Vacuum fluorescent display modules

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Interfacing
1

Hi - im a newbee to both electronics and Arduino and are haviong trouble with hooking up an VFD from Futuba.

I dont have the excact datasheet from Futuba, but on their site I found sheets from similar displays. :slight_smile:

So - in my newbee enthusiasm, eagerness and NAIVETY I thought it was so simple as to connect the filament to grnd and pick the different grid/anode pairs to light up the different segments in the display.

In other words beeing able to program the segments on and off with a loop in Arduino, without a dedicated IC controller, by simply adressing the correct pin combinations and setting them "HIGH"

Test 1:
i connected the 4 filament pins to GND and different grid/anode pin pairs both to +5v simultaniosly.

Test 2:
i connected the 4 filament pins to GND and different grid/anode pin pairs to +5v and GND

Ive tested other posibilites also, but...

No reaction on the display!
The display was fully functional - at least before testing.

Co anyone have a clue to how to make a basic setup?

Finetuning led intensity etc is not important at this stage.... Im happy just beeing able to "see the light" :slight_smile:

2

Maybe you can get some inspiration from the Ice Tube Clock:
http://www.ladyada.net/make/icetube/

3

If it's a vacuum fluorescent display it probably needs more than 5v. The one florinc links to uses over 40v! I'm sure I've seen one somewhere that was 14... but never as low as 5. You will need a suitably high voltage supply and, at least, a transistor to let the Arduino switch it on and off again.

4

Thanks for fast reply - ill try with higher voltages at the filament during the weekend :slight_smile:

5

And the link to ladyada looks promising! Thank You!