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Garth Wilson · (This post was last modified: 10-27-2022 07:33 PM by Garth Wilson.)

(10-27-2022 03:34 PM)Jeff_Birt Wrote:
(10-27-2022 12:35 PM)KeithB Wrote: And the multiple LCD controllers to improve speed sound intriguing.

Not to increase speed, just to have enough drivers and RAM for every pixel. The screen updates are still sent a byte at a time across the bus from the microprocessor.

It's my understanding that having each controller handle only a small portion of the display improves the duty cycle on the various rows and columns, improving the contrast. I've never had a 40x8, but I've had 40x2's with excellent contrast, and 40x4's which are handled like two 40x2's in the same LCD module, again with excellent contrast.

I always kind of liked the packaging of the TRS-80 model 100. Packaging is a huge part of the design project of making a product like that, and is undoubtedly a large part of the reason that at least until recent years, a laptop cost twice as much as a desktop with the same capabilities. Anyone who has ever tried to make a compact unit like this in hobby, with lots of I/O connectors accessible around the outside, and not wasting any space, knows it's a challenge that can be very frustrating and cause a lot of false starts and starting over. Been there, done that.