Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Programmable Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD)

Posted by timothy on from the dashboard-toy dept.

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!"

18 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Pr0n Meter by syntap · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now you can watch your hard drive space count down to nothing in real time!

  2. So... um... why? by WPIDalamar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is it just the coolness factor? Or is there another reason to have one?

    1. Re:So... um... why? by cybermace5 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well, it actually does require software to give that info. It connects via serial port, see? It's not tied in to the chipset.

      --
      ...
    2. Re:So... um... why? by Zathrus · · Score: 5, Interesting

      About the only reason I can see to use one of these (at least, once you get out of the geek subset that's into case modding) is for a home theater PC. Having an HTPC that could display current input, current song/video playing with time elapsed, etc. would be nice. And most LCDs have a visibility measured in inches (centimeters) rather than feet (meters).

      Would probably want to be able to turn the brightness down though, since if it's too bright it's distracting in a darkened room.

      And, all of that said, this display is too large to be used for most HTPCs -- the display itself is about the right size, but requiring 2 5.25" drive bays kills it.

  3. Odd.... by cybermace5 · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

    --
    ...
    1. Re:Odd.... by cybermace5 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Apparently, you understand neither technology.

      CRT: Fluorescent material glows when struck by electrons from a cathode in a vacuum tube.

      VFD: Fluorescent material glows when struck by electrons from a cathode in a vacuum tube.

      The only difference is that the CRT electrons are steered across the surface of the display with coils. The VFD simply places cathodes near a corresponding phosphorescent element.

      So...not quite as different as you believe.

      --
      ...
  4. Something a bit cheaper... by tchuladdiass · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  5. Price? by prockcore · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  6. not very functional, but cool by ymi+here · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:not very functional, but cool by Melantha_Bacchae · · Score: 3, Interesting

      ymi here wrote:

      > What amazes me is that mods that look cool and do
      > little to nothing are becoming so popular.

      What amazes me was that for 15 years, the only innovations in the garden variety PC case were turning them on their sides to make towers and plastic thumbscrews, both of which came in early on.

      That began to change in May of 1998, when the newly reborn Apple announced the iMac. Apple since followed with the rest of their product line, giving them a very unique look.

      The PC world struggled to compete, but they were held down by Microsoft's specifications and a total lack of innovation. The best they could come up with were clueless copies, and copies good enough to get shot down by lawsuits.

      Then came the fall of 2000 (or the Fall of 2000, depending whether you refer to the season or the PC crash). Apple recovered quickly, keeping its prices up and keeping up the innovation. The Wintel makers weren't as lucky, and they responded by slashing prices, shedding tens of thousands of workers, and huddling in storm shelters. The value had gone out of the PC world.

      The first faint stirings of hope for the PC came when retailers such as CompUSA became bold enough to sell bare bones systems, that allowed some user customization. Microsoft raged about the total lack of bundling of their products, but that doesn't seem to have stopped anybody.

      Someone, somewhere along the line, singly or collectively, got the brilliant idea to dovetail the case modding and build your own movements, and bring them into the mainstream as an established way of acquiring PCs. That did it. Now people could have highly unique and individual PCs, and pay for some of them nearly what Apple charges. Only the profits are spread across lots of little companies, instead of all going to an HP or a Dell. The PC has its value back. Innovation is raging, driven by customer demand and imagination.

      Everyone seems to be worried about the Apple patent on case color changing. Don't be. Apple just noticed it wasn't the only cool thing on the block anymore, and is leapfrogging your coolness. A patent is only a worry if you are a blind imitator like the clueless big PC manufacturers. Don't fall into that trap. Leapfrog Apple again, and keep driving the coolness factor (and useful features) higher and higher. That, plus some serious choice in the operating system department, is the way to save the industry, and evolve the desktop computer into something ever more attractive and useful, maybe even exciting again.

      Mind you, Microsoft won't like loosing control of the PC industry one bit. It is kind of difficult to lock down the PC when every component is lovingly chosen by the individual user. Palladium is never going to work in that kind of environment. Poor widdle litterbugs.

      "It's a miracle! The sea water has once again created new life."
      Moll on Mothra Leo's transformation into Rainbow Mothra, "Mothra 2", December 13, 1997

  7. Throw in a reel to reel tape deck. . . by kfg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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

  8. Register lights! I want register lights! by dpbsmith · · Score: 5, Funny
    What we REALLY need is a 32 by 8 array of lamps--preferable incandescent--that will display, at all times, the contents of the general-purpose regsisters, another group for the segment registers, another for the EIP...

    ...and a way to connect a speaker to the high bit of register 0 so we can hear it "thinking..."

    ...and, of course a "speed" pot, and a 9-position "speed decade" pot that allow us to adjust the clock speed anywhere from 1 to 1000000000 Hz so you can see the instructions executing...


    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!

  9. Re:how much is it? by Gudlyf · · Score: 4, Informative

    $123 direct from their site. Not worth it, IMO.

    --
    Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
  10. Interesting Power Requirements by Angry+Black+Man · · Score: 3, Informative

    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
  11. Price too high, unit too big. by dasmegabyte · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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
  12. More Info by limekiller4 · · Score: 3, Informative
    For those of you seriously considering getting one, another review can be found:

    http://www.bit-tech.net/review/77/

    ...and can be purchased here:

    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 .02,
    Limekiller
  13. How is it useful? I can think of some uses... by WebCowboy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...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...

  14. Re:Just what I need to soup up my computer! by pixel_bc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    > I mean, for well less than $100, I could
    > pick up a crappy video card, and a 9"
    > monitor to display status messages.

    And for those of us that barely have space available for the PC we're using? I won't even get into the embedded applications of this... they *should* be obvious.