Noritake-Itron 24x6 character VFD Sample

P

PedroDaGr8

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
489
Sorry for not posting this earlier. This is the third sample they have offered (plus an enormous one I got for answering a direct). It's a 24x6 character VFD. The others all had integrated drivers and controllers. That being said these are not for novices. They typically require either rs232 or a microcontroller to interface them with a computer, depending on the model). Though a few models have had arduino header files, they are not simple as the settings are very cryptic and not well explained.

Just a heads up though if you want one.

http://www.noritake-elec.com/evalkit-sample.php#contactForm
 
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Yeah they even welcome hobbyist, they tell you what to put in the fields if you are a hobbyist.
 
signed up, really cool that they are doing 6x24 in what looks like the same form factor as a 4x20 LCD

thanks op
 
Received my confirmation email a few days ago. Next will be the shipping email with ups tracking number in a few weeks.
 
Signed up for one. I used to mess with these things back in college...still have a bunch of microcontroller chips and breadboards, but sadly no equipment to write to them or power supplies or whatnot...

Think I might order an Arduino, finally.
 
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Got mine today, Works great. Only had it displaying characters so far over serial, but hey, its a start.
 
Received mine, was surprised that I didn't get a ups quantum view email like I had in the past. It seems that this sample has been popular. According to the website, due to this you might get a small graphic vfd instead.

If you are thinking about jumping on this one, tomorrow is it.
 
Ok guys.. This is weird. Both my brother and I signed up for one on the 18th, and could have sworn we got a confirmation email. I can't seem to find it. Can anyone provide the subject link or email address for the confirmation.

- Ton
 
TiTON said:
Ok guys.. This is weird. Both my brother and I signed up for one on the 18th, and could have sworn we got a confirmation email. I can't seem to find it. Can anyone provide the subject link or email address for the confirmation.

- Ton
Click to expand...


Noritake Evaluation kit sample SCK-Y100-24063-N14
[email protected]
 
Wohoo.. i couldn't find the email to save my life.. but I just got a tracking number from Noritake :) My eval kit is on the way.

Those that got it already, where did it ship from?

- Ton
 
Mine shipped from Illinois and it arrived yesterday. I ended up receiving the SCK-7003-112X16G-N16. I was hoping for the 24x6 display for a project I was working on. Seeing what I can do with this one now.

-Jason
 
Jason,

Thanks for the info. My package finally has status. It is also coming from IL. Since you just got yours, i figure mine will be the same. Thanks again for the info.

- Ton
 
CatSailor said:
Mine shipped from Illinois and it arrived yesterday. I ended up receiving the SCK-7003-112X16G-N16. I was hoping for the 24x6 display for a project I was working on. Seeing what I can do with this one now.

-Jason
Click to expand...

I have the 24x6, wanna trade?
 
I finally figured out how to get this thing working with arduino board. i was too embarassed to ask
 
I should be getting mine this next week...no idea which model.

Seraphim: Mind sharing? :p I'm going to try it with my Arduino when I get it.
 
mines arduino uno rev 3 and i got the 24 X 6 display

theres 6 pins on the VFD. pin 5 is no connection

the VFD manual says http:// itron.tv/cuyarduino for code library, download and extract that.
one of the code examples in there is "hello" which looks like this

#include <CUY_Interface.h>
#include <CUY_Parallel.h>
#include <CUY_Serial_Async.h>
#include <CUY_Serial_Sync.h>
#include <Noritake_VFD_CUY.h>

// ****************************************************
// ****************************************************
// Uncomment one of the communication interfaces below.
//
//CUY_Serial_Async interface(38400,3, 5, 7); // SIN,BUSY,RESET
//CUY_Serial_Sync interface(3, 5, 6, 7); // SIN,BUSY,SCK,RESET
//CUY_Parallel interface(8,9,10, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7); // BUSY,RESET,WR,D0-D7
//
// ****************************************************
// ****************************************************

Noritake_VFD_CUY vfd;

void setup() {
_delay_ms(500); // wait for device to power up
vfd.begin(20, 2); // 20x2 character module
vfd.interface(interface); // select which interface to use
// Enter the model class
// E.g. Y1A for CU24043-Y1A
// Applicable model classes:
// Y1A
// YX1A
// Y100
// YX100
vfd.isModelClass(Y1A);
vfd.CUY_init(); // initialize module
vfd.print("Noritake"); // print Noritake on the first line
}

void loop() {
}


--------------------------------------------------------
You need to delete the // in front of CUY_Serial_Async interface(38400,3, 5, 7); // SIN,BUSY,RESET to uncomment it. Also change model class from Y1A to Y100, and lastly change vfd.begin(20, 2) to vfd.begin(24, 6)

this bit of the code right here shows what VFD pins go to what arduino pins: "3, 5, 7); // SIN,BUSY,RESET" (so digital arduino pins 3,5,7 go to VFD's SIN, BUSY, RESET which are pins 2,4,6)

Then VFD pin 1 is 5v (i dont pull this voltage from arduino i use usb wall charger because i think VFD needs more current than arduino can deliver). VFD pin 3 goes to negative terminal on wall charger. Connect a ground pin on arduino to negative terminal on wall charger also.

So when you supply the wall charger voltage to the VFD and have arduino plugged into your computer with usb and compile that code above to you arduino it will print Noritake (or a string of curse words, whatever you desire.)

I think I've seen people just power the VFD from the arduino 5v pin but I wouldn't. I dont want to fry my arduino. I think they may have a 12v DC input to their arduino or something. I just tore apart a usb cable and soldered leads to the positive and negative and plug it into a 5v ; 1A usb wall charger.


EDIT: hmm i think something may be wrong with the sketch here i cant get it to compile anymore doh

EDIT #2: Ok you have to import the library to arduino software before unzipping it then all of the above works. I suppose import the library, then unzip and navigate to the hello example or whatever you want after that. I mention that sketch because it is a basic print command that you can change
 
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Got mine last weekend when i got home, now i just have to figure out what i'm going to do with it....
 
Got mine yesterday...gonna get it going on my Arduino this weekend if I can. Bought a 1A power supply so I shouldn't have any power issues.
 
Can't get mine to work on the Arduino for some reason. The code from above compiles and uploads fine, but when I plug it all in, nothing happens on the VFD.

Running the VFD from the +5V pin of the Arduino, but I've got it hooked up to a 1A power supply so there should be no problems there.

How do you know which model you have? It doesn't really say on the thing which one it is. All it says is "7003 03G1L F100" and "N16-NOEH". Maybe it's actually the 114x16?

EDIT: Never mind, it's apparently a GU112x16G-7003, which is none of the listed samples... :confused:

Tried using the G-7000 series Arduino code, changing the appropriate values, and still no joy.

EDIT2: Checked my +5V rail with a voltmeter and it's only putting out about 4.5V...wat? Using a 9V, 1A power supply directly to the Arduino, btw. The Arduino is not hot or anything while running, and all appropriate LEDs seem to be functioning, as well as allowing code to be uploaded.
 
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i didn't use any voltage outputs from the arduino. Just the 5 volts into the VFD from the wall directly from the wall USB charger. The arduino for me is just powered via computer connection.

I got my library from the URL in the manual that came with the VFD.

I know the arduino.cc website says powering anything off of the arduino power pins could cause damage to the board. *shrug*

make sure it uses 5 volts in the manual and maybe pinouts are different. I assumed that you had 24 x 6 so stuff maybe completely different
 
Yeah, everything should be set up correctly, and at max it only needs like 260 mA so I don't really think it should be a problem with a 1 A supply. I used the G-7000 series code and put in the correct values, and no dice...VFD doesn't even light up.

I can't imagine damaging the Arduino trying to pull a quarter Amp off of the +5V line...why would they allow you to connect an external DC power supply in the first place if you couldn't pull any current off of it?

Also, according to some research, it looks like the +5V pin puts out around 450 mA max with USB, 650 mA max with DC.

It is slightly possibly my multimeter battery is low, so I am going to try replacing that to see if that's why I'm getting low readings. Still, that does not solve the issue of why the VFD is not working.

I may just butcher a USB cable and use a USB wall adapter like you did, I guess. You didn't need to use any resistors or anything on the VFD pins, did you?
 
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I didn't use any resistors. Just the VFD, arduino, and the two USB cords.

D5BxgMg.jpg


for this 24 X 6 the pins were

1- 5V
2- SIN (serial interface)
3- GND
4- BUSY
5- No connection
6- RESET
 
Yeah, that's exactly what I did except I was pulling off of the +5V rail, which should be more than capable of outputting 260 mA with DC power. Not sure what to try now...I will make sure the pinouts are the same for the one I have, I guess, but according to the documentation that came with the VFD, they should be.
 
so it came with a manual and that had the hyperlink for the arduino library for your model? if so post the hyperlink if you can because i see nothing about an arduino library on the website. I'm kind of new at the C++ stuff though.

GU112x16G-7003 says 112 x 16 on noritake website

Im no electrical engineer so this is just hooked up like some other person had it hooked up online. I have mine running 24/7 and nothing has burned up. I use it as a reminder of stuff i have to do that day. I know my manual says the max current can be 560 mA for my model of VFD and the guy who I copied all this from said his old VFD from a VCR or something required ~700mA.

but of course yours is different
 
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Yeah, so I downloaded the code from here:

http://www.noritake-elec.com/specif...o_Noritake_VFD_GU7000&category=10&type=gu7000

Supposed to be GU 7000 series Arduino code. I uncommented the ASync line (supposed to work with either ASync or Sync), and set the model number to 7003, as per my actual part. No dice...doesn't even light up.

EDIT: Did manage to verify that my multimeter was low on battery. Put a fresh one in and now it's reading 4.95V coming off the +5V rail. Still no luck with the display, though.

Is there a way to test if it's even working at all? Without all the code stuff.
 
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Alright, well a little bit of progress. I think I may have had a wire or two switched around on the VFD, because the connector that comes with the VFD only fits on one way, but it actually has the same connector restriction on the other end...only, in reverse... :rolleyes: So basically, idiotic design.

So now I can get a faint orange light out of the VFD using a DC adapter, but nothing on the display. So now I'm not sure if the code is bad or the VFD itself is bad. I tested some other code on my Arduino to make sure it was still working fine, and it is. Nothing got hot or burned on it.
 
i get an underscore in the top left of the VFD with only power and ground applied to vfd

so it looks like on the hello sketch from your library i would uncomment async interface, change 140,16 to 112, 16.

then modelclass(7000) to modelclass(7003)

see if the manual for VFD says default baud is 38400
 
Yep, did all that. Says the default baud is indeed 38400.

If I'm not getting anything on the VFD at all (although I did a bit of research and it says that the faint orange glow might be promising) it might just be bad or something. I tried to get another sample so we will see what happens there. I might also try a dedicated USB power source from a wall wart just to see if that makes a difference.
 
So, I got it working. I downloaded the datasheet and noticed that one of the jumpers was shorted (soldered, actually) by default, which forces it into Sync mode. However, the odd thing is that I tried Sync mode in the code before and it didn't work, but when I tried it this time it did. I must have just had some combination of code and pins wrong before, but it works perfectly now, and I didn't burn anything out, so...yay!

Also, DO NOT run this thing off of USB power through the Arduino. It didn't burn mine out, but I tried it and all the lights on the Arduino got dim and the USB lost connection, so basically...don't do it, it doesn't like it. Works flawlessly with the DC adapter, though.

Makes me wonder what the real max current output is of the Arduino via USB, though. Must be around 200 mA since this thing pulls 260 mA, plus the current required to run the Arduino circuitry itself (not sure how much that eats up).
 
even if i have vfd power on but no power to arduino the lights will dim on the arduino. So, i always turn on VFD power last and turn off VFD power first.

also i figured the VFD is kind of like the old vacuum tube amps and stuff which were just so power hungry i figured it to be not powered by the tiny arduino
 
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