NP-41 Emulator (may be)

[Chris Chung]

(08-18-2015 03:08 PM)Didier Lachieze Wrote:  I am also fond of the 14-segment display of the 41 and would love to see such a display used on a replica, so my preference goes also to option c).
I was expecting a custom LCD glass to cost much more than your initial quote, so it seems that if you can get 50 people interested by the NP-41 project the NRE of a custom LCD would be around $20 which is something I would gladly pay to avoid a standard dot-matrix LCD.

The $1K machining cost reference is what I got from some web-site. Again depend on the complexity. It may cost more as this will be a larger (relative to a watch?) glass.
I cannot yet get an accurate quote yet as I need to work out the parameters. I think it will be TN as it's cheaper. I am in the process of pairing the parameter w/ the MCU capability.

The FR6989 can drive up to 320 segments. I need to decide the multiplexing (it will be a 6-Mux or a 8-Mux) and at least test it w/ less segments before committing to a $1K+ buy. So this will take some time.

There is no need for a pre-order as you already shown your interest.

My initial thought would be that the custom LCD is a) not popular, or b) too expensive; then I have to look for alternatives like a dot matrix LCD. Still we don't know yet about (b).

USB (w/ uart) is possible as well as bluetooth uart. Will be something to consider at a later phase. Eric's code shows the 41C has a host of peripheral control (printer, magnetic card, etc) that I will explore.

I may not be able to give you many exciting updates on this project too often as it is still in its infancy, but your inputs are always welcome and will steer the project. So do share your thoughts.