I recently removed a lcd panel out of a 2.4 ghtz wireless phone base. It has 12 pins and displays a 8 segment number and a little clock. Is there any way to decipher the pinout of this little thing? Probably next to impossible right. thanks

Heres a picture

 

is there any kind of chip on the back?

 

Ok here is a picture of the back but there is no chip. I figured I would have to build some type of driver probably using a PIC.

 

I would suggest it's a great deal of work, for very little gain, much easier to use a ready built text LCD module (or a graphic one).

A bare LCD requires AC signals, so you have to arrange for that - the chip that fed it in the original phone probably had that already implemented in it's hardware - it's a fairly common feature of some micro-controllers.

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

 

But it would be pretty easy to create a pulsed signal with a pic. I doubt I'll be able to get a pinout for it theres probably pretty hard to trace it back on the phones pcb. Maybe if I get the pinout for the phone's chip.

 

It's not just a pulsed signal, it requires a 'proper' AC signal, you need to reverse the polarity of the connections - not just swing one side from 0V to 5V.

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

 

I agree with Nigel. With little number of pins, this is a "topology multiplex" type display, so it have only two or three backplane pins for all digits. Need staircase signal for proper driving (to avoid the DC component)

 

Now that's a really great pair of words!, I wonder what it means?.

I've just got back from the pub! 8)

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

 

lol

i've been looking for a simple lcd too, i've tryed taking them out of phones like Monkeyman87 did, but it's too much work to get them working, whats a good lcd to buy?

 

It's FAR! easier to buy a ready built LCD text module, or a graphics one (if you need graphics) - these are relatively simple to use and require very few support components. A micro and the module, and that's pretty well it.

To use a bare LCD display you've got to either use an LCD driver chip, use a micro-controller with one built in, or make a discrete driver system. I seem to remember from years back you used to feed the LCD pins from the outputs of XOR gates, with one input fed from an AC source - to give the required AC drive.

If you're making 100,000 of the item, it's perhaps worth the saving - but for a single item, or a few hundred, it's not really worth the time or trouble.

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk