633 Keypad and display questions

Gooserider

New member
I have some questions about the keypad and display on the 633. I've read most of the threads relating to the 633, along with the datasheet, and wasn't able to spot the answers to the following...

1a. My box will be living on the floor under my desk, how legible will the display be from a normal sitting position? (IMHO needing to get down on hands and knees to read it defeats the purpose) :(

1b. Is this something that can be changed with the contrast adjustment?

1c. Is it possible to install the board on a tilt so that it's at less of an angle to the line of sight?

2. Under Linux, how much info can be displayed on the 633 LCD? I know that it's only 16 char X 2 lines, but can one display more info than that? If so how does one access the additional lines / characters?

3a. Aside from the power and reset functions, I haven't seen much discussion of the use of the keypad - what else does it do?

3b. If it doesn't do anything as shipped, how hard is it to add useful functionality under Linux? (I was thinking in terms of using the L/R buttons to adjust the contrast and the U/D buttons to scroll through a multi line status display or something like that)

3c. My case already has power and reset buttons, so I don't want the keypad to do those things (I think it would be to easy to hit them by accident when using the keypad otherwise) - is it possible to remove those functions while still keeping the 633's ability to shut down / reset a malfunctioning system?

Thanks,

Gooserider
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CF Tech

Administrator
OK. I'll give it a roll:

1a,1b: You can adjust the vertical viewing angle somewhat by using the contrast setting. Having your PC on the floor will not make for ideal viewing conditions, but is usable. My unit at work is set up this way--have to roll the chair back a bit to get good view.

1c. Probably not without a Dremel.

2. Depends on the software. LCDproc can be set for multiple screens--it just cycles through them.

3a,3b. Depends on software. Will be addressed in CC2. I do not know how configurable LCDproc is with respect to the keys.

3c. You have to hold the keys in for 4 seconds if the PC is powered up--pretty hard to do that accidentally :)

The power on/off functions are mainly intended for OEMs--where they can save some panel space by using the 633's keys instead of adding discrete buttons.
 
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