lcd4linux-users — lcd4linux users

Re: [lcd4linux] A few Questions about Lcd4Linux

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi,

> Now before i found out about lcd4linux i used lcdproc, which doesnt have 
> the above abilities, but worked on a client/server model.
> 
> Now does lcd4linux support this? from what i read on your website it 
> seems lcd4linux is rather static, you configure it the way you want, 
> then you run it as a daemon. Is this correct or is there something 
> similar to lcdproc in the idea that i can write a client and interface 
> it to lcd4linux? if so where can i find documentation for doing this?

Well, *not* having a client/server model is probably the most important 
difference between lcd4linux and lcdproc. If lcd4linux had been designed 
with a client/server structure, I wouldn't have written it, but used 
lcdproc from the beginning :-)

But this does not mean that you cannot write your own "client" (I try to 
avoid the word "client" because people tend to confuse the client and 
the server side, I call them "plugins"), which is basically a "data 
collector", or one or more "functions" added to the "evaluator".

I think the new evaluator is a very cool feature of lcd4linux. As you 
need the evaluator mostly with data collection, preparation and 
presentation, in a client/server modell you'd want to have the evaluator 
on the client. But this would collide with a clean client/server design.

Maybe you want to tell us what you want to achieve, and I'm trying to 
give you hints how you could solve your issues with lcd4linux.


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

[lcd4linux] A few Questions about Lcd4Linux

[Ognjen B. <og...@ma...>]

Hi all,

I just found out about lcd4linux, and there are some features in it 
which i really want to have for a project i am building, most notably 
the custom character support and split bargraph.

Now before i found out about lcd4linux i used lcdproc, which doesnt have 
the above abilities, but worked on a client/server model.

Now does lcd4linux support this? from what i read on your website it 
seems lcd4linux is rather static, you configure it the way you want, 
then you run it as a daemon. Is this correct or is there something 
similar to lcdproc in the idea that i can write a client and interface 
it to lcd4linux? if so where can i find documentation for doing this?


Cheers!

[lcd4linux] Wiring...HELP!

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Okay, my parts came in today, and I've been futzing with this since 
about 2pm (it's nearly 3am now)... And I'm STILL lost!

Here's what I've got:

1 - HD44780 LCD panel
1 - Parallel-Port plug

The panel came with a CD full of tech notes, but they're so convoluted I 
can't make heads or tails of them (being translated into Engrish doesn't 
help much either!)... What I HAVE finally figured out is:

01 - VSS
02 - VDD
03 - VO
04 - RS
05 - R/W
06 - E
07 - DB0
08 - DB1
09 - DB2
10 - DB3
11 - DB4
12 - DB5
13 - DB6
14 - DB7
15 - LED+
16 - LED-

BUT, which one of those goes to which pin on the parallel-port? Come on 
folks, I REALLY don't want to blow this thing up... HELP!

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Yes, that would work... :) BUT (there's always a but) it would require 
the script to be run 6 times (at least, on my network)... However, for 
now I guess it would work. :) Thanks!

Mike

Michael Reinelt wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> I think you can achieve this with the current lcd4linux and the exec 
> plugin.
>
> write a little shell script:
>
> system_status.sh
>
> #! /bin/bash
> ping $1 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && echo "ok" || echo "error"
>
>
> and use the exec plugin:
>
> exec('/home/me/system_status.sh 192.168.0.1', 10000)
>
> WARNING: this is untested!
>
>
> bye, Michael

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Yes, that would work... :) BUT (there's always a but) it would require 
the script to be run 6 times (at least, on my network)... However, for 
now I guess it would work. :) Thanks!

Mike

Michael Reinelt wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> I think you can achieve this with the current lcd4linux and the exec 
> plugin.
>
> write a little shell script:
>
> system_status.sh
>
> #! /bin/bash
> ping $1 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && echo "ok" || echo "error"
>
>
> and use the exec plugin:
>
> exec('/home/me/system_status.sh 192.168.0.1', 10000)
>
> WARNING: this is untested!
>
>
> bye, Michael

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi there,

> I can do better than that... :) I can post a partly-done script showing 
> what I mean...
> # Network Status:
> ping 192.168.0.1 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s1="ok" || s1="error"
> ping 192.168.0.2 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s2="ok" || s2="error"
> ping 192.168.0.3 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s3="ok" || s3="error"
> ping 192.168.0.4 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s4="ok" || s4="error"
> ping 192.168.0.5 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s5="ok" || s5="error"
> ping 192.168.0.8 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s8="ok" || s8="error"
> 
> if [ "$s1" = "error" ]; then
>  sys="Zuul offline"
> elif [ "$s2" = "error" ]; then
>  sys="Toadstool offline"
> elif [ "$s3" = "error" ]; then
>  sys="Bessie offline"
> elif [ "$s4" = "error" ]; then
>  sys="GayMer offline"
> elif [ "$s8" = "error" ]; then
>  sys="Mavus offline"
> else
>  sys="Ok"
> fi
> echo "Systems: $sys"

I think you can achieve this with the current lcd4linux and the exec plugin.

write a little shell script:

system_status.sh

#! /bin/bash
ping $1 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && echo "ok" || echo "error"


and use the exec plugin:

exec('/home/me/system_status.sh 192.168.0.1', 10000)

WARNING: this is untested!


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

I can do better than that... :) I can post a partly-done script showing 
what I mean...

-------------------------------------------------------
#!/bin/bash

# Network Status:
ping 192.168.0.1 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s1="ok" || s1="error"
ping 192.168.0.2 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s2="ok" || s2="error"
ping 192.168.0.3 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s3="ok" || s3="error"
ping 192.168.0.4 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s4="ok" || s4="error"
ping 192.168.0.5 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s5="ok" || s5="error"
ping 192.168.0.8 -w 5 -c 1 >/dev/null && s8="ok" || s8="error"

if [ "$s1" = "error" ]; then
  sys="Zuul offline"
elif [ "$s2" = "error" ]; then
  sys="Toadstool offline"
elif [ "$s3" = "error" ]; then
  sys="Bessie offline"
elif [ "$s4" = "error" ]; then
  sys="GayMer offline"
elif [ "$s8" = "error" ]; then
  sys="Mavus offline"
else
  sys="Ok"
fi
echo "Systems: $sys"

exit
-------------------------------------------------------

Yes, it's kludgy, but it works. :) I use a similar script to output more 
detailed into to /dev/tty11 on that box too.

Basically, I'd like lcd4linux to read the output of the script (in this 
case, the "Systems: Ok" message) and display it on the lcd panel.

Shouldn't be too difficult. :)

Mike

Michael Reinelt wrote:

> Hi,
> Ok, I'll try to find some time...
>
> Could you please open a ticket for this?
>
> and 2nd, could you explain in more detail what kind of information 
> your script collects, and how this stuff should/could be parsed by 
> lcd4linux?
>
>
> bye, Michael

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi,

>> There will be some sort of a 'generic file reading/parsing' plugin, 
>> which should be able to read from a pipe or fifo, too.
>>
>> should be quite easy to code. Have you got some spare time? :-)

> Time I've got. Knowledge of programming I don't. :)

Ok, I'll try to find some time...

Could you please open a ticket for this?

and 2nd, could you explain in more detail what kind of information your 
script collects, and how this stuff should/could be parsed by lcd4linux?


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Time I've got. Knowledge of programming I don't. :)

I can do a LITTLE programming in certain languages, but nowhere near the
level you do.

Mike

Michael Reinelt wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm afraid not at the moment. There's no such plugin that handles 
> this, at least it's not coded out. It *is* in my head :-)
>
> There will be some sort of a 'generic file reading/parsing' plugin, 
> which should be able to read from a pipe or fifo, too.
>
> should be quite easy to code. Have you got some spare time? :-)
>
>
> bye, Michael

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi,

> Say I've got a bash script that outputs several values for me (right now 
> it outputs to /dev/tty11 for a display). Can I use the lcd4linux text 
> widgets to read the values from that script?

I'm afraid not at the moment. There's no such plugin that handles this, 
at least it's not coded out. It *is* in my head :-)

There will be some sort of a 'generic file reading/parsing' plugin, 
which should be able to read from a pipe or fifo, too.

should be quite easy to code. Have you got some spare time? :-)


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Ok, I see what you're saying now. :) Guess I just need to wait until the 
parts get here and I get them wired up.

Next question...

Say I've got a bash script that outputs several values for me (right now 
it outputs to /dev/tty11 for a display). Can I use the lcd4linux text 
widgets to read the values from that script?

Michael Reinelt wrote:

> No, you wont need a second parallel port!
>
> You connect every line from the displays in parallel to the lines from 
> the parallel port, except the enable signals. you use different 
> parallel port output signals for each display.
>
> and afterwards you'll have to define the display in lcd4linux.conf as 
> twice the size it really is (e.g. if each display has 2 rows and 20 
> columns, the resulting display woult be 4 rows by 20 columns. row 1 & 
> 2 would be the first display (the oen connected to Wire.ENABLE), row 3 
> & 4 on the second one (Wire.ENABLE2)

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi there,

> As for the two displays having only one controller each... The problem 
> I'm going to have is the fact that the system in question has only ONE 
> parallel port. And no way to add a second one.

No, you wont need a second parallel port!

You connect every line from the displays in parallel to the lines from 
the parallel port, except the enable signals. you use different parallel 
port output signals for each display.

and afterwards you'll have to define the display in lcd4linux.conf as 
twice the size it really is (e.g. if each display has 2 rows and 20 
columns, the resulting display woult be 4 rows by 20 columns. row 1 & 2 
would be the first display (the oen connected to Wire.ENABLE), row 3 & 4 
on the second one (Wire.ENABLE2)

bye,Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Well, IF I get it working, I'll definitely write it up for you. :) I 
should be getting the parts in around Tuesday of next week.

As for the two displays having only one controller each... The problem 
I'm going to have is the fact that the system in question has only ONE 
parallel port. And no way to add a second one.

Michael Reinelt wrote:

> Hmmm... you for shure won't be able to use busy-flag checking. But 
> without, at may work.
>
> Maybe there's a problem of too much electrical load on the parport 
> with two displays in parallel. I can't tell, you'd have to try this.
>
> But I could think of another idea: if the two displays have only one 
> controller each (and therefore only one ENABLE line), you could use 
> tham as one bit display by using "Controllers 2" and "Wire.ENABLE2 
> <anything>". Just use different lines for the enable signals.
>
> This way It would be even possible to display different things on both 
> displays.
>
>
> bye, Michael
>
> btw, if you succeed, could you please describe this geek idea in the 
> wiki? Thanks!
>

Re: [lcd4linux] Crystalfontz 633 USB

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi there,

> Is it possible to use a Crystalfontz 633 USB LCD with lcd4linux and 
> Fedora Core 3?  I've been banging my head against
> the wall with this, but I can't seem to get it to work.  If anyone has 
> been successful would you mind sharing your configuration?

I'm not shure If I have such a display, I may have a look.

But as far as I know, they just use a USB-to-serial converter (maybe the 
pl2303?) and work with the "standard" serial protocol over USB. So the 
only thing to change would be specifying a different port in the config 
file (/dev/ttyUSB0 or something similar)

bye, michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

Re: [lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi there,

> Ok folks, I've finally given up on the Optrex panel (nearly a week of 
> phone calls all over the world and I'm still no closer),

too bad!

> Now for the silly question.. Is it possible to wire more than one panel 
> together (yes, I have a good reason for this) on the same connector (in 
> this case, the parallel port)? Yes, I know both panels would be 
> displaying the exact same thing, that's what I want. :) Why? Well, one 
> panel would be mounted on my system's case, and the other would be on a 
> cable run into another room (sort of a "remote" status display).

Hmmm... you for shure won't be able to use busy-flag checking. But 
without, at may work.

Maybe there's a problem of too much electrical load on the parport with 
two displays in parallel. I can't tell, you'd have to try this.

But I could think of another idea: if the two displays have only one 
controller each (and therefore only one ENABLE line), you could use tham 
as one bit display by using "Controllers 2" and "Wire.ENABLE2 
<anything>". Just use different lines for the enable signals.

This way It would be even possible to display different things on both 
displays.


bye, Michael

btw, if you succeed, could you please describe this geek idea in the 
wiki? Thanks!

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

[lcd4linux] Silly question...or is it?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Ok folks, I've finally given up on the Optrex panel (nearly a week of 
phone calls all over the world and I'm still no closer), and I'm getting 
a few HD44780 panels given to me.

Now for the silly question.. Is it possible to wire more than one panel 
together (yes, I have a good reason for this) on the same connector (in 
this case, the parallel port)? Yes, I know both panels would be 
displaying the exact same thing, that's what I want. :) Why? Well, one 
panel would be mounted on my system's case, and the other would be on a 
cable run into another room (sort of a "remote" status display).

So... Can it be done? Or is it a pipe dream?

[lcd4linux] Crystalfontz 633 USB

[Dunc <lcd...@du...>]

Is it possible to use a Crystalfontz 633 USB LCD with lcd4linux and 
Fedora Core 3?  I've been banging my head against
the wall with this, but I can't seem to get it to work.  If anyone has 
been successful would you mind sharing your configuration?
Thanks in advance,

Dunc

Re: [lcd4linux] Re: LCD4linux - Backlight control

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi there,

I just checked in software-controlled backlight for HD44780 displays.

To test it, do the following:

- specify a "Wire.BACKLIGHT" in the config file
- set an initial backlight value with the "Backlight" parameter in the 
display section

Any feedback would be appreciated.

bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

[lcd4linux] Optrex LCD Panel

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Ok, to (hopefully) help me identify this panel, I've taken 4 pics of it, 
and uploaded them to my site...

http://www.flowerseatshit.com/lcd/lcd01.jpg
http://www.flowerseatshit.com/lcd/lcd02.jpg
http://www.flowerseatshit.com/lcd/lcd03.jpg
http://www.flowerseatshit.com/lcd/lcd04.jpg

Thanks for the help folks!
Mike

[lcd4linux] unsubscribe

[Simon K. <sim...@re...>]

-----Original Message-----
From: lcd...@li...
[mailto:lcd...@li...] On Behalf Of
Michael Reinelt
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 12:58 PM
To: zs...@ma...
Cc: lcd4linux-users
Subject: [lcd4linux] Re: LCD4linux - Backlight control


Hi Zsolt,

>>I could implement an additional Wire for "Backlight", which could be=20
>>turned on and off. (we have 1 or two wires free)
>>
>>Is this what you want?

> Yes, it is. Exactly.
> How could this backlight control work? Should I restart the lcd4linux=20
> process to switch on/off the backlight with an another config, or can=20
> I send any kind of signal to the running process to switch this wire?

No, there would be a function called "LCD::Backlight(x)" with x being 0=20
or 1, and a Config file entry specifying the initial backlight state. At

the moment I have no ideas what to do with this funtion, this may be=20
solved someday with events (and GPO handlers).


bye, Michael

--=20
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...> http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50 ICQ #288386781


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[lcd4linux] Re: LCD4linux - Backlight control

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi Zsolt,

>>I could implement an additional Wire for "Backlight", which could be
>>turned on and off. (we have 1 or two wires free)
>>
>>Is this what you want?

> Yes, it is. Exactly.
> How could this backlight control work? Should I restart the lcd4linux
> process to switch on/off the backlight with an another config, or can I
> send any kind of signal to the running process to switch this wire?

No, there would be a function called "LCD::Backlight(x)" with x being 0 
or 1, and a Config file entry specifying the initial backlight state. At 
the moment I have no ideas what to do with this funtion, this may be 
solved someday with events (and GPO handlers).


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

[lcd4linux] Re: LCD4linux - Backlight control

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi Zsolt,

> I'm thinking about switching off the backlight on the lcd.
> Is there any way to control one or more "unused" wire on parport from
> lcd4linux?
> This could drive a transistor which could switch on or off the
> backlight.
> I mean a HD44780 or t6963 display, they haven't baclight control yet.

Well, that should be no problem. There's already a HD44780-"Model' which 
supports backlight-control by software (but with a special command, and 
in 4 levels).

I don't know how a circuit could look like. Any ideas?

I could implement an additional Wire for "Backlight", which could be 
turned on and off. (we have 1 or two wires free)

Is this what you want?


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

Re: [lcd4linux] Optrex LCD Panel?

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi Mike,

> I have an Optrex LCD Panel pulled from a Compaq EZ-2300 system (the LCD=
=20
> works perfectly, but the Compaq doesn't). I know lcd4linux doesn't have=
=20
> a specific driver for this LCD, but I'd like to try it myself. HOWEVER,=
=20
> I'm not sure how to wire it.
>=20
> The connector on the LCD's panel is 9 pins (serial perhaps?), and the=20
> LCD has 4 LEDs and a pushbutton, as well as a 2-pin connector for a=20
> speaker.

Hmmm... you may be right, 9 pins are probably a serial connection. But=20
I'=C4m afraid without any datasheet there will be not much success... I

Have you got any description? Either from the display or from the port=20
on the Compaq?

bye, Michael

--=20
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781

[lcd4linux] Optrex LCD Panel?

[Cuddles <cu...@fl...>]

Hi all. Just a quick question here....

I have an Optrex LCD Panel pulled from a Compaq EZ-2300 system (the LCD 
works perfectly, but the Compaq doesn't). I know lcd4linux doesn't have 
a specific driver for this LCD, but I'd like to try it myself. HOWEVER, 
I'm not sure how to wire it.

The connector on the LCD's panel is 9 pins (serial perhaps?), and the 
LCD has 4 LEDs and a pushbutton, as well as a 2-pin connector for a speaker.

So how could I wire this for testing?

Thanks,
Mike

[lcd4linux] LCD4Linux-0.10.0-RC1 released!

[Michael R. <re...@eu...>]

Hi there,

more exciting things happen: I just released 0.10.0-RC1 to the public! 
Available from the usual locations at SourceForge.

Please test and give us feedback! But be warned: The config file 
lcd4linux.conf did change a lot! Take a look at lcd4linux.conf.sample 
and please visit our new homepage http://lcd4linux.bulix.org for 
up-to-date documentation!

Enjoy!


bye, Michael

-- 
Michael Reinelt <re...@eu...>
http://members.eunet.at/reinelt
GPG-Key 0xDF13BA50
ICQ #288386781