Introduction: Vacuum Fluorescent Display Arduino

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About: hardware and software, Hardware like Arduino board, Phase locked loop circuit, and C++ programming language, C# programming language

I did salvage this VFD from an old cassette to be used in Arduino Nano project, Arduino Nano to control the sound processors throw I2C and to control LV2300 PLL radio tuner and to control SN75518 shift register to drive the FVD

this VFD it has 12 grid and 14 Segments

I did use just one SN 75518 shift register to control segments and grids

the same pins used for the 14 segments it used for icons


Supplies

The SN65518 and SN75518 are monolithic

BIDFET† integrated circuits designed to drive a

dot matrix or segmented vacuum fluorescent

display.

Attachments

Step 1: Code for the Display

First i did create DisplayData.h to contain all the data for the 14 segments and icons and grids data, in the display that been used in this project.

Second Display.h to display numbers and char and icons

//***********************************************************************

//DisplayData.h

//***********************************************************************

#include <Arduino.h>

byte shiftRegisterByte[4];

//****************************

// method to display number from grid 2 to grid 8 only

//********************************

byte* Digits(uint8_t number,uint8_t grid){

  switch (number)

  {

   case 0:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=140;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 1:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=4;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=64;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 2:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=139;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=72;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 3:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=139;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=136;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 4:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=15;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=128;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 5:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=135;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=136;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 6:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=135;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 7:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=136;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=128;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 8:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=143;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

   case 9:

   shiftRegisterByte[0]=143;

   shiftRegisterByte[1]=128;

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

   break;

  }

  switch (grid)

  {

   case 1:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=2;

   break;

   case 2:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=4;

   break;

   case 3:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=8;

   break;

   case 4:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=16;

   break;

   case 5:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=32;

   break;

   case 6:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=64;

   break;

   case 7:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=128;

   break;

   case 8:

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=1;

   break;

  }

  return shiftRegisterByte;

}

//*****************************************

//Method to display char from grid 2 to grid 8

//**************************************

byte* AlphaBet(char c,uint8_t grid){

 if(isspace(c)){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  

 }

 switch(c){

  case 'a':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=143;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=192;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'b':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=7;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'c':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=132;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=72;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'd':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=11;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'e':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=135;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=72;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'f':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=133;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=64;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'g':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=143;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=136;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'h':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=143;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=192;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'i':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=160;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=8;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'l':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=4;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=72;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'o':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=140;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'u':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=12;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=200;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'x':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=80;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=48;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

  case 'm':

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=3;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=192;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

  break;

 }

 switch (grid)

  {

   case 1:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=2;

   break;

   case 2:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=4;

   break;

   case 3:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=8;

   break;

   case 4:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=16;

   break;

   case 5:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=32;

   break;

   case 6:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=64;

   break;

   case 7:

   shiftRegisterByte[3]=128;

   break;

   case 8:

   shiftRegisterByte[2]=2;

   break;

  }

 return shiftRegisterByte;

}

//********************************

//Method to display Icons in grid number 1

byte* IconGrid_1(String str,uint8_t gridNumber=1){

 if(str=="DIM"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=128;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="WIFI"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=64;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="REP"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=32;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="DISC"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=16;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="RLL"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=8;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="TRACK"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=4;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="SHUF"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=2;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="PROG"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=1;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="clk"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=128;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="c"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=64;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="-"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=32;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="REC"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=16;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="DBB"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=8;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if (str=="1"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=4;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="2"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=2;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 if(str=="3"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=1;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=0;

 }

 shiftRegisterByte[3]=gridNumber;

 return shiftRegisterByte;

 

}

byte* IconGrid_10(String str,uint8_t gridNumber=2){

 if(str=="oo"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =128;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="z1"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =64;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="z2"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =32;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="z3"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =16;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="RM"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =8;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="PM"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =4;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="FM"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =2;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="MW"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0] =1;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="AM"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=128;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="RDS"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=64;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="NEWS"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=32;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="OPTIMAL"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=16;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="JAZZ"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=8;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="ROCK"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=4;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 if(str=="TECHNO"){

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=0;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=2;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 }

 shiftRegisterByte[2]=gridNumber;

 return shiftRegisterByte;

}

byte* ShowDots_3row(uint8_t number,uint8_t gridNumber=4){

 

  shiftRegisterByte[0]=255;

  shiftRegisterByte[1]=255;

  shiftRegisterByte[2]=12;

  shiftRegisterByte[3]=0;

 return shiftRegisterByte;

}

//***********************************************************

//Display.h

//**********************************************************

#include <Arduino.h>

#include <ShiftRegisterBus.h>

#include <DisplayData.h>

#define clks 13

#define dta 11

#define strobe 8

#define latch 9

ShiftRegisterBus shiftRegisterbus(dta,clks,latch,strobe);

//*********************************

void ClearDisplay(){

  digitalWrite(strobe,HIGH);

  digitalWrite(latch,HIGH);

  digitalWrite(strobe,LOW);

  digitalWrite(latch,LOW);

}

//*************************************

//

void Display(int number,uint8_t gridNumber){

  uint8_t a[2]={(number/10) %10,number %10};

  uint8_t b[3]={(number/100)%10,(number/10)%10,number %10};

  uint8_t c[4]={(number/1000)%10,(number/100)%10,(number/10)%10,number%10};

  uint8_t d[5]={(number/10000)%10,(number/1000)%10,(number/100)%10,(number/10)%10,number%10};

  String num = String(number);

  uint8_t z= number;

  uint8_t gridnum=0;

  

  for(uint8_t x=0;x < num.length();x++){

   // if(num.length()==1){z =number;}

   if(num.length()==2){z=a[x];}

   if(num.length()==3){z=b[x];}

   if(num.length()==4){z=c[x];}

   if(num.length()==5){z=d[x];}

  ClearDisplay();

   Digits(z,gridNumber+gridnum);

   shiftRegisterbus.write(shiftRegisterByte,4);

   gridnum++;

   if(gridnum>=8)gridnum=0;

  }

  

}

void Display(String str,uint8_t gridNumber){

 uint8_t gridNum=0;

 for(uint8_t x=0;x< str.length();x++){

  char c = str.charAt(x);

  ClearDisplay();

  AlphaBet(c,gridNumber + gridNum);

  shiftRegisterbus.write(shiftRegisterByte,4);

  gridNum++;

  if(gridNum >= 8)gridNum=0;

 }

}

void DisplayIcon_G_1(String str){

  ClearDisplay();

  IconGrid_1(str);

  shiftRegisterbus.write(shiftRegisterByte,4);

}

void DisplayIcon_G_10(String str){

  ClearDisplay();

 IconGrid_10(str);

 shiftRegisterbus.write(shiftRegisterByte,4);

}

void DisplayDots(uint8_t number){

 ClearDisplay();

 ShowDots_3row(number);

 shiftRegisterbus.write(shiftRegisterByte,4);

}

Attachments

Step 2: Shift Register Bus Library

I did build a library called shift Register bus to shift out 32 bit for SN75518 shift register to control the VFD in this project

Attachments

Step 3: Example for Using Shift Register Bus Library

Attachments