VController version 2

Started by sixeight, October 12, 2015, 12:17:48 PM

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sixeight

EDIT: Version 2 with 16 buttons and LEDS and 13 displays:


Quick jump to version 2 building process: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=24126.75
Link to firmware and features: https://github.com/sixeight7/VController_v2

Original post:
This parameter feedback is screaming for more displays. Here is an idea for version 2 worked out in sketchup.... Also added some more buttons. Very tempting this stuff...

I could add a larger 16x1 central display: http://www.buydisplay.com/default/3-3v-5v-character-module-16x1-lcd-display-white-on-black-high-contrast

Elantric


whippinpost91850

Quote from:  sixeight on October 12, 2015, 12:17:48 PM
This parameter feedback is screaming for more displays. Here is an idea for version 2 worked out in sketchup.... Also added some more buttons. Very tempting this stuff...

I could add a larger 16x1 central display: http://www.buydisplay.com/default/3-3v-5v-character-module-16x1-lcd-display-white-on-black-high-contrast

Now if you can have the screens read big letters this would be totally cool 8)

GuitarBuilder

Now you're talking'!

I think the Liquid Foot MIDI controllers are a great example to follow!
"There's no-one left alive, it must be a draw"  Peter Gabriel 1973

sixeight

Quote from:  whippinpost91850 on October 12, 2015, 01:09:34 PM
Now if you can have the screens read big letters this would be totally cool 8)

This is a challenge, as I use one display for two parameters/patch names. Larger displays will make the unit too large. Graphical displays require much more processing and design and a lot of electronics to control it all.

Having up to eight basic lcd 16x2 or other sized displays is quite simple, as I can daisy chain the i2c boards quite easily.

whippinpost91850

Thanks sixeight, I get it.
For me I don't need alot of info Just patch name and in the case of the leds at the switches, just minimal names like say dist, chorus ,etc, but big enough to be legible while standing.

gumtown

Large text on a regular display, but only gives room for 5 characters across on a 20x4 lcd


http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=193107.0

These are the type I am using in my V2 V-Tone project, they are quite cheap and easy to use,
You could do scrolling large text on the top 2 lines, and regular 20 character text on the bottom two lines.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

whippinpost91850

Five clear characters would work for me. So I can make sure which effects I have for any given patch on my Kemper.
It just points out how useless the screen on my Kemper Remote is :'(

sixeight

#8
I find the display on the GP-10 and on the FC300 are well readable. The choice for a blue display on the original Vcontroller was not probably not the best. I hope these are better:

http://www.buydisplay.com/default/3-3v-5v-16x2-1602-character-lcd-display-white-on-black-high-contrast

When buying more than one, getting them directly from the manufacturer is quite cheap.

Will need some separate i2c modules with them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IIC-I2C-TWI-SPI-Serial-Interface-Board-Module-Port-for-Arduino-1602LCD-Display-/161245616356?hash=item258afcd8e4

But as I am still in design stage, I welcome all good ideas and suggestions.
I haven't even decided whether I will build it or not...

GuitarBuilder

I like this one:



Newhaven NHD-0208BZ-FL-YBW ($8.58 in 10+ quantities)
"There's no-one left alive, it must be a draw"  Peter Gabriel 1973

Elantric

#10
Assignable C O L O R  would be nice! (lets out do the Helix!)


LCD Character Display Modules & Accessories 2 x 20 FSTN (+) Transf RGB LED $10
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Newhaven-Display/NHD-C0220BiZ-FSRGB-FBW-3VM/?qs=oKGVsjWCOzHRZL%252bLxRDH6w%3D%3D&gclid=CjwKEAjw-vewBRDH1-b52Lig1hkSJACTPfVF3h8bxjS9zIv-q5P2q8HD38pnYaSzvU0z_6FojGbZ1xoCIozw_wcB



or
2.2 inch HMI Intelligent Smart USART Serial Touch Panel LCD Module Display 1 Pcs $12/ea (probably too much data required to drive this graphic display 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/391273500177?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82







sixeight

#11
Quote from:  Elantric on October 14, 2015, 11:35:23 AM
Assignable C O L O R  would be nice! (lets out do the Helix!)

LCD Character Display Modules & Accessories 2 x 20 FSTN (+) Transf RGB LED $10

These are nice. I doubt their visibility though. And the i2c address cannot be set, so you can only use one on each i2c bus (teensy lc has two)

Quote2.2 inch HMI Intelligent Smart USART Serial Touch Panel LCD Module Display 1 Pcs $12/ea (probably too much data required to drive this graphic display 

These are very nice and can be programmed seperately. Graphics are stored on a chip on the display. They require a serial bus. The teensy LC and teensy 3.2 have only three serial busses. I use all of them for MIDI, as I have three vguitar devices.

Now if you could find a way to connect more then one. Having a touch screen above each foot switch would be truly nice. Long press the switch and edit a bunch of parameters. But a lot of work to build...

As for me: I am trying to keep a small footprint and the total cost at around $100-150. That is quite a challenge.

sixeight

#12
Had another look at displays. These TFT displays are full color and it looks like it is possible to add more than one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2-2-Inch-SPI-TFT-LCD-Serial-Port-Module-Display-ILI9341-5V-3-3V-1PC-/190923137633?hash=item2c73e7e261

Looked at several demos on youtube. Clearing screen seems very slow. Displaying text very fast. But the possibilities of different font sizes and adding graphics is awesome. We could display large patchnumbers with smaller patchnames.also the neopixel leds can be left out. Just display a box or something on the screen when a patch or parameter is activated.

EDIT: things or not as easy as I thought:

https://forum.pjrc.com/threads/30825-Teensy-3-2-with-six-2-2-inch-tft-displays?p=85415&posted=1#post85415

gumtown

#13
I can't see why you can not chain as many SPI displays as you like, so long as you have a chip select (CS) output pin for each display.
I don't see why there needs to be buffering added either, there is virtually no load on the data pins.
You should be able to initialise and clear all displays at once, since there is no display reading required, just write only.

The I2C alternative TFT display would be nice and easy, but the displays seem to be fixed to 0x27 address with no provision to change it.

I still like the idea of the neopixel leds, this is what I originally wanted to do with my build copy of your project,
if you imagine 2 Perspex disks, one on top and one under the footswitch, with a short Perspex tube/sleeve between them.
The neopixel led drilled into the side of the persex disk underneath, so the light shines through to the Perspex disk on top.
This picture sort of shows what I'm talking about.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

Elantric

QuoteI still like the idea of the neopixel leds, this is what I originally wanted to do with my build copy of your project,

Me too!

Fabricate RGB light rings for Foot Switches  - Like recent Line-6 products


GuitarBuilder

Light rings are very nice, but I prefer to have LCD switch labels, like in the RJM Mastermind GT:



or the Liquid Foot LF+ 12+:

"There's no-one left alive, it must be a draw"  Peter Gabriel 1973

Elantric

#16
QuoteLight rings are very nice, but I prefer to have LCD switch labels, like in the RJM Mastermind GT:


thats why i mentioned it yesterday

QuoteAssignable C O L O R  would be nice! (lets out do the Helix!)

Just know that will add significant cost

sixeight

#17
Quote from:  Elantric on October 15, 2015, 05:41:26 PM
Just know that will add significant cost

The i2c displays mentioned by Elantric will not work, at least not if you want more than one. You can't change the address on them.

Other displays are expensive - rgb LCD displays are 12 to 20 dollar a piece. And you will have to add several MCP23017s to control the lot.

I am afraid TFT displays are too slow. I looked at several demos on YouTube last night. If it really takes 500 ms to clear a screen....

So I guess we are back to LCD character displays and neopixel LEDs....

sixeight

#18
Cheapest RGB backlight LCDs so far: 2 pcs for €13.37

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-2pcs-lot-LC162E-1602A-16x2-lcd-display-module-RGB-color-colour-LED-backlight-ADM1602K/32221225184.html

But there is the issue of how to control them. The standard i2c modules for lcd displays will not work, as they only have one pin for backlight LED, not three.

And to be able to really control the LED brightness, seperate ws2811 chips will have to be added.

I guess it is possible to develop a PCB that would control the display and also read out a connected switch. You could then daisy chain many of these together. But that is a bit too adventurous for me.

EDIT: you can get the ws2811 on seperate boards:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-WS2811-Pixel-IC-PCB-Board-For-Led-Full-Color-Module-pixel-Light-lamp-14-9mm-/231649792252?var=&hash=item35ef6750fc:m:miv9pc1_xQjXJjVpWc4-aDw

GuitarBuilder

Have you looked into OLED displays?
"There's no-one left alive, it must be a draw"  Peter Gabriel 1973

sixeight

Quote from:  GuitarBuilder on October 19, 2015, 06:27:00 AM
Have you looked into OLED displays?

Yes, I have. They are either small or expensive. The i2c ones have limited addressing options, so you can only run two on the i2c bus at most. So they are great for one main display, but running more than one is a challenge.

So far just running a number of monochrome 1602 lcd displays is the simplest and cheapest solution.
I looked at other shapes as well, for instance 4002 lcd didplays. Could be nice above three buttons. But the ordinary i2c modules do not fit.

So yes, I think I have looked at about every display on ebay. There are only a few affordable solutions.

It may be worth getting two TFT displays and see how they perform...

GuitarBuilder

I think it's easy to get lost in the multitude of displays available.  How about taking a stab at the requirements first?

How's this:

Display size - 25x50 mm
Characters - 2 rows, 16 characters each
Viewable in direct sunlight
Viewable in total darkness
Viewable under multicolored stage lighting
I2C Interface

Let's detail these out as much as possible.

If you agree these are good requirements, I would suggest that the display be a high-contrast monochrome display.  Under multicolored stage lighting any color on the display will be potentially completely changed.  This would negate any meaning assigned to the display color.  I would suggest white characters on a black/dark blue background as the one capable of handling most conditions.

Thoughts?
"There's no-one left alive, it must be a draw"  Peter Gabriel 1973

gumtown

I2C displays need to be multi addressable, many are only fixed to address 0x27, the rest only give you 8 address options.

I have trouble seeing things under red lighting.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

sixeight

#23
Hi Guitarbuilder,

In my opinion there are only two options left:
* six 16x2 LCD displays with i2c interfaces.
* 6 TFT 2.2 inch displays or more with spi and maybe an mcp23012 to deal with the chip selects - though it is not confirmed it will work

As you are contributing a lot to this post, are you planning on building one? I will not put this unit in a small production. It is just a hobby project. So if you want one you will need some electrical and mechanical skills.

sixeight