LCD/touch panels

Hi,

I need some QVGA or better, backlit (preferably LED), color, full graphic, (have I omitted any adjectives?) LCD touchpanels in small quantities (like a dozen). I'm currently using some

10" panels but they are just too damn big.

Ideally, I'm looking for ~5" diag, 4:3 aspect ratio.

I've tried DX but their search engine sucks, big time! You end up "browsing" their entire catalog -- only the order in which the items are presented changes! :-/

I don't care if they're pulls... this is for a one-off project (prototype). But, such a low quantity might make that option impractical, as well.

Any suggestions as to possible *devices* that would have suitable displays? The 5" size seems to put it beyond the cell phone market. And, the 4:3 aspect ration seems to rule out most tablets.

Perhaps a small DVD player (though even those seem to opt for larger/wider screens...)?

Alternatively, any other "surplus"/closeout sites I might want to grep? (hopefully with *capable* search engines)

Thx,

--don

Reply to
Don Y
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A little smaller than you're looking for, but Sparkfun has a 4.3" 24-bit backlit color LCD display at 480 x 272 pixels and a separately available

4.3" touchscreen overlay.

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display and
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touch overlay.

Disclaimer: I haven't used either of these, so read the associated comments and also check over at Sparkfun's forum for hints and notes.

--
Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

Yes, but this is the wrong aspect ratio. Too "short" by about an inch. I've been picking up random bits of consumer kit to ascertain what size/shape displays they use. Most of the game consoles are either too short (aspect ratio) or too *small* (overall).

The same applies to cell phones.

And, tablets seem to have adopted the widescreen format.

BTW, DX has similar units for half the price...

Reply to
Don Y

Who is DX ??

Have a link ?

Thanks

hamilton

Reply to
hamilton

Sorry, "Deal eXtreme". I assumed they were well known (moreso than Digikey, for example, as they are more of an international player)

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Have fun with their (lousy!) search engine! :-/

Reply to
Don Y

Never heard of them here in the UK either. Following the link gives me US$ prices only. Not what I'd call an international player...

Peter

Reply to
Peter Dickerson

Maybe something like a navigation device?

or find out where these 6.5" panels come from;

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Reply to
1 Lucky Texan

Can't speak to the use of US currency -- perhaps it is "personalized" if you login. Since US$ are all *I* am interested in, I've never gone looking for how/if to change the currency!

As to my "international" claim (aside from their physical location in China -- at least that's where the parcels I receive appear to be shipped from), the front page shows (lower right corner):

--------------------------- Recent Orders

Digital Wood Moisture Meter (1 x 9V) ship to:Finland

RS002 Wired Shutter Release for Canon 1D/1Ds/30D/20D/10D (1M-Length) ship to:Lithuania

5mW 532nm Green Laser Module (3V 11.9mm) ship to:SPAIN 6mm BB White Plastic Bullets (2000-Pack) ship to:ISRAEL

---------------------------

Of course, this can all be delusional on their part. (Why?) But, if these represent the most recent orders, note that "USA" isn't one of them...

By contrast, if Digikey had a similar feature on their web page, I would fully expect *every* sale to be listed as USA.

[for those who've never heard of DX, you might also want to look at alibaba -- though *that* scares me! Talk about "bazaar"...]
Reply to
Don Y

That's too big. Think in terms of a 2-gang junction box (light switch, etc.). These are intended primarily as little "control pads" to turn things on and off or view status of *specific* things (i.e., you won't have 15 different "things" displayed simultaneously).

Or, think in terms of a "universal remote control" that is GUI based. I.e., right now, it is configured to allow you to control your DVD player. Later, it might be configured to control your FM radio, etc.

As you get larger, it detracts from the device's utility (because of the temptation to put more cruft on the screen). It also becomes impractical to use/deploy (e.g., imagine

10" diagonal screens placed at the entry to each room in your house... they start to take up lots of wall space and draw too much attention to themselves). 5" seems a good size. Maybe 4" would work as well -- it depends on how "intimate" you have to become with the panel in order to interact with it. Ideally, you want it to be a casual interaction (like the way you interact with a light switch) instead of a more *intense* interaction (like the way you interact with a *spreadsheet*).

E.g., the PSP panel that Rich suggested is about the right width but it's so "short" (vertically) that it tends to draw you in too much to interact with (small) *portions* of it.

[BTW, have you a *name* so I can greet you properly in my replies? "Hi 1" just doesn't cut it! :> ]
Reply to
Don Y

Sounds like a 2.8" display is all you can fit. Mounting will take up some room on the back of the panel.

I found some LCDs on the DX web site. ( I spent way tooo much time "just looking" )

From your later comments, they seem to be reliable and deliver what they say they are going to deliver.

Are the products you have purchased very good quality ?

The prices are cheap, but are the products also cheap ?

hamilton

Reply to
hamilton

I can get you 4.3" or 5" 800x600 LCD, but i don't know if they will ship less than 100. My previous customer got 4.3", but i think they can make 5" as well.

Reply to
linnix

Switch to 3-gang (I have several in my house). The 120mm x 76mm (800x480) LCD would fit exactly right.

Reply to
linnix

Sorry, I'm not taking the necessary time to explain myself better. :<

I meant, "look at a 2G box on/in your wall -- as it appears to someone walking through your (finished) home (i.e., NOT as the carpenter/plumber and electrician see it while

*building* your home)". Consider the space it occupies on the wall. If that "fixture" (a 2G box with two switches/outlets in it and a typically sized face plate) was much larger, you would start to consider it as obtrusive. It commands too much wall space for what it *does*.

I.e., imagine a piece of "display glass" similarly sized. Now, imagine that display glass being 50% larger. Or, 100%. Pretty soon, it takes on a life of its own instead of being regarded as "just part of the house".

Would you agree their search engine *sucks*? :<

Pretty much. See below...

It's pretty much what you would expect for those prices :>

My purchases to date have deliberately been low dollar amounts and things that they couldn't *terribly* screw up. In particular:

I had several PSP1000's in various states of disrepair. I purchased "screen protectors" for them (little more than a sheet of plastic film to overlay the display), some spare batteries, some replacement caps for the analog joystick (apologies to those unfamiliar with the PSP), a few replacement analog joysticks, a WiFi power switch and a bag of replacement

*screws* (assuming I would bugger some of the screws as I was disassembling the devices... easier to buy more than to try to find a local supplier!).

The screen protectors appeared to be about 1mm too skinny for the PSP1000. Perhaps they were mislabeled and actually intended for the PSP2000, etc.? (you have to read the reviews carefully for clues to these sorts of problems... but, ignore *most* of what the reviews say as they are seriously skewed -- nothing is ever "bad" :-/ )

The batteries worked but didn't hold a deep charge. I figure a $4 battery that works for an hour or two is much better than a $20 battery that works for 4 hours! :> It doesn't cost much to recharge a battery...

The replacement joystick caps were cast from molds that hadn't been sized properly. I.e., some were ~1mm too small in diameter (cosmetic). Others (different style) had way too long of a *stem* (so they floated too far above the game console -- no problem, soft plastic is easy to "correct" with a file!).

The mounting hole for the replacement joysticks was in the wrong place by "just a little". Again, relatively easy to work around but annoying -- and a testament to their quality.

[I get the distinct impression that they just *copy* existing items -- even if they *claim* they are "OEM". So, measurement errors creep into the reproductions.]

I didn't mangle any of the screws so I have no idea on how good those replacements are.

And, I haven't yet replaced the WiFi switch in the one PSP (a fair bit of work) so I can't attest to that, either.

In the original shipment, one of the batteries was replaced by the wrong item (transposed digits in the part number). But, when they saw that the error was theirs, they didn't hesitate to ship the replacement (without requesting the "wrong item" back from me -- perhaps because it was such a low dollar amount. I am now the proud? owner of a genuine facsimile of "My Precious" from LOTR -- magnetized, no less :-/ )

I also took the opportunity to purchase some data+charge cables for some iPods (like $1.50 ea) as well as A/V cables for the same. Again, I figured there isn't much that can go wrong here that wouldn't have been very obvious to all

*previous* purchasers (e.g., if the connectors didn't *fit* into the iPod, etc.).

Delivery times are frustratingly long. But, probably not unduly so, "considering".

However, I would be hesitant to purchase a high value item or item of considerably more complex design -- e.g., wireless tablets, etc.

I would also be hesitant to purchase anything that would be in any way related with foods or beverages entering my body! (why is it that damn near everything -- even christmas lights! -- made in china has *lead* in it??). I.e., the potential downside (illness) far outweighs the savings achievable, IMO!

Caveat Emptor.

Reply to
Don Y

No, it's not. My wall is widescreen. My TV is widescreen. My switch (3-gang) is widescreen. Actually, a 2-gang switch box would be out of place

Reply to
linnix

No, I'm not interested in putting the panel *in* a J-box. Rather, I was commenting on the "appearance" (size-wise) of a typical 2G box on the wall in a home. It's large enough to be useful (imagining a display/panel much smaller would be tedious) yet not too large to "attract attention".

E.g., the 10" panels that I currently have are eyesores. You *immediately* focus on them. And, their size invites you (The Software Developer) to clutter them up with lots of "stuff" (displays/indicators/controls) instead of keeping them "clean" and "focused" (do you *really* need to see the outside temperature displayed on a control panel in the

*bathroom*?)

We are trying hard to get rid of "signs of technology", here (curiously, by adopting *more* technology! :> ). To make things more "homey" and less "techy" (while still catering to all of that technology)

Reply to
Don Y

As this is a "one off" (I really don't worry about others trying to reproduce it, later... let *them* place whatever constraints they want on their choice of display panels!), I want to do it "on the cheap". Else, I could just buy some tablets, gut them and add whatever other kit I need to make them fit my purposes (which would make it unnecessarily hard for anyone else to reproduce)

Hence, looking for some*thing* that has what I need and can either purchase at surplus *or* buy and gut *just* for the displays/touchpanels using my own hardware.

Reply to
Don Y

Getting 10+ screens in a specific size at surplus would not be easy. However, you might get lucky. I just check the list from my supplier. They have a 120mm x 76mm (4.8"x3.0") (800x480) screen listed. That means they made them before and still have the tools to make them without too much cost. However, they are not going to make just a few.

Reply to
linnix

I wasn't necessarily looking for "pristine, NIB screens" but, rather, overstocks and/or the complete devices that they are intended for (to *gut*). This makes it a lot easier.

(e.g., that's how I ended up with the 10" screens/touchpanels)

If, for example, I was looking for something smaller, I'd just start looking for discarded/overstocked *obsolete* phones... much easier to come by than the actual *screens* they contain!

Reply to
Don Y

It's unlikely to have phone that big, or DVD player that small. One thing i can think of in that size range is perhaps ATM machines; however, they are B/W only.

Reply to
linnix

Exactly (though a DVD player would be a bad choice as it wouldn't typically have a touchscreen overlay). A "digital picture frame" (small) might be a good choice.

I've seen some "large PDAs" that are also candidates

Yup. I ended up with several nice, inexpensive panels... that were mislabeled as *color* but were, in fact, monochrome. :<

Reply to
Don Y

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