Matrix Orbital Corp

Hi,

I'm having trouble with my LK204-25-WB-V. I modified the floppy power according to the instructions connected the LCD via a DB9 male to DB9 female straight thru serial cable. Downloaded and configured LCDC. The LCD actually powers up fine with the blinking cursor but will not display anything. The LCDC virtual display actually displays want I want it to but the actual LCD just displays the blinking cursor.

Thanks in advance.

OK, load up AlphaDemo located on the cd under downloads or on our website under downloads. Then power the LCD up. (since you have a blinkin cursor, that is a good sign!) Make sure you are using a straight through serial cable, NOT a null modem cable! then load up the software and try com 1 at 19.2K and then com 2... try turning on and off the backlight and then sending some text.

Ok. I tried AlphaDemo and still nothing. It definitely is a straight thru serial cable. I have the blinking cursor but you can barely see it. I don't know if its the contrast or not. Also nothing would work (sending text or turning on/off backlight) with either the AlphaDemo or LCDC. Should I uninstall then reinstall both the hardware and software?

Thanks

why not... make sure the two middle jumpers are jumpered on the back, then make sure no other software might be using the com ports. Then check your cable or try another one.

I uninstalled and reinstalled everything and still nothing would communicate with the lcd. Then I examined the board and I think I found the problem. I'm new to this so please bear with me. On the pcb, the path that connects the RS232 and Power/I2C connect seems to have burnt out and part of what looks like copper is missing. I have no idea what I did wrong but is there any other way to communicate (bypassing that path) with the lcd or a way to repair this?

Thank you so much for your help.

If you can barely see the cursor I would suggest you reset the contrast using the ALPHA proggy.

I can barely see it but it is there and blinking but the problem is that I can't get any program to communicate with the LCD itself. The program says its communicate and sending fine but no commands or text is displayed on the actual LCD.

Next thing then is to double check your rs232 cable - make sure it's straight through (2-2, 3-3 etc.). Use a meter to double check... then try a differnt com port if you can? Make sure that they are enabled in bios and no problems in windows (have you got an old modem you can plugin and try?)

Ok. I did all of the above. I still think I some how fried the path from the RS232 and Power Connector path on the PCB. Is there any other way to bypass the serial connection and still communicate with the LCD? There seems to be a small section of copper missing from the path. Can I just put a small amount of solder to replace it? How else would I repair this?

Henry, I emailed you with pics of the LCD. Please advise to what I can do in order to repair this problem.

Question for you, is your power supply and serial cable host (ie computer) plug into two different wall sockets? Give us more details on how you are connecting this up, tell us about your grounds.

No my power supply and serial cable host are plugged into the same wall socket. Forgive my ignorance but I'm not sure what you mean by grounds. Should I have grounded the lcd? If so, what would be the best way to go about this?

well, no matter... make sure the serial cable is conenctor to the same place your power comes from like your computer. Do you have soldering capability?

I'm fairly new at this but I can make an attempt at it. Just solder that missing piece?

Yes, solder the bottom part with a wire, then double check your power cable and then tripple check your serial cable.