LCD: Alternatives to unobtainable 2x55 character LCDs

[alekzander]

I recently set-up my music stuff again and realized how much fun it is not to stare at a computer screen but rather have dedicated hardware for recording, mixing and playing. I am quite happy with my el-cheapo setup of a Tascam FireOne (Firewire audio, Scrub wheel, transport controls and function buttons) and Behringer BCF-2000, except that it drives me nuts trying to figure out what I actually control with the faders for lack of a dedicated display. Consequently, I am again contemplating building a display based on the MBLC.

As the LCD modules used in the Mackie control (and a lot of other devices like the M-Audio Projectmix, Digidesign control surfaces, Yamaha 01x?) are pretty much unavailable on the market I am looking for a nice alternative which will display track name and parameters as close as possible to the encoders and faders of the BCF.

Ideally, the display should be 228 mm wide. The obvious idea is to use several displays to cover this, but unfortunately most LCD assemblies have a quite large margin between the edge of the PCB and the start of the active area; 1-2 cm on each side are not uncommon. The closest solution I can find are four EA DOG modules side by side. They are 55mm wide and the active area is 48.31 mm leaving a ~7 mm gap between active areas of adjacent displays. EA sells a 2x16 character display or a 132x32 pixel graphic display In the same form factor; the price difference is only about US$ 2. With the right character set the graphic display should get close to 55 characters per line.

The downer of course is the cost ($68 for four displays with backlights) and the increased complexity of building it compared to finding one display and hooking it up to the core.

Does anybody know of any alternatives? Large 240x64 or 256x64 graphic displays, 2x27 character displays of the right dimensions. Am I missing anything obvious?

Another question re DOG LCDs: I remember reading that hooking up four of the character modules should not be an issue. What about four of the graphic displays?

Thanks.

Alexander