OK, so I picked up the package from HaoRan LCD company and examined their LCDs. Two observations, one expected, the other unexpected:
The expected observation: the end of the FPC tail that is meant to go into a connector has straight edges, the corners are sharp 90 deg, no rounding. The unexpected observation: the contacts are on the "wrong" side. On both the historical GPM526A0 LCD in the Pirelli DP-L10 and the shiny new KD020C-2A from Startek the contacts appear to be on the top when the FPC tail is stretched out or on the bottom when the FPC tail is folded under the LCD; HaoRan's HT020K1QC36S has them on the opposite side. Looking at their datasheet more carefully I see that the drawing included therein does indicate the contact location, i.e., the delivered product does match the datasheet description - I simply overlooked it when I originally studied this DS, as I had naively assumed that the contacts would be in the "natural" location. Having the contacts on the wrong side fully invalidates my earlier idea of using a Hirose FH33 series connector - these connectors are not made in a "contacts on top" version, and it is difficult to fault Hirose for not making such connectors as the "contacts on top" arrangement is highly unnatural. In light of this discovery I have revised my plan of action: given that our current most immediate need is to compare the LCD picture quality between HaoRan and Startek and help guide the decision between these two vendors, in the interest of time expediency I am simplifying my HT020K1QC36S LCD test board idea: I will put this LCD on the test board with its tail stretched out (not folded under like it would need to be in the real handset), and use the known-good FH12-36S-0.5SH connector. This test board won't help with prototyping the mechanical arrangement for the handset, but it will hopefully allow us to solidify the Startek vs. HaoRan decision. Given that the two vendors' LCDs have their FPC contacts on relatively opposite sides, the mechanical arrangement would have to be quite different for one vs. the other, thus it would be easier to select the LCD vendor first based on the picture quality comparison, and then work out the mechanical arrangements for that chosen LCD. Now that I have the FPC connector picked out for the HaoRan LCD test board and the discussion with Hirose is being postponed until after the LCD picture quality comparison, there is no more obstacle and I can now proceed with the design of this very simple test PCB. I am hoping to get this PCB design done and sent out to fab some time this week. Hasta la Victoria, Siempre, Mychaela aka The Mother _______________________________________________ Community mailing list Community@freecalypso.org https://www.freecalypso.org/mailman/listinfo/community