LCD displays

broderp · #1 05-31-2005, 10:49 AM

I have a very bad LCD display. I was going to say "intermittent" but its really not. I was wondering if anyone with some knowledge can point me to the fix.

My LCD used LCD SMartie as well as the recommended IO program to run. At startup, both these load, and the display works PERFECTLY scrolling thru 12 different screens I set up. BUT inevidably, I get garbage, completely unreadable text or one line of text one line of garbage, all garbage etc..... But it fixes it self most the time. So it seems like 50% it's garbage on display and the other is fine. It also is now blanking out COMPLETELY every once in a while, causing me to have to shut down LCD smartie and restart it.

Is there a cause of this? A windows function causing a disruption of the Parrallel port? Can I get different software that works better? Bad cable routing? bad LCD? I'd almost rather not have it at all if it's showing garbage half the time!

Thanks for any input.

gplasky · #2 05-31-2005, 11:31 AM

Make sure you don't have your parallel port set up for bidirectional.

Gerry

DynamoBen · #3 05-31-2005, 04:36 PM

Lets start with the basic stuff.

Has this ever worked? How long?
What changed just prior to the problem?
Is it serial or parallel?

You can increase the Timing mulitplier and boot delay. (assuming is parallel)

broderp · #4 05-31-2005, 06:26 PM

Yes , it has worked, but for no more than a few days at a time. It doesn't appear to be getting any worse either.

I have changed nothing other than install windows updates, This is on my purely SAGE TV PC.

I am using the parallell LCD, but do not know how to change or check for bidirectional .

Is it possibly a LCD smartie issue or tweak?

Thanks for the help.

DynamoBen · #5 05-31-2005, 07:18 PM

I had a few UIRT issues when I installed the last beta version of smartie...other than that I have been fine. Going to a stable release may be worth the effort.

Be 100% sure its not a wiring issue.

To change bidirectional you would need to alter the parallel port mode in your bios.

Turn your LTP port settings to EPP (sometimes ECP does work, but EPP is better)

Here are some more tips:

Driver boot delay (s): Only change this setting if you are having trouble with LCD Smartie using your display too quickly after booting.

Timing multiplier: If your display fails to work or displays random characters then your display may need longer to process our commands - try setting it to 5.

gplasky · #6 05-31-2005, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by broderp

Yes , it has worked, but for no more than a few days at a time. It doesn't appear to be getting any worse either.

I have changed nothing other than install windows updates, This is on my purely SAGE TV PC.

I am using the parallell LCD, but do not know how to change or check for bidirectional .

Is it possibly a LCD smartie issue or tweak?

Thanks for the help.

Go into your BIOS and check the settings for your LPT1 port. It should have something like ECP, EPP , standard or some other term. Both ECP and EPP are bidirectional so you need to pick your other choice.

Gerry

broderp · #7 06-03-2005, 02:54 PM

THANK YOU!

I went into my bios, and changed it from EPP to STANDARD and this seemed to fix it......2 days and no junk on the display.

I also tweaked the settingas a bit, and it now changes screens much smoother as well.

DynamoBen · #8 06-03-2005, 03:45 PM

Glad to hear its working.
If you have trouble in the future, check out the smartie lcd site and forums. Ultimately, that’s where we got the parallel port settings solution.

broderp · #9 06-08-2005, 12:37 PM

I sure will, it's been DAYS now and no issues! i will look on the smartie web site next time as well, my last experience wasn't a very good one as information is very sparce. I didn't even know they had a forum!

I've got it bookmarked now.

you guys are great.

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