What is best to get an LCD or a VFD i am curently stuck between these two displays either the LK204-25 or the VK204-25 both from Matrix Orbital. Sorry if someone already asked this also can anybody tell me if these displays uses the 5v gpo's or the 12v gpo's Thanks
Well, you're going with Matrix Orbital, so you don't have to deal with the software problem between the two (LCD has a lot more options, VFD pretty much has only one app that supports a few chipsets, but MO displays come with the appropriate software). Really, the choice boils down to price. The bare VFD costs $30 more than the bare LCD, but since a VFD generates its own light, you'll be able to see the display very clearly and from a wide viewing angle. The amount of color options are just about even, but they're fairly different (LCD has white on blue, black on light blue, green on black and black on green, all VFDs have a black background, but you can buy filters to change the text color). The GPOs are all +5v outputs, but this guide shows you how to beef up those outputs to handle fans or lights should you need to.
Basically if your going for matrix orbital you've not realy done enough re-search, they tend to be considered amoungst the worst in bang for buck terms, the displays them self are sluggish so you can't animate them. The interface is gashtly, and the viewing angles are very "average". But, in response to you question, VFDs have better viewing angles, LCDs can work in direct sun light better.
I think it is you who hasn't done the research... the LK/VK series can do 30+ FPS, the interface is super easy to work with, with tons of options, like software controlled backlight, contrast or brightness. With keypad options, GPO's startup screen and so on... so TONS of features. So before you public put down a company, make sure you have credible information.
The LK204-25 an VK204-25 both have 6 5V low power GPOs, the only units to have the Advanced GPOs (or fan headers) are the LK204-24-USB and VK204-24-USB... each of these units have 4 Advanced GPOs, good for fans and CCFL control (and digital baybus controll) and 3 low power GPOs. The LK204-24-USB can be powered by the USB port if you don't plan on using the fan controller.
At the end of the day this is an electronics forum, if this was a lego forum, then i would be saying go for one that has the contast + backlight control built in. The GLK12somting i saw nothing but flickers very bad. The interface is a matter of taste, easy for some applications, does not mean easy for all. I tend to prefer to dump 'high' level instructions and use the lower ones, for control, as such higher level ones get in the way. In this case, the interface acts as a bit of a bottle neck. You can't animate graphics on them, that is what i ment, you can do some animation, but for the money you could pull somthing out of a photocopier, i would be happy to provide interface schematics for (assuming its a controller i know) and have nice flicker free animation on. feature rich?! for that money i would expect a plesures of a differnt kind. Oh woh, you have a GPO pin? you mean like the parrallel port gives me loads of? huzzah! thats *REALY* worth the dosh. Its a matter of preferance, at the end of the day, if i was paying loads of money, i would want ultra-responsive LCD, probably inverted CCFL backlight blue, with white pixels. Not an abililty to plug a keypad to it? I mean what is the point!? By all means, hook up some micro, make it programable, so you could have a simple PWM fan bus, maby mesure some temps, while outside of a responsive OS as producivly as you would in that OS, say log RPM + vrs TEMP, that would be *intresting*, but still boring. I mean, for the money. Lets see, $5 will get you a kick ass AVR that you could say, use FFT to make a 12 segment equaliser on. I just can't see ANY reason to justify the cost to a modder that actually owns a soldering iron. I mean, whats the point of saying WE PROVIDE GPO'S FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN'T FIND THE LPT PORT WITH SOME TRANSITORS HANDY!?! Its personal taste, i am sure you will find a market for people who want an out of the box solution, but if anyone does do reserch there are so many better solutions out there, it just might be out of 2 boxes.
However your comparing the MO graphic screens to the MO character screens. MO have never really pushed the GFX screens as they are serial controlled fo other application and will be slower than updating via printer port. Read any reviews on the MX series and you won't find any of the issues you mentioned, and the original poster specifically asked about the character screens not graphic.
Thanks for the comments, but my problem is a stay in South Africa and trying to get something that cost's $5 here will cost me about $20 when I get it . So if there is no local supplier for a product I am not able to afford it and luckily there is a Matrix Orbital supplier that can get me these displays for about the same amount as if I bought it in the US. Henry: I heard that there is a model available the LK204-25-PC that has 8 GPO’s that is rated at 12v (750mA) do you guys still make this model.
