Matrix Orbital Corp

Hi all,

I am still working to decide what LCD I want but I am leaning strongly towards the LK204-25-WB.

My thought is I want to mount this in the 3.5 bays. I have three black ones stacked (I wont be using a floppy). I want to connect the 6 GPOs to LEDs and mount it above the LCD. I will probably finish off later by adding a PC rider type LED device below it. So here are my questions.

1) Will the MK2041 basically stick over my actual blank 3.5 plates? I do not like the line between the faceplates.

2) Is this large enough to actually cover all three bays? It doesnt look like it is and if that is the case but I am not sure.

3) Would a single standard GPO be able to drive two LEDs? I realize they would both be in the same state.

4) I have seen what Coolhand did to cover all three of his bays and as an alternative I would like to do something similar to cover just the 3 bays if the MK2041 will not work. I do not have any spare black metal. So is there another way to hide the line between the faceplates? Perhaps some type of epoxy?

5) Will there be a red version of the LK204-25 coming out anytime soon?

Thanks

James

Couple of more questions.

I am getting the ASUS A7N8X mobo and want to drive this directly from the serial connector on it. So I plan to use a standard serial ribbon cable (that I will round) plug it directly from the mobo to the serial connection on the LCD. I am also getting a Vantec 520watt PSU.

Now the (additional) questions.

1) In a post made by Henry regarding this unit it was recommended to get the wide voltage version if you are using a PC. Is this necessary if I have a good PSU? The reason I ask is because I am not sure if I am going to be able to use the serial for power or if I have to use the PSU.

2) Can I expect this mobo's onboard serial to provide the necessary power and will it be reliable?

3) Are there any cons to using serial for power?

4) If I get a 12v version of this LCD can I still power from the serial port if that is an option?

5) Unrelated. I am curious as to why most (at least some) of the LCDs are wired differently than the floppy. Is this because outside of computers there is another standard you are trying to adhere to?

Thanks

PS I would like to order Monday morning so a quick response, while obviously not required, would be greatly appreciated. I am busting at the seams to get to play with this. Of course I am still awaiting all my regular new computer parts from Newegg. God what an enternity this weekend as been.

You cannot power the lcd via the serial port....serial port doesn't have "power out"

you can supply +5v via the serial plug on the lcd but you have to take this power from the psu....

from personnal experience you should use the wide voltage for computer use...the lcd work on 4.75 to 5.25v....my psu provide 5.28 so ....not to take a chance of burning the lcd for so little cash for the wide option....

Thanks for your feedback. It was enough to get me to order the LCD

I noticed Henry has been posting today so even though I already ordered maybe I will get a response to the other questions *crosses fingers*

James

I'll skip the product related ones...

> Would a single standard GPO be able to drive two LEDs? I realize they would both be in the same state.

You know, if you were quite cautious and used appropriate current-limiting resistors, you could drive 2 LEDs at 10 mA. *But* with just a single cheap transistor (say 2N3904, should cost less than a dime from most sane sources) will let you control 100mA@12V from your GPO easily. Say you want to go all out, spend a buck for a TIP31A, and you can control 3A@12V from your GPO. Details: http://www.bit-tech.net/article/96/

> So is there another way to hide the line between the faceplates? Perhaps some type of epoxy?

By far the easiest would be to cut a piece of plastic to fit, and secure it by the method of your choice to the drive blanks. Lots of product packaging would offer you possibilities for a thin black/dark plastic overlay.

> If I get a 12v version of this LCD can I still power from the serial port if that is an option?

I think Sil covered the other power questions pretty well, but I'll point out that if you do use serial power, it bypasses the voltage regulator on a wide-voltage version. So you should probably not use it unless you hae a compelling reason.

>Unrelated. I am curious as to why most (at least some) of the LCDs are wired differently than the floppy. Is this because outside of computers there is another standard you are trying to adhere to?

Not speaking for MO, but I believe that it's got to do with their products being more targeted at an embedded systems designer than a PC enthisiast, at least in the beginning. I have no clue, but I suspect that the balance has probably shifted toward PC users (I'm just guessing, but I'm sure the development cost for the new USB products had to be justified by a decent-sized PC market.)