SDC Megtron
usb display modules

disclaimer / info:

DISCLAIMER:
THIS IS EXPERIMENTAL SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE MAINTAINER(S) OF THESE PAGES AND THE DEVELOPER(S) OF SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE PRESENTED ON THESE PAGES CAN NOT BE HELD LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR DAMAGE TO HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE, LOST DATA, OR OTHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGE RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE OR FURTHER DISTRIBUTE THIS SOFTWARE OR TO USE ANY TEMPLATES FOR BUILDING HARDWARE PRESENTED HERE.

SDC Megtron usb display modules:

description

the SDC Megtron usb display modules are developed by Smart Display Company.
[sdc megtron front view] SDC Megtron are offered in two different shapes:
  • internal (two 5 1/4" slots needed)
  • external (with display stand)
the picture shows the internal display that was donated by Smart Displays.
specifications
resolution 240x128
colours monochrome
controller display: T6963 + ATMEL USB microcontroller
adjustable contrast no, but adjustable background light brightness
supported since serdisplib 1.97.9
name in serdisplib "SDCMEGTRON"       (example: serdisp_init(sdcd, "SDCMEGTRON", ""); )

some images

[sdc megtron graphlcd 1] [sdc megtron graphlcd 2]
test with graphlcd 0.2.x another test with graphlcd
[sdc megtron graphlcd menu] [sdc megtron testserdisp]
menu view in graphlcd test with testserdisp
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connecting an SDC Megtron display:

intro

SDC Megtron displays are not claimed by any standard kernel module and no kernel module providing ioctl is existing yet. thus only libusb is supported at the moment.

NOTA BENE!

libusb-support might not be enabled!

because SDC Megtron requires libusb it has to be enabled using

./configure --enable-libusb

when compiling the library.

ready-made packages (rpms, ...) usually are already compiled with libusb-support.

libusb

examples
configuration in lcd4linux 
 Display SerDispLib {
   Driver 'serdisplib'
   Port 'USB:152a/8380'
   Model 'SDCMEGTRON'
 }
configuration in graphlcd 
 [serdisp]
 Driver=serdisp
 Device=USB:152a/8380
 Controller=sdcmegtron
calling test program testserdisp 
  testserdisp -n sdcmegtron -p 'USB:152a/8380'
  testserdisp -n sdcmegtron -p 'USB:152a/8380' -o 'BGLEVEL=50'
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passing options through serdisp_init():

intro

using the third parameter of serdisp_init(), driver specific options and custom wiring can be set.
common information about passing options and customisable wiring can be found in a separate document. 
    examples:

      serdisp_init(sdcd, "SDCMEGTRON", "INVERT=YES;ROTATE=90");
      serdisp_init(sdcd, "SDCMEGTRON", "BGLEVEL=50");

options

identifiershortremarkdefault
ROTATEROTrotate display (1 == 180 degrees)0
INVERTINVinvert display0
BACKLIGHTBGswitch background light on or off1
BACKLIGHTLEVELBGLEVELbacklight brightness255
OPTALGO  switch optimised data transfer on or off1
BRIGHTNESS sets brightness of display (by dimming current contrast level)100

ranges, aliases

identifierrangealiases
ROTATE0, 1, 90, 180, 270YES=180, NO=0, TRUE=180, FALSE=0
INVERT0, 1YES=1, NO=0, TRUE=1, FALSE=0
BACKLIGHT0, 1YES=1, NO=0, TRUE=1, FALSE=0, ON=1, OFF=0
BACKLIGHTLEVEL0 - 255 
OPTALGO0, 1YES=1, NO=0, TRUE=1, FALSE=0, ON=1, OFF=0
BRIGHTNESS0 - 100 
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tools

sdcmegtron_tool

this small utility is automatically compiled if serdisplib is configured with support for alphacool/sdc-megtron displays. it supports the following features:
  • changing the boot logo
  • saving the current boot logo to a file
  • saving the current display content to a file (= 'screenshot')
  • setting the level of the background light
  • resetting the display
the utility can be found in tools/ after compiling the library.
usage:
  sdcmegtron_tool [<options>]

  Options: (default values in squared brackets)
    -p dev              output device (if not given: USB:152a/8380)
    -b brightness [255] brightness of background light, 0: turn off,  value=[0, 255]
    -f imagefile        change bootlogo (only uncompressed BMP with depth=1 and 240x128 are accepted)
    -l imagefile        save current bootlogo
    -s imagefile        save screenshot of current display content
    -y                  overwrite existing files (valid for options -l and -s)
    -r                  reset the display module
    -v                  verbose (-v repeated: <= 2: log to syslog, >= 3: log to stderr, >= 5: log to stdout)
    -V                  version information
  • BMP-files for boot logo must meet the following requirements:
    • Resolution: 240x128
    • Depth: 1 (only monochrome images accepted)
    • Uncompressed
examples:
  sdcmegtron_tool                          # show bootlogo using default device
  sdcmegtron_tool -p "USB:152a/8380"       # show bootlogo
  sdcmegtron_tool -b 50                    # show bootlogo and set background light to 50
  sdcmegtron_tool -f bootlogo.bmp          # change bootlogo
  sdcmegtron_tool -l bootlogo.bmp          # save current bootlogo, error if file already exists
  sdcmegtron_tool -y -l bootlogo.bmp       # save current bootlogo, overwrite existing file
  sdcmegtron_tool -s screenshot.bmp        # save screenshot, error if file already exists
  sdcmegtron_tool -y -s screenshot.bmp     # save screenshot, overwrite existing file
image:
[sdc megtron custom boot logo]  
custom bootlogo, uploaded with sdcmegtron_tool  
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thanks:

special thanks go to
donating a display module  *  Smart Display Company
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history:

2010-02-20 merging SVN documentation to main documentation
2009-06-29 (SVN:) added support for option 'BRIGHTNESS', new images
2009-06-25 (SVN:) added documentation for tool 'sdcmegtron_tool'
2009-06-20 (SVN:) first release of documentation
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design by wolfgang astleitner, (C) 1998 - 2010