My summer project: A colour Stacy

[derkom]

Hi, I’ve been looking at RGB2HDMI mounted in ST and most signals are pulled from resistors by shifter, did you do the same for Stacey? Or should I purchase a stand-off for shifter with all signals out (except 2) for connecting RGB2HDMI but it’s designed for ST?

I built the 12-bit buffered pickup board and pulled the signals right off the shifter. The only signals that still need to come from the motherboard at that point are hsync and vsync.

Do you also remember which RGB2HDMI option did you get (analog or 12bit extender)?

12-bit extender.

[Amigatorian]

I finally got it working!
I used this kit from sellmyretro.com https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/detai ... i-st-61574
and after some troubleshooting it worked. I tried different converters before RGBTOHDMI PI and I managed to damage GLUE chip. Something happened to vsync signal and even the original lcd and monitor out would not work anymore. After I replaced the GLUE chip and RGBTOHDMI detected vertical and horizontal syncs and the screen came to life.
So far everything is working great and the machine is stable !
In the future I will make some additional mods but for now Stacy is doing everything I need and it’s a joy to play with!
I used the factory metal plate to hold the new lcd in place. I used some adhesive foam around the edges to only press on the frame of the lcd and it did not show any bleeding and didn’t put too much pressure on the new LCD. I’m still using one of the factory cables for Floppy LED and speaker but I had to unplug 2wire connector from the top of the module because factory PSU was making very high pitch sound when the original monochrome LCD is not connected to the module.

Thank you very much for your help and Color Stacy #2 is officially alive

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[Amigatorian]

Pictures:

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[derkom]

Looking great!

[Darklord]

If you don't mind my asking, what LCD did you find to use?

Thanks.

[Amigatorian]

LCD: HannStar HSD121PHW1-A03
Please check first page/ first post where you will find more info on the hardware and where to find it. You can also try eBay (where I got my parts) but I would suggest to get same controller board as shown by the author of this thread (M.NT68676.2A) and ask the seller to program it with a correct firmware to drive HannStar HSD121PHW1 LCD. My first controller board was much longer and would not power on on start up and would not fit in the battery compartment if you choose to put it there as well.
I should also add that I had to extend the cable from the controller board to the LCD by about 10cm…
I used this thread to guide me through this modification and I suggest anyone that wants to do the same should read through it, Derkom did a great job documenting his work and saved me a lot of time and headaches.
Lastly you don’t need the external VGA adapter if you only want the LCD modification and use RGBTOHDMI Pi solution. Once you setup and save RGBTOHDMI Pi settings for each mode (mono/color) you will only need to implement the switching which can be done with an external monitor plug (IN=color, OUT=mono) or you can remove the plastic top from the din13 socket, remove white pusher tab and put something between the switch ends and wire a simple switch to mono ON pin and I think 5v (please correct me if I’m wrong, it’s either 5v or ground). Be careful with the white pusher tab, once removed it’s tricky to put it back on and you can also bent the connector so it will always in OFF=Color ON position.

eBay controller board:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/162527000210?mk ... media=COPY

[Darklord]

Okay, I ordered this model and the board from AliExpress.

They sent me a message (on their site) asking about what
LCD model/number it was replacing and if they didn't hear
anything back from me, they would program it for 1280x800
resolution.

Not sure exactly what to tell them? I tried explaining that it
was going to be used in a "retro" project.

[derkom]

Okay, I ordered this model and the board from AliExpress.

They sent me a message (on their site) asking about what
LCD model/number it was replacing and if they didn't hear
anything back from me, they would program it for 1280x800
resolution.

I wasn't asked about resolution, just about what panel I had. I'm certain you want it programmed for whatever is the native resolution of the panel, since you don't want the crappy driver board doing any scaling.

[Darklord]

I wasn't asked about resolution, just about what panel I had. I'm certain you want it programmed for whatever is the native resolution of the panel, since you don't want the crappy driver board doing any scaling.

Okay, thanks!

[Darklord]

I told them it would be okay, but here is what they are saying now:

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Any suggestions welcome...