X-Board and Silverstone VFD

Myst · Post by **Myst** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 5:06 am

Hi,

I'd like to know whether I can use an X-Board to connect a Silverstone parallel VFD to USB. The VFD came with my case but my new motherboard does not have a parallel port. There is a 14 pin connector for power supply and parallel port communication on that Silverstone VFD.

Will an X-Board work and how is the wiring?

Thanks for your support,
George

Clark · Post by **Clark** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:00 am

Hi George,

The best way to determine whether or not a display will work on our X-Boards will be to compare it to the units we offer. It looks like that Silverstone is a 16x2 unit, so you'll want to check out the MOP-AV162A data sheet from our site.

From the specs I can find on that unit, it looks very similar to that which we provide. The 14 pin connector is similar to the one we employ, but I can't confirm the pinout to be identical. In addition, from the data I've found, it looks like that screen runs at 12v while our board operates at 5v.

If the screen is compatible, you'll be able to connect it to the X-Board using the headers supplied in the package, probably the 2x8 type after removing the topmost two pins.

If you have any further questions regarding that Silverstone unit and/or the X-Board module, feel free to post them up here.

Thanks,
~Troy

Myst · Post by **Myst** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:42 am

Hi Troy,

thanks for your quick reply. It looks like you found more tech docs about the silverstone VFD than I did. Could you please advise where to find them.

However, it looks like the vfd is powered with 5 Volts. I made a photo which shows the 14 pins. Strobe and data 1-8 are connected and nInit. And of course the 5V power supply.

Do you think this can be successfully connected?

--George

Clark · Post by **Clark** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 5:44 pm

Hi George,

I actually just used my trusty friend Google, and clicked on the first couple links I could find for Silverstone VFD. The unit I looked at was an external module, that seemed to be powered by 12v, so I don't think it's quite the same as yours.

As for the connections, the easiest way will be to find the screen itself and detach all the cables. If the pin out matches up with ours, you should be able to attach the display directly to our board. I think you'll be looking for a 1x14 header above the screen, which will attach as ours does below.

~Troy