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I am looking to identify the LCD module pictured below and find a datasheet for it, or otherwise determine the pinout and figure out how to properly drive it.

Front

LCD Module Front Scan

The lines of text on the ribbon cable read: VG-G080851, 1WRNNB, S37104032

Back

enter image description here

It uses a 24 pin ribbon and the 8 labels on the ribbon, the 4 on the right side read D0, D1, FLM, and FM going from top to bottom (scan was a bit blurry in that area)

This unit is a monochrome screen and was pulled out of a Hasbro VideoNow (V1) player. I don't have the tools to sniff the protocol at all, but the unit was working when I first got it. The wiki page for the VideoNow player doesn't provide any useful technical information or resources (as to be expected). A general Google search for the part number doesn't provide any useful information either.

Apparently the module is manufactured by Vision Display System Co., Ltd. (a Taiwanese company), but their website (http://www.vds.com.tw) is down. I've emailed them about a datasheet, but I have yet to hear a response.

How do I properly drive this LCD? or where can I get more information about it or a datasheet?

UPDATE: I ended up wiring up a test rig to figure out how the main board was driving the LCD, but when I was checking the output on the LCD, I realized that the ribbon cable had broken in a couple places and it was no longer working.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ For some proprietary and/or obsolete parts it may be impossible to obtain a data sheet from the manufacturer. \$\endgroup\$
    – RedGrittyBrick
    Dec 17, 2013 at 8:35
  • \$\begingroup\$ You can reverse engineer the LCD to discover the pinout, but for this you will need the right tools to do it, at least an oscilloscope. \$\endgroup\$
    – Butzke
    Dec 17, 2013 at 11:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, I know that manufacturers don't tend to give out datasheets for proprietary parts, but I figured I would give it a try. Also, how could I go about reverse engineering the LCD if I could get my hands on an oscilloscope? \$\endgroup\$
    – Luc
    Dec 17, 2013 at 14:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ Have a look on Youtube, MikesElectricalStuff has a good video on reverse engineering, in this case it was an iPod shuffle LCD. If I remember correctly he only used a scope, but his method relied on having something which could drive it. \$\endgroup\$
    – user28726
    Dec 17, 2013 at 19:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ I actually just downloaded that video a few days ago, I'll take a look and see if I can get it figured out. Thanks! \$\endgroup\$
    – Luc
    Dec 17, 2013 at 22:00

1 Answer 1

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From the aspect of the width vs height, it looks like something like a 160 x 128 pixel cog display. A 128 x 64 would have a close to 2:1 aspect ratio. This ratio is much closer. These are available as standard modules. Look at LCD vendor specs on line for one these modules and check the number of traces on the flex. These all use similar LCD driver ICs that have a long narrow profile. The pinouts are all similar because all of the row and column driver outputs have to come off the IC and be routed to rows and columns on the bottom glass. The glass substrate is a single sided PCB of sorts.

These drivers typically have both a 8 bit parallel and a serial interface, as well as RW, CE, and MODE pins. There are several pins that require external capacitors for the on board negative bias charge pumps.

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