Matrix Orbital Corp

Here is a guide to make your own temperature probes for the MX2, MX3, MX4 and MX5 displays.

Please note, if you are planning on using the Internal USB Cable you are expected to show a certain level of electronics knowledge. If you damage the display, yourself or your computer it's not our fault. Don't say we didn't warn you. [/size]

LCDC currently has support for the DS18S20 temperature probe. This three pin probe measures temperature from -55C to +125C and measures +/- 0.5C from -10C to +85C. This low profile and highly accurate probe is a great add-on to our displays to create a full Digital Baybus.

The MX2 and MX3 have 4 temperature probe locations on the back of the PCB. It is recommended you go to your local computer store and liberate some unused WOL cables (I have never seen one used). We used the WOL header because of the abundance of these headers. Simply cut one end off and solder the wires to the probe in the correct sequence. I used the color scheme of a WOL cable I have here and hope yours is the same.

LCD Header



Temperature Probe


Connect the dots and you are done.

FAQ:

Q1: Can I use more then 4 temperature probes?
A1: Yes, you can connect up to 32 to the display in TOTAL.

Q2: Should I use heat shrink?
A2: YES YES YES! Make sure you have no shorts as these probes can be damaged very easily.

Q3: I'm not 100% sure if I got the pinout right, should I just try and see?
A3: NO! Double check and ask here on the forum!

Just the topic I was looking for but I can see the images. It looks like an empty directory.

fixed.

I'm a little confused, Henry

You show the MAXIM DS18S20 as a 3 pin (I'm gonna say transistor), yet when I went to Jameco (an electronics distributor) the part is shown as a 6 pin flat package. Which one is correct?

Thanks
Wes

Hi WesleyF,

Thanks for posting. They are both correct, in the example, and what we use here are 3 pin packedge also known as TO-92, the Jameco you are looking at just has a 6pin version of the same part known as a SIOC packedge. They both can be used, you just have to wire up the pins properly. I looked at the Maxim website, the SOIC packedge is a n 8 pin device, not 6. If you take a look at the date sheet

http://pdfserv.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS18S20.pdf

you will see that only 3 out of the 8 pins are used, the rest a NC (not connected). So all you have to do is wire up that chip the same way you would with the TO-92 one in the example. Hope this helps, let us know if you need anything else.

Thanks Henry

The pic's are broke =/

Any chance of fixing the images?

yes images are broken ...
but did find this info VERY usful as we can buy the sensor seperatly for MUCH less than the 'official' probes are !

the trouble i had/have was find WOL cables ! lol ..
could only find one, so just used that and have a junction after, which goes off to each sensor !
its greatr that its a 1 wire comunication system

Mick ...

miniminus wrote:yes images are broken ...
but did find this info VERY usful as we can buy the sensor seperatly for MUCH less than the 'official' probes are !

the trouble i had/have was find WOL cables ! lol ..
could only find one, so just used that and have a junction after, which goes off to each sensor !
its greatr that its a 1 wire comunication system

Mick ...

I'll try to fix the images this week, A great place to get the WOL cables is from small computer stores that sell OEM network cards, they generally have tons sitting around, that's where I get them if I need a few.

bump!

I just inherited an MX4 series and got it running with LCDC in my workshop server, I love it!

My brother installed the probes into a case but who knows what happened to them when I people moved out.