My 8.4″ display is flickering. What should I do?
Check the external inverter. If it is an ERG 8maD3407F model, you need to have the following line: pwmIsEnable = 0 in the config.ini file, you use to initialize the system.
How can I reset the baud rate so that I can continue working?
Question: I have programmed the baud rate at 23,*PONMAC 0 4,*PONMAC 0 ,*PONMAC 0 in the power-on macro. Now I can’t communicate via my embedded system, BMPload, or Hyperterminal. How can I reset the baud rate so that I can continue working? Answer: The SLCD controller family has an “auto-switch” feature to change the active serial port. You need to connect to an alternate serial port, perform the auto switch, and disable the power-on macro. Using the development kit: Connect to the AUX port on the PowerCom4 triangle board using a PC serial port at ,baud0 ,baud0 52,*PONMAC 0 ,*PONMAC 0 baud. Using Hyperterminal or RealTerm or Tera Term, send 4 “enter” or characters, and you should get a ‘>’ prompt. Issue the command:
When I download STEP files from your web page, they are in the wrong format and SolidWorks can’t read them.
Make sure Windows isn’t renaming the file for you. Some web browsers insist on renaming the file .STEP to .txt. To work around this, you can either do a right-click on the link, select Save as…, or rename the file to a .STEP file.
I did a screen capture of an image and displayed it on the SLCD6 or SLCD43 (in high color mode) and see color banding that was not in the original. What do I do to get rid of this?
Natural images (pictures) display quite well using 16-bit color. However, some computer-generated artwork images contain continuously varying color gradients that look banded when converted to 16-bit color. To resolve this, use error diffusion (dithering) to smooth out the banding. Look in the GIMP documentation or glossary for information on dithering support.
The display flashes (comes on and then goes dark) when power is applied and I can’t communicate with it.
All SLCD controllers have a reset circuit triggered when the voltage supplied to the board drops below a particular threshold. Sometimes called brown-out protection, this trigger ensures the controller’s processor does not incorrectly execute and possibly change its internal programming when it loses power. This reset happens when the input voltage to the controller sags (dips down below 10% of nominal). The display backlight draws a lot of power, and when it turns on, the controller input voltage can sag and cause the controller to reset and turn off the backlight. This can make it look like the display is flashing since it turns on the backlight and then resets and keeps doing this as long as power is applied. The solution is to shorten the cable between the power source and the controller or use larger cable wires. Long thin power cables have inductance which can cause voltage sags [...]
How do I display a message on the LCD screen when the serial communication link to the controlling host has failed?
There is a command to tell the controller to execute a macro when there has been no activity on the serial port to the host. The command “*comwdt” can be used to enable the detection of communication timeout events and execute a macro in response. Please refer to Communications Watchdog Timer Documentation for complete details.
Some JPEG files load correctly on the SLCD5+E, but files of the same image in a Progressive format, do not load.
The Progressive format of JPEG files can use a large amount of RAM, which, with large images, can easily exceed the RAM available in the display module. The fix is to not use the Progressive format and to stick with the Baseline format. Find more details at http://kb.tourwriter.com/baseline-jpeg-vs-progressive-jpeg.
Can you provide MTBF values?
We don’t have actual MTBF calculations for our display modules. However, the gating item will always be the LCD panel backlight. For example, the panel used in the 4.3″ modules has an LED lifetime minimum rating of 20,000 hours (typical 30,000 hours). LED lifetime is defined as operating hours at full brightness until the module brightness decreases to 50% of the original intensity when operated at an ambient temperature of 25ºC. This is not as bad as it might seem. Our eyes have a logarithmic response to brightness, so half-bright to a luminosity meter is not perceived as half-bright. Note: The LED lifetime can be increased by reducing the display brightness or turning the backlight off during periods of inactivity. For example, to double the LED lifetime rating, reduce the backlight brightness to 50%.
Is there an inexpensive screen protector I can use for my display?
Check out screen protector vendors below. The size you need will depend on your bezel design and visible display area. Photodon Find Universal Stock sizes. Photodon can also trim down films to your dimensions for a custom fit. See a description of all film types: clear, anti-glare, and specialty. NuShield For the SLCD43 module, check out Part Number NU300E, Select DayVue film. Read more about DayVue's anti-reflective film for electronic displays. ARMR-200 This product by 3M is another option. It is an anti-reflective, matte, 5mil protector. Digi-Key sells sheets of it, and then you need to employ a die-cut company to slice it to the correct size. In a typical application, cut it to the visible screen size so you can replace it easily. If you are trying to seal the screen, cut it to the size of the display and mount it behind a gasket.
What are the differences between resistive and projected capacitive touch screens?
A resistive touch screen consists of several layers, and a capacitive touch screen consists of an insulator coated with a transparent conductor. Compare resistive vs. capacitive touch.