glitched Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 I was wondering if someone could help me through this.I'm attempting to wire the LCD, so I have a 16P cable attached to an IDC connector.Obviously, the pinouts are not 1:1 to SmashTV's CORE board.Here's the data sheet:http://www.microtipsusa.com/product_pdfs/Character/20x2/20200B%20(White%20LED)/MTC-S20200BMNHSGW.pdfOk, so I'd like to make my life as easy as possible, so I soldered a 16p DIL (male) header to the back of the LCD (the long ends are poking out the back side. The question is this: I'd like to put an IDC header on the other end of the cable I've already made, but I have to re-arrange the cables in order to match the pinouts on the CORE board. How do you do this? Do you just take each conductor, one by one, stick it through the connector, hope they stay in place, and finally clamp it down? Also, about the pinouts of the LCD: when the LCD is face-down, obviously, the pinouts are reversed. So starting from bottom-left-to-right, going up, they'll be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc...but on the flip side, they'll be 2, 1, 4, 3, 6, 5, etc...Does this mean that the pins on the connector should be swapped, too? In other words, the arrow on the IDC connector signifies pin1, but when the LCD is face down, the arrow will really mean pin2, right?I'm probably thinking too hard about this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultra Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 i would not do it as you suggest. there's two ways to do this (i've done both), and both have worked. the first way is to make two cables, put a connector on each end, and then rewire it in the middle, soldering the wires together. the other way is to make a straight cable to a header on a perfboard, then route your wires to the pins of another connector, and another straight cable out to your lcd.doing it the first way took me longer because i was more confused about how the wiring went together. the second way unfortunately adds another board, but is easier to see when you're wiring it and easier to troubleshoot. takes more hardware though. either way, it's up to you. if you do it the first way, i would use a continuity tester each time from each side to ensure you're wiring it properly.ultra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 I do it more like glitched's way, only I hold about 5mm of the end of the cable in a small vice before I crimp, and then cut the extra bits off the end. Quick and easy and effective, but maybe a little wasteful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ris8_allo_zen0 Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 I just did exactly like glitched. In my first attempt, the IDC connector worked once every two times (and having continuity testing pain everytime). Then I clamped another IDC connector next to that one taking care the wires remain all parallel, then I removed the first one. Attached & detached 4-5 times and still no issues.Best regards, Enrico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glitched Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Ok, I think I'll try it this way, but use tape to hold the ends of the conductors.But how about the other part of my question? Pin1 is on the bottom-left side of the LCD, but on the connector, the bottom-left pin is always 2 (the first one in the "back" row). So, I'd have to swap the positions on the cable: 1 becomes 2, 3 becomes 4, etc.? (Dang, I wish my lcd had a single row of conductors.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ris8_allo_zen0 Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 But how about the other part of my question? Pin1 is on the bottom-left side of the LCD, but on the connector, the bottom-left pin is always 2 (the first one in the "back" row). So, I'd have to swap the positions on the cable: 1 becomes 2, 3 becomes 4, etc.? (Dang, I wish my lcd had a single row of conductors.)Sorry, I haven't fully read your message... Yes, probably the numbering in the LCD is referring to a connector mounted in the component side so also I had to swap pairs of wires: 2,1,4,3,6,5,8,7,10,9,12,11,14,13,16,15.To avoid going completely crazy between all those grey wires, I drew some dots on them to represent a number between 1 and 16 in binary (e.g. dot-blank-dot-dot = pin 11) and to recognize the right one while filling the connector.Best regards,Enrico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBanner Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 To avoid going completely crazy between all those grey wires,ouch dude!rainbow cable is a beautiful thing..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glitched Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Sorry, I haven't fully read your message... Yes, probably the numbering in the LCD is referring to a connector mounted in the component side so also I had to swap pairs of wires: 2,1,4,3,6,5,8,7,10,9,12,11,14,13,16,15.To avoid going completely crazy between all those grey wires, I drew some dots on them to represent a number between 1 and 16 in binary (e.g. dot-blank-dot-dot = pin 11) and to recognize the right one while filling the connector.That's so hardcore! Have you seen those binary wristwatches?Anyway, I chickened out and decided to just wire the conductors to the DIL header, directly. It took some time and a steady hand, but I think I got them all on there without a short (I hope). Tape did not work because the cables kept moving around. A clamp is a better idea. Next time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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