Hey guys......
My name is Marq and I am new to LCD's. I have a few questions for you about selecting a LCD for my application. I am wanting to replace the gauges in my car with two LCD's and plan on running them with a Atmega2560 micro-controller. I am planning on copying a similar kit that is currently available (
LCDash) but plan on running two LCD's as I said before and would like to use larger LCD's than they did.
I am currently trying to decide which LCD/controller I should get
option 1: RA-8835 Controller
http://www.newhavendisplay.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=270/category_id=95/home_id=60/mode=prod/prd270.htm
option2: S1D13700 Controller
http://www.crystalfontz.com/product/CFAG320240K-TMI-TZ.html
Questions:
How important is the viewing angle? Option 1 is the only LCD I could find with a 12 O'clock viewing angle. Because of its placement in the car I will always be looking down on the screens.
I am wanting to use as much code as I can from the LCDash project but they currently use a 240x128 LCD with the T6963 controller. When picking a new controller for the larger LCD should I worry about which controller I pick (meaning should I try to get on as similar as possible to the T6963)?
According to CrystalFontz here are some of the differences between the two controllers: See page 3 of
this PDF
S1D3700 has 2 bits per pixel grayscale, Busy bit accessible through a physical pin, and has a wider operating voltage range.
Which controller would you suggest getting? Will having the grayscale be that much of an advantage? I am only planning on displaying numbers, letters and gauges.
What about the back lighting? Which type works better in the sunlight.... LED or CCFL?
Anything else I should consider when picking a LCD? What about other LCD's.... do you know of a better one that would fit my application?
Thanks for your help,
-Marq