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Programmable Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD)
An anonymous reader writes "There is a review of a programmable Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD). It is used to monitor computer related stats e.g. temperture, voltages, uptime etc.
The article can be found here.
Looks like an interesting toy!"
This looks like some kiddies LED kit. Yes, it's visible from further, blah, blah, but how is it really useful? Hmmmm.
Conversion Rate Optimisation French / English consultant
I guess this means this won't work in my 1 U rackmounted servers, eh?
HallmarkOrnaments.Com
Now you can watch your hard drive space count down to nothing in real time!
If it's cheap, I'm sold :)
When installed into a modded/color matched case, they look HELLA COOL!!! If you got the bonez and the skillz, buy and install and have fun!!!!!
Is it just the coolness factor? Or is there another reason to have one?
'Nuff said
This is no different than a normal serial LCD/VFD.. All the "programming" has to be done on the computer side.
-- V
It's kind of interesting, how these case displays seem to be so popular.
I have a vaccuum flourescent display on my machine right now. It's multi-colored and large, so large that it needs a separate case and power supply. It displays cpu stats, news, weather, even games!
Hopefully, these case kiddiez will discover the wonder of this thing called a "monitor." One thing at a time, I suppose.
...
Happy New Year - mse
Fiat Lux.
Matrix-Orbital have been selling them for ages.
It's nothing new..
I think this is the display that the incredible SliMP3 device uses. Except it uses only a 2-line display.
I didn't see the price in the review, but after a little poking around, Matrix Orbital's website lists this VFD at $123.12.
-1 on topic
toys are fun, but who can afford gadgets after all yOUR dough's disappeared, complimeNTs of wall street of deceit, & IT's phony payper liesense peddlers.
happy gnu year. beware the "keeper" of the kode.
Pick up any HD44780 compatible LCD, and hook it up to your parallel port. There's a driver for linux that controls this using the same commands that Matrix Orbital uses. However, a 20x4 LCD will run less than $10.00 at many on-line parts houses. I use one for my digital jukebox project.
Why is it that these hardware review sites never give the price? You would think that the price would be at least as important as Baud Rate or some of the other things they listed.
VFDs are expensive as hell, and IMO they look like the kind of crap you'd see in a 1960s sci-fi flick. Mebbe if you want that 'industrial' look or something (or actually use the PC in an industrial setting - data acquisition on the factory floor or some such)
I've seen 4 character units for $100+. Of course thats w/o any sort of controller.
For half the cost, a quality backlit color LCD matrix looks much nicer and does more.
Of course, people will want one of these just to show off how much money they had to piss away.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I'm sure this has been going on for a lot longer than I've noticed it, but it seems like there's a pretty big trend toward displaying information from your computer without looking at the monitor, specifically displaying somewhere on the case. Apple's Xserves have those nifty LEDs, we have some Dell servers here that light up orange or green depending on what's going on... Now you have these text displays (i know they're not new) and that new Apple patent that everyone's buzzing about. While I think its great to be able to get some information about you system at a glance (like the old CPU load LEDs on the old BeBoxes) in a rack environment, but how much of this stuff is just eye candy (not that there's anything wrong with that..)
there was an acticle on slashdot about the lcd screens from matrix orbital using some cool linux software
http://lcdproc.omnipotent.net/
I hear the Apple has a patent on changing the looks of your case. This could very well be a violation!
Neck_of_the_Woods
#/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
The coolness factor goes without question.
What amazes me is that mods that look cool and do little to nothing are becoming so popular. This product at least has some functionality unlike lighted fans and all that jazz. Now the dust bunnies can have a real time stock ticker. Just need to mount a retractable rotating disco ball so the dust bunnies can get down after a long hard day.
that fits on top of my tower and I'll be set. The dinosaurs aren't dead, they've just taken a while to "evolve" to a smaller package.
.
PC's are birds. I guess Linus realized that when he chose the penguin as a mascot.
I mean really, think about it. You can get a card with a vacuum tube on it, visual state displays, tape backup and water cooling, all the things that micros "obsoleted."
The more things change. .
KFG
I mean, I've got a K6-233 computer at home, and with this, I can make it so people at least think I have a fast computer.
Seriously, can anyone explain it to me why people fork out as much cash as they do to give a facelift to something crappy, rather than just saving up, and buying a better model? I mean, for well less than $100, I could pick up a crappy video card, and a 9" monitor to display status messages.
I can't find anyone selling the 9" POS monitors I have at home [640x480], but a 1024x768 one is about the same cost as the 4x20 char display.
With Home Depot talking about upgrading their cash registers in the coming year, the old ones they have might go on the market -- check computer shows and sellers of refurbished hardware.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
VFD2041 Standard $116.28
VFD2041-V
VFD2041 Wide Voltage
$118.28
VFD2041-E
VFD2041 Extended Temperature
$126.28
VFD2041-V-E
VFD2041 Wide Voltage and Extended Temperature
$128.28
As a bonus, get an ethernet controller and MP3 player in the hardware. $250.
--Chris
Having the VFD sit up on a stick is what really makes it useful, IMO.
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
and a nice D'Arsonval analog CPU speed meter that displays the number of instructions per second that are actually being processed.
Then we can have contests to write programs that turn all the lights out, turn all the lights on, make interesting patterns in the lights, etc.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
It's sort of changing the color of the case, so I smell lawsuit. ;-)
I read the review and couldn't find out if it was easily programable or if it is only (easily) used to display uptime, temp., etc... If you can program it to easily output any information that you want, then this is truly useful. You could build a nice little mp3 server for your car/home with track output through this on the dashboard/stero rack.
Can anyone think of any other cool uses for a fully programmable display like this?
I don't keep a lid on my coffee so when I walk around I look busy -me
all computers had blinking lights.
I was very disaopinted when the IBM box came out with no blinking lights.
Nice to see we're getting back to the good old days.
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
It surely uses little power. If you have 3 computers on an UPS like me, 2 of them with no keyboard or monitor this kind of thing is interesting. Those 2 computers, a server and a firewall are in a place where there's no room for monitors, even 9" ones, and even if there was they'd put more load on the UPS.
Of course I could not plug them into the UPS but then I'd lose functionality. Seeing "shutdown in 10 minutes" on that screen could be an useful feature.
These displays have been out for at least 20 years now. I can hardly see how these are news. They are used in old pinball machines from the late seventies as one example. Just because someone released one with a serial interface makes it news? Please, some NEW technology for once!
Displays are really popular things today. They're always trying to come up with something brighter and more efficient. These VFDs take the crown from the relatively new OLED technology. They operate at a wider temperature range (some research I did shows -20 C to 70 C). They also use less voltage (around 5VDC as compared to 8 of most OLEDs).
VFDs sound like the perfect backlighting technology to go into everything from phones to handheld consoles (the Gameboy Advance is seriously in need of something like this) as they would go easier on battery life thanks to the minute power draw and low temperature.
the byproduct of years of oppression by the white man
I've had this display for over 3 years. I placed it in the living room with a long rs232 cable. You can run the power through the rs232 cable, so you don't need an external adapter. When someone calls, the server runs the phone number through a mysql DB with all phone numbers in the country and then forwards the result to another PC in the living room. It then sends the info to the matrix orbital VFD. Of course there's a remote control that lets you scroll through the entries and lets you select MP3's to play. That's a lot more usefull than mounting it inside your PC case.
Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if anybody has done something other than a temprature or current winamp track? I could see some nice textmode demo's coming to these, if they ever get bigger than 8x4 characters or whatever they are for less than £100/$100
The price on this unit is listed as $140. Why pay that much? For less than that you can get a VGA compatible full color lcd panel, which will mount in the same space and which can be used with a simple dual head setup. I've seen an old Sharp 4 inch LCD mounted this way; the guy ran winamp visualizations on that display and they looked fab.
For WAY less than that, you can get a standard serial LCD or VFD display with no circuitry from a mail order electronics store. Building your own circuit board for it shouldn't take that long and is a fun exercise. Sure, the software's nice, but it's not really HACKING if you use somebody else's software.
Way I see it, this product is designed for lazy casehackers with too much cash. Real men solder.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
If it doesn't support Ogg Vorbis, then the terrorists have already won!
http://www.bit-tech.net/review/77/
http://www.matrixorbital.com/products/vk204-25.htm
The Slashdot-linked review didn't seem to have the price, either, and that is listed as between $123.12 and $148.12, depending on what features you wanted.
My
Limekiller
that's got to be worth billyuns, all buy itself?
can't say these guise weren't shrewed.
-50, & couNTing.
& IT's more like skewered. nobody thinks they were like this, before they became "owned" buy wall street of deceit et AL.
these things are nothing new. linux central has had them for years now. also, check out lcdproc for software that writes to these things.
Gyrate Dot Org - "Where high-tech meets low-life"
Speaking of apples, is this thing covered by the Apple patent on dynamically changing the ornamental or decorative appearance of something?
"I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating. And in fourteen days, I had lost exactly two weeks. Joe E. Lewis
I would find these useful for displays on otherwise headless computers. If you have a rack full of servers, it's kind of nice to be able to walk up to the rack and see how they're all doing without having to pull up a console on each one or find a monitoring agent that's recording that information over the network. *shrug*
I thought monitors were totally phosphorescent, and that VFDs were totally flourescent. Phosphor and Flourine are 2 different elements. Unless I, too, understand neither technology.
PC... isn't it so we can (get/write) software to do these things? So we don't need a different system to do simular things?
hm..
-- www.globaltics.net
Political discussion for a new world
you are most likely one of those asian kids who thinks, for some incredibly incoherent reason, that it's cool to emulate ghetto lingo because you choose not to create a culture of your own.
I own one of these displays (an LCD one), and it's better than anything else on the market (hello Henry ;). They make loads of models, not just expensive VFDs. Here are some links:
Matrix Orbital, the manufacturer - they sell direct. :).
Matrix Orbital forums, with loads of photos.
LCDC, the best driver software around for MO LCDs. Does everything
Kustom PCs - a UK distributor
I've been using a Matrix Orbital LCD for almost a year now and I'm pretty happy with it. The best software for it is definately LCDC (lcdc.planetdps.com). It works with windows, not linux but it is easily programmed to display almost anything you want.
LCDC interfaces with Motherboard Monitor to get temps, fan rpm's, and voltages. It also interfaces with WinAmp to get song titles and even graphic equalizer information.
Parallel displays can be had for much, much cheaper than matrix orbital's displays but LCDC doesn't (officially) support anything other than matrix orbital displays.
Also, I happen to know that Matrix Orbital is getting ready to release a USB version of their LK204-25PC (a 4x20 LCD with 12volt general purpose out's - great for controlling fans). It's going to be at least a couple months before they release a similar VFD device.
I'm pretty happy with mine but for me at least it definately falls into the 'neat' category instead of something truly usefull, like it would be on a headless server or home theatre PC.
Check out LCDC, the author did a great job on it, for sure.
For a truly industrial look.
The 4-line display itself would fit in a single 5.25" bay if only the PCB were perpendicular instead of parallel to the VFD...
Taking up two bays is one too many, and very poor design.
This sig left unintentionally blank.
...beyond the obvious "just to show of your geekiness"
1. Already mentioned I think...mobile/automotive/outdoor applications. Ever tried to use a laptop when it's colder than 10C? I have (refrigerated warehouses, outside, etc for programming PLCs in isolated locations). It still works but the LCD screen sure looks like crap.
2. Got a bunch of servers without monitors (or that share one monitor)? It sure would be nice to see the CPU load, available drive space, network traffic and so on at a glance instead of pulling up to a console and switching the KVM sharing device (or SSH-ing or telnetting) all over the place and getting mixed up as to which machine you are observing.
3. Nice to have basic diagnosic info like that on a separate display...it doesn't add clutter to your desktop (mine can get cluttered enough as it is) and you don't have to go hunting to see what window it's buried under. It's also probably less resource intensive than putting it on a GUI window and more convenient than various command-line/text-based utilities out there.
4. The VFD vs. LCD is nice because it is bright and readable---more so than even backlit LCD. If I'm computing at night by the light of a desklamp (where I'm at, in December that means any time after 4PM), it would show up very nicely on the tower sitting on the floor by my desk (LCDs sure wouldn't).
There ya go...sounds pretty useful to me (beyond being a geek-toy). On the flip side I don't think I'd go for this particular VFD product. It takes up two drive bays--thanks but no thanks--that rules out use on low-profile desktops and rack-mounted PCs (and many compact and mid-tower cases if you have, say, a DVD and a CD-RW, some tape backup systems, or auxilliary cooling device or lots of other other stuff that fits in a 5.25 bay). Concept-wise it's a very good idea though...
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Postero Morono, boyees!
It is quite easy to implement a database of all phonenumbers : 0123456789.
Goes against?
They're neat displays, but hardly news. They have been selling these for at least 4 or 5 years. Before they started selling LCDs, I think.
/ a> LCD in my case, telling me all about what the computer is doing. It's brighter, bigger, easier to read, and has more features than similar MtxOrb LCDs, and costs significantly less. It even came with a drive bay mount so I didn't have to cut up my case. :)
Most people are better off spending $10 for a HD44780 LCD plus cables than spending $140 on a VFD. They're both well-supported and easy to display on, especially in linux.
I've currently got a <a href="http://www.crystalfontz.com/">CrystalFontz<
I've got mine installed in the floppy drive area. I have no floppy and I don't need one. Actually it takes up 2 floppy drive bays. Either way, I still have all my 5.25 bays free.
Would it be that hard to cut it a bigger hole?
Heaven forbid modding an expensive rack server!
the above is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect that of the little voices in my head
Noritake has the widest selection of these devices. Some, like the CU20025SCPB-T20A, just need 5V and have a serial input. All you need is a MAX232 or equivalent to hook it up to a computer serial port. No extra hardware.
My Commodore 64 had one of these hooked up once, and I didn't even need the MAX232...
This display is used in public telephones.
I use an LCD in my home entertainment PC... a black 4u rackmount Athlon that sits in my home stereo rack.
MP3s, DivX movies, DVDs, Shoutcast/Icecast streams, TV-out, 5.1 surround... all from a single black box. The LCD panel is mounted in a normal drive bay, and displays CPU load, Time, song being played, or about any system parameter you can imagine. It was also significantly cheaper than the one reviewed above, and came with all cables, and mounting hardware included. The software was a quick download.
The convenience alone makes it worth it. A quick glance at the CPU utilization meter keeps me from having to switch over on my KVM to see if my Divx or MP3s are done encoding...
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
I'd rather get a smaller computer if space is the issue.
Can anyone explain to me why so many people buy full tower cases, and then only fill 2-3 bays? I mean, hell, even at home, I don't think I have a machine that has more than 4 bays full. [game machine has a CD-R/DVD/2xHD, and a server with a CD-ROM and 3 hard drives].
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
Once upon a time there was a DOS user who saw Unix, and saw that it was
good. After typing cp on his DOS machine at home, he downloaded GNU's
unix tools ported to DOS and installed them. He rm'd, cp'd, and mv'd
happily for many days, and upon finding elvis, he vi'd and was happy. After
a long day at work (on a Unix box) he came home, started editing a file,
and couldn't figure out why he couldn't suspend vi (w/ ctrl-z) to do
a compile.
-- Erik Troan, ewt@tipper.oit.unc.edu
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