7 segment LED displays - top mounting?

kissack101 · January 27, 2010, 02:16:29 AM

Hey,

I've been looking to include a 7-segment LED into a pedal I'm building. Ideally I'd like one that I can mount 'on the top' of my enclosure, i.e. I can drop it into a hole and screw it down, all I've been able to find are ones that I need to mount to a PCB and mount to the enclosure 'from behind'.

Does anyone know if/where I can get a 'top mounting' LED display? Any help would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Adam.

kissack101 · January 30, 2010, 08:13:03 AM

Sorry to bump this, but... anyone?

Processaurus · January 30, 2010, 08:14:47 AM

"Panel mount" is the term you're looking for.

JKowalski · January 30, 2010, 01:40:05 PM

Put it on a seperate piece of PCB with a flat multi conductor cable to hold all the pins coming from the PCB, drill mounting holes on the PCB, and screw it onto the enclosure. You can put a header on your PCB to plug the multiconductor cable into, to make it all nice and neat.

__..._______________...__ - Enclosure top
|| !!7SEGMENT!! ||
__||__!LEDDISPLAY!__||_ -PCB

G. Hoffman · January 30, 2010, 04:34:41 PM

I've actually designed myself a little 7-segment display board that contains the display, the decoder IC, and all the current limiting resistors. It is a modular thing, and all I need to send it are power, ground, and BCD code. It ends up saving a few off board connections, and when I'm making up a schematic I can just draw a connector for the display. It's about .2" taller, and about twice as wide as the display itself. (It could probably be made smaller if you really worked it, but I didn't see the need.)

Gabriel

JKowalski · January 30, 2010, 06:10:53 PM

Quote from: G. Hoffman on January 30, 2010, 04:34:41 PM
I've actually designed myself a little 7-segment display board that contains the display, the decoder IC, and all the current limiting resistors. It is a modular thing, and all I need to send it are power, ground, and BCD code. It ends up saving a few off board connections, and when I'm making up a schematic I can just draw a connector for the display. It's about .2" taller, and about twice as wide as the display itself. (It could probably be made smaller if you really worked it, but I didn't see the need.)

Gabriel

Hey, would you mind sharing your layout for that board?

kissack101 · January 30, 2010, 10:23:35 PM

Quote from: Processaurus on January 30, 2010, 08:14:47 AM
"Panel mount" is the term you're looking for.

Ahhh, yeah - 'panel mounting' is probably the term I was searching for, thanks!

In terms of wiring them, I will only need it to switch from saying 'A' to 'B' so I'm not sure I need much in the way of controls (there will only be one LED switching - the display is more aesthetic than anything else).

Does anyone know a good source for panel mounting displays? Maplins in the UK don't seem to have any, neither does Banzai in Germany and they're usually the ones I use?

Thanks again for your help!

Adam

G. Hoffman · January 31, 2010, 06:30:45 AM

Quote from: JKowalski on January 30, 2010, 06:10:53 PM
Quote from: G. Hoffman on January 30, 2010, 04:34:41 PM
I've actually designed myself a little 7-segment display board that contains the display, the decoder IC, and all the current limiting resistors. It is a modular thing, and all I need to send it are power, ground, and BCD code. It ends up saving a few off board connections, and when I'm making up a schematic I can just draw a connector for the display. It's about .2" taller, and about twice as wide as the display itself. (It could probably be made smaller if you really worked it, but I didn't see the need.)

Gabriel

Hey, would you mind sharing your layout for that board?

Sure, where can I upload the file?

I don't know how useful it would be, though, since a lot depends on your particular parts. Also, I used a 9 pin SIP resistor network (I had a few laying around - kind of wasteful, but not too bad) to pull down the inputs, which you may or may not have or want to get (it did save a little real estate, though).

It's a really easy project, though, that probably took me all of 10 minutes design time, and I'm sure you could do as quickly. That way, it fits your particular parts. I mean, it's one IC, 11 resistors (seven to limit current for the display, and four to pull down the BCD inputs), and the display. And a header, if you want to use one. I'm pretty sure you could do it in 5 minutes, as you are probably better than I at designing circuit boards.

(Also, the display I bought has been obsoleted, so unless you already have them laying around, it's probably pretty much completely useless! I have a few more laying around, so it's still helpful for me, but do you have 0.8" common cathode Knightbright 7-segment display?)

Gabriel

JKowalski · January 31, 2010, 11:11:53 AM

Quote from: G. Hoffman on January 31, 2010, 06:30:45 AM
Quote from: JKowalski on January 30, 2010, 06:10:53 PM
Quote from: G. Hoffman on January 30, 2010, 04:34:41 PM
I've actually designed myself a little 7-segment display board that contains the display, the decoder IC, and all the current limiting resistors. It is a modular thing, and all I need to send it are power, ground, and BCD code. It ends up saving a few off board connections, and when I'm making up a schematic I can just draw a connector for the display. It's about .2" taller, and about twice as wide as the display itself. (It could probably be made smaller if you really worked it, but I didn't see the need.)

Gabriel

Hey, would you mind sharing your layout for that board?

Sure, where can I upload the file?

I don't know how useful it would be, though, since a lot depends on your particular parts. Also, I used a 9 pin SIP resistor network (I had a few laying around - kind of wasteful, but not too bad) to pull down the inputs, which you may or may not have or want to get (it did save a little real estate, though).

It's a really easy project, though, that probably took me all of 10 minutes design time, and I'm sure you could do as quickly. That way, it fits your particular parts. I mean, it's one IC, 11 resistors (seven to limit current for the display, and four to pull down the BCD inputs), and the display. And a header, if you want to use one. I'm pretty sure you could do it in 5 minutes, as you are probably better than I at designing circuit boards.

(Also, the display I bought has been obsoleted, so unless you already have them laying around, it's probably pretty much completely useless! I have a few more laying around, so it's still helpful for me, but do you have 0.8" common cathode Knightbright 7-segment display?)

Gabriel

Yeah, I suppose that's true. And I don't have SIP resistors, though I really need them

It's okay, don't worry about it.

cloudscapes · January 31, 2010, 11:44:27 AM

I did it by mounting it on the same PCB I mount my pots on.

G. Hoffman · January 31, 2010, 05:05:31 PM

Quote from: cloudscapes on January 31, 2010, 11:44:27 AM
I did it by mounting it on the same PCB I mount my pots on.

Where are you getting your ribbon cables and the connectors for them? I'm having a hard time figuring out which ones I actually want. It's one of those "too many choices" areas for me!

Gabriel

cloudscapes · January 31, 2010, 11:20:52 PM

Quote from: G. Hoffman on January 31, 2010, 05:05:31 PM
Where are you getting your ribbon cables and the connectors for them? I'm having a hard time figuring out which ones I actually want. It's one of those "too many choices" areas for me!

Gabriel

I got both the ribbon and the IDC connectors here
http://www.curiousinventor.com/

JKowalski · January 31, 2010, 11:57:30 PM

Quote from: G. Hoffman on January 31, 2010, 05:05:31 PM
Quote from: cloudscapes on January 31, 2010, 11:44:27 AM
I did it by mounting it on the same PCB I mount my pots on.

Where are you getting your ribbon cables and the connectors for them? I'm having a hard time figuring out which ones I actually want. It's one of those "too many choices" areas for me!
Gabriel

I get mine from an old broken computer

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7 segment LED displays - top mounting?