TheGemInIMan

Hi guys,

I have just got hold of a PrimeView P64CN1 LCD panel (used but in good condition) and I am currently in the process of getting it to work ... it also came with printed Technical Data sheets & Pinouts for the unit ... it is an old unit (1999 Preliminary model) I will post my findings here ...

What I know so far is that it is capable of accepting Composite, RGB and VGA signals ... NTSC & PAL video formats ... and runs off a 12v supply ...

I have noticed that a few years back someone else wanted to know about these screens so hopefully this will help others who come across these ... they seem to be a popular screen for quite a lot of products ...

Contents: (Separate Pages)

PHASE 1: Breakout Cable/Connector Here
PHASE 2: Power Up & Video Connection Here
PHASE 3: VGA Connection Here

Next ... PHASE 1: Breakout Cable/Connector

cheers,
Gem

MP3Car.com

 

TheGemInIMan

PHASE 1: Breakout Cable/Connector

Here we go then ...

I got the unit on the bench ... looking at the back the connector (Connector 1), circled, is a 28pin 'flat foil' ribbon connection ... so the first thing I need to do is make a breakout cable/connector to connect the unit for testing purposes ... those flat foil ribbons are very delicate and so we need a decent connection if we are going to keep playing with the pins ...

The P64CN1 LCD Display (Preliminary version: 1999): Front View


The P64CN1 LCD Display (Preliminary version: 1999): Back View


So I grabbed a ribbon foil (that luckily came with it) and an old IDE cable (the type that has the smaller wires - double the normal amount, 68?) ... I cut the IDE cable using scissors (for a clean cut) ... ended up with a 3" length and 28 wires in total ...

IDE & Foil Ribbon Cables






I then stripped back the IDE ribbon cable and soldered the ends of all 28 wires then trimmed them so they were in line with each other ...

IDE Cable: Separate all 28 wires, Strip Back & Solder to the Foil Ribbon


The IDE cable wire pitch is close to the foil ribbon connections so it's not to bad for soldering ... I done 14 at a time as to not strain the solder points on the foil ribbon ...

Be careful when you solder to the foil ribbon as you literally only need to touch the wire, & the foil connection, with the iron to get a soldered connection ... I used liquid flux to help with the solder flow ... if you leave the iron on too long you will damage the foil ribbon connections as the plastic will melt and so will the foil ...

After I had soldered the IDE ribbon cable to the foil ribbon I then tested for shorts & continuity with a multimeter ... all good ... so I stripped the other end of the IDE cable and soldered the 28 wires to some vero board ... I anchored the IDE cable by using some tinned copper wire soldered to the vero board ... remember to break the vero strip where you soldered the tinned wired to prevent a short ... after I finished soldering the IDE wires to the vero board I tested for shorts & continuity, again, from the vero board end to the foil ribbon connections ... all good ... as you can see below I have added a 12v regulator as the supply I am using is an old laptop 18v PSU ... also I have added solder pins onto the vero board which coincides with the pin numbers of the foil ribbon ... this is where I will solder connections to, to get the unit working ... The supply for the LCD is already connected via the regulator to pins 24 & 25 (+12v) and pins 22 & 23 (0v - GND) ...

The Breakout Cable/Connector






So thats the breakout Cable/Connector made ... now we need to power the unit and see what happens ...

I have uploaded the Tech Specs of the P64CN1 (PDF format) for those who need them ... there are two versions ... v1.0 Preliminary (1999) and v1.1 later model (2001) ... the pinouts are different on both models so please be careful ... the Preliminary version is the one I am testing here ...

I have reduced the page count on the preliminary version to include only the relevant details like pinouts and notes ... I made this PDF from the (printed) Tech Specs that came with this LCD screen ... if anyone needs the full 22page PDF file then I can pack that up for you ... the other PDF (for v1.1) I found on the web ...

TECH SPECS:
Version 1.0 Preliminary (1999) - The model I am Testing
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3KPX448F

Version 1.1 (2001) - Later model (might be of use to someone)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XP3EVSXX

QUICK SPECS:
Screen Type: LCD TFT
Screen Size: 6.4 (diagonal)
Display Format: 960 x 234 (dot)
Active Area: 130.6 (H) x 97.3 (V) (mm)
Dot Pitch: 0.136 (H) x 0.414 (V) (mm)
Pixel Config: Stripe

Next ... PHASE 2: Power Up & Video Connection ...

cheers,
Gem

TheGemInIMan

PHASE 2: Power Up & Video Connection

Right ... I now need to apply a supply voltage to the LCD and see what happens ... the laptop supply I am using is 18v (DC) so I will connect that to the breakout cable/connector ... I already have a 12v regulator onboard so that will take care of the correct voltage for the LCD screen ...

I am using a little media player called LifeView to view video content on the LCD screen as this saves using a PC, etc ... I'm running video off an SD memory stick (not shown) ... it has Composite, VGA and S-Video outputs ... for now I'm using Composite video ...

LifeView Media Player


I plugged the composite video signal in and powered it up ... the unit works as in powers/lights up ok ... as you can see from the video (below) the result was not what I expected ...


So back to the Tech Specs and the pinout connections ... there's a bit in the Tech Specs (under Note 5-6) that tells you what you need to do in order to select the proper input type, i.e., Composite, RGB or VGA ... so, as I am connecting a composite video signal, I need to select that as an input option ... under Note 5-6, it says I need to make pin11 (SW) & Pin18 (VGA) both LOW ... so I connected two 1k resistors, one to pin 11 and the other to pin 18 then the other ends of the resistors both to the 0v supply (GND) ...

NOTE 5-6: (from the PDF Tech Specs)


Basically a binary array for selecting the video signal input types ...

PINS 11 & 18 LOW (via two 1K resistors taken to GND)


With pins 11 & 18 now LOW, I plugged the unit in again and voila ... the MPEG video popped up (see video below)... it looks perfect ... no syncing required as this is done internally ... the quality isn't all that as I am using an MPEG video (PAL format) that came with a music CD and that file is only 252x288 pixels in size ... but who cares it works ... I need to test if the format 'Auto Switching' works too (for NTSC and PAL detection) ... I'll do that later ...


The Brightness, Contrast & Colour settings are all set to default ... these can be accessed via the foil ribbon connector by pins 1, 2 & 4 respectively ... under Note 5-1 it says if the pins are open (no connection made) they are then set to default ...

So that's the composite video input sorted ... now to try the VGA input ... need to go get some specs on a VGA 15pin connection ...

Next ... PHASE 3: VGA Connection

cheers,
Gem

TheGemInIMan

PHASE 3: VGA Connection

Well this seems to be causing a problem ... probably why it was thrown out ... or I have incorrectly wired the VGA connections ... I have made a simple 2 switch setup that selects the different types of video inputs (saves keep soldering & desoldering the resistors) ...

I can get a picture but its washed out and only green ...

I have double checked everything ... looks like a no goer ... tried a PC to make sure it wasn't the LifeView media player ... actually I get more from the LifeView than I do from the PC's VGA, I get squat from that ...

To be continued ... I will continue to play with this LCD screen and if I actually get something from the RGB/VGA inputs then I'll shout back here ... for now it's just composite only ...

cheers,
Gem

MP3Car.com