point. But to get the LCD up and running, it took quite a bit of fiddling and logic sniffing.

Logic Pirate attached to the mc17 LCD Logic Pirate
Open Logic Sniffer for mc17 LCD

mc17 LCD mapping of bytes and bitsOnce the controller allowed me to switch on individual segments of the LCD, I needed to adapt my implementation to this specific display, as it offers remote control specific elements unusual for normal LCDs. With a proper mapping of bits and bytes to their respective LCD elements, it was easy to implement the usual alpha-numerical characters. Each of the digits is controlled by a word / two bytes. For each byte, one bit is used to control one of the additional symbols like colons, dots, or remote controls specific texts.

 

Cheers
Tim

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DIY Honda CR-V Replacement Clock

As the dashboard clock of my car failed recently, I was looking for a replacement.
Instead of buying an original part, I opted for a DIY solution based on a cheap Arduino Pro Mini 328, a mini real-time-clock (RTC) module, and a 8×2 LCD display:

Clock Prototype on Breadboard LCD Panel with Buttons

The Arduino and the RTC module talk via I2C and the LCD uses a 4bit wide parallel interface. The LCD backlight can be switched between two intensities. It is wired to two Arduino pins at the same time, one directly and the other via a 1k resistor. The LCD draw less then 40mA. As shorting two pins can be rather dangerous for the MCU, the software needs to ensure that the inactive pin is set to high-impedance input mode before the other one is set active.

The Internals of the Dashboard Clock The new Arduino based Dashboard Clock

The initial firmware implements setting the time and manual dimming for the night. As the car-connector also offers a 12V wire indicating when the main-lights are turned on, I could add automatic dimming later on.