Matrix Orbital 2041 LCD How-To Supplement

Company: Matrix Orbital
Product: 2041 LCD
Street Price: ~$55 USD
Date Posted: April 28, 2001
Written By: Mark Hagan

So you have your LCD and you want to get it hooked up: we will make the process simple for you. Follow this guide and you will be set.

WARNING! Do not connect the LCD up until you have made the necessary power cable modifications, or it will fry your device!

Setting Up The Hardware: 

Now that you have all of the tools needed for the install, lets jump right in and get started. First thing is first: you need to configure the jumpers on the LCD panel to work at the speed you wish to run. Default speed (out of the box,) is 19200 baud. First step is finding the jumpers controlling the speed. Here is an image helping you to find the jumpers:

The jumpers you will need to set are labeled jumpers, and if you look next to them on the circuit board, you will see J0, J1, J2, and J3 printed next to the jumpers. J0, J1, J2 are the only ones we will be looking at in this how-to as they are the ones that control the speed. The J3 jumper sets the slave peripheral address. Putting a jumper on both J1 and J2 will set the device for its maximum 19200baud rate. Here is a chart to help you with setting your baud:

You can use those settings to configure your LCD2041. If you are using a different model, you will need to refer to the manual included with the unit for information on setting your jumpers.

Now that your jumpers are set, its time to modify your floppy power cable to fit the unit. This is not as difficult as it first sounds--in fact, its pretty easy to do. First thing is first: get your power supply to an open area where you can work on it with ease. Turn off & unplug your power supply. Take the safety pin you gathered for the needed tools and push down on the metal tabs of each pin of your floppy drive power cable (note: you might not want to use your ONLY floppy drive power cable -- make sure your pc has an extra.) Once the pins are down, gently pull the wire out (it should not take much to do.) Once all of the wires are out, it is time to re-order them back in the power connector. You will need to gently re-bend the pin you pushed down back to its original position so that it will stay attached to the holder.

Next, use your electric tape and tape up the two extra cables which you have hanging freely (one black and one red.) It does not matter which black cable you use as they are both the same. IF YOU DO NOT TAPE UP THE TWO HANGING CABLES, THEY COULD POSSIBLY DAMAGE YOUR SYSTEM!

Please make sure that the proper power configuration is used for your display. If there is any question of which type of module you have, it may be confirmed by looking for a fairly large black device mounted near the power connector (4 pin SIP) on the board. If this device is about 1 cm2 with two metal legs and a tab, and contains the printed letters "78MO5" on it, then you have a wide voltage module.

Here is a guide to help you place your cables in the correct order:

All Matrix Orbital PC Bay insert kits come default with Wide Voltage and any unit you purchase from www.linuxcentral.com as well. The reason they have the Wide Voltage is it makes the backlight more consistent in the PC and there is a smaller chance of a module being accidentally blown up by the Power Supply.

Now, test your work. Plug your power supply back into your computer and plug in your LCD to the power connector (labeled on the above picture.) If you give your computer power and you see the backlight display turn on, IT WORKED! If not, re-check your work and try again.

Matrix Orbital also has extensive documentation on setting up each LCD model so you might want to check there if you are still confused.

Programming:

Now that the hardware is out of the way, you need to work on the software! Plug up your serial adapter and start coding. We have included some programming examples for you to use and modify. All you have to do is compile this code and run it and you're set!

Official EOC Code (visual basic 5+): Listed In Downloads Page

Links to more code (c/c++,vb,perl,more!): All At Matrix Orbital

Thank you for reading our LCD2041 text supplement! Make sure you stop by www.matrixorbital.com and see what else they have to offer.

If you have any additional questions about the how-to, please email Mark.

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