Steve Being a devotee of ancient computing devices myself, I was responding to Doug's TRS-80 ascii comment
here's what a 16x2 LCD module looks like http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hN2n9HggfCw/T2TOHEMIAsI/AAAAAAAAAAc/LrJ6uy2cNrs/s1600/lcd162b-yhy.jpg These critters are so ubiquitous that you fail to see them. These modules have an 8 bit data bus to communicate with Z-80s, 8085 etc (nowadays though PICS, AVRs and ATMELs). They also have a facility to split the 8 bit data into 2 successive nibbles of 4 bits (ie 4 pins + 2 control pins= 6 pins). This allows for instance a 12 or 14 PIC (with 8 - 10 I/O lines) to be used to implement very small devices. The design advantage ot using these standard displays versus dedicated/custom displays is that they have no end-of-life problems. They were available 20 years ago and still seem to be going very strong with prices falling to @ US$1 per unit Sarbajit On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 11:46 PM, Steve Smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote: > Sarbajit - > > Can you elaborate? I think this one just flew past me... 2 lines of 16 > characters with only 4 bit indexing (alphabet of 16 characters?)... This > sounds like (much) more than a digital watch (do those even exist anymore?) > or even a calculator (only 1 line?). > > I feel like you handed us a riddle like the sphynx! > > I tried a massive, brooding, indifferent posture to Dougs posts on this > one, but I could only hold the pose for a few seconds before breaking into > a belly laugh appropriate only for the Buddha or Santa Claus. > > - Steve > > Just to update fellow FRIAMers. > > The most common standard display device in the world today is the 16x2 > character LCD display. The vast majority of installations use it in 4 bit > mode. > > On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 12:08 AM, Douglas Roberts <d...@parrot-farm.net>wrote: > >> As a courtesy to our old-fashioned (to put it politely) FRIAM list >> members who are still reading email on their TRS-80 ascii terminals, I will >> supply a synopses of the material contained in that new-fangled url thingie >> below: the article discusses a massive, indifferent, brooding silence. >> >> You're welcome. >> >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
