NE-HCS12SS59T-R1 I2C VFD
What is it?
A Samsung HCS-12SS59T 12 character vacuum fluorescent display connected to a custom driver board which takes away all the difficulties of using such a display. The driver board does everything for you, from step-up voltage generation to having a microcontroller that translates between the display and an easy to use I2C interface.
Why did you make it?
I like weird and wonderful displays and this display deserves a spot in cool DIY projects. Unfortunately it is not exactly plug-and-play for use in Arduino, MicroPython or Raspberry pi projects.
What makes it special?
Everything is handled on-board, from generating the required voltages to handling the display control signals. All you have to do is hook up this module via I2C using the QWIIC / Stemma QT connectors on this board. There is two of them allowing for easy daisy chaining with more displays or other QWIIC/Stemma QT boards.
Sources
The hardware design files can be found in the hardware repository and the firmware can be found in the firmware repository.
How to use the device
The device can be connected to a microcontroller via the standardized QWIIC interface.
The device is compatible with a supply voltage of 3.3 volt. The I2C interface requires a working voltage of 3.3 volt as well.
I2C interface
The default I2C address is 0x10. The address can be changed by bridging the address jumpers on the board. This allows for modifying the I2C address in the range 0x10 up to 0x2F.
Register map
| Register | Name | Bit 7 | Bit 6 | Bit 5 | Bit 4 | Bit 3 | Bit 2 | Bit 1 | Bit 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | System control | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | LED state | Test mode | Display enable |
| 1 | Display offset | Offset bit 7 | Offset bit 6 | Offset bit 5 | Offset bit 4 | Offset bit 3 | Offset bit 2 | Offset bit 1 | Offset bit 0 |
| 2 | Scroll length | Length bit 7 | Length bit 6 | Length bit 5 | Length bit 4 | Length bit 3 | Length bit 2 | Length bit 1 | Length bit 0 |
| 3 | Scroll mode | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Loop enable | Mode bit 3 | Mode bit 2 | Mode bit 1 | Mode bit 0 |
| 4 | Scroll speed HI | Speed bit 15 | Speed bit 14 | Speed bit 13 | Speed bit 12 | Speed bit 11 | Speed bit 10 | Speed bit 9 | Speed bit 8 |
| 5 | Scroll speed LO | Speed bit 7 | Speed bit 6 | Speed bit 5 | Speed bit 4 | Speed bit 3 | Speed bit 2 | Speed bit 1 | Speed bit 0 |
| 6 | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) |
| 7 | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) |
| 8 | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) |
| 9 | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) | Reserved (0) |
| 10 - 255 | Data (ASCII) | Reserved (0) | ASCII bit 6 | ASCII bit 5 | ASCII bit 4 | ASCII bit 3 | ASCII bit 2 | ASCII bit 1 | ASCII bit 0 |
Photos
