I just rescued this Samsung 4x20 VFD from a dumpster. Its PN is 20S401DA1, and its specs can be found at: http://apollodisplays.com/pdf/20s401da1.pdf I hooked everything up through the serial port and everything seems to be working. Its running a sort of test pattern right now, where it will cycle through all the characters it displays over and over. So now I need some help finding a program that will let me use the vfd for things like winamp, cpu temps, etc. can anyone help me?
Have a look in the LDC FAQ above. I Use JALCD with my 2*20 VFD and its a very good programme. Free too
Try and grab me on icq/msn in a few days when I've got my connection back up, I'll give you a hand in making your display work with some software (that is if you haven't solved the problem by then!). Cheers, Rob.
downloaded jaLCD. when I try starting it i get "error 400: Form already displayed; cant show manually"
hm was just looking at the spec sheet for this thing, and towards the end it says this: 5.3 Self Test Mode Self test starts when RXD/TO="O" is more than 100ms at power on or initialization. During self test, all character fonts are displayed automatically and neither character data (20 Hex to FF Hex) no control comman (OO Hex to 1F Hex) is acceptable. To release this mode, RXD/TO must be set to ··1·· and the power must be turned on again. The self test describes whats going on with the VFD right now. It doesn't do it often, mayber once every 5-6 times plugging it in. dunno if this is helpful or not......im a newb when it comes to this type of stuff.
