"Bootup text" and buttons on 633?

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Hi all,

I am looking for a 5.25" drive bay screen/buttons interface to fit on an industrial server without monitor.

The DB633BK-TMC-KU2 combined with the bay and internal USB connector looks very impressive and just right for my purpose. I do not have any experience with this or other modules like it, so I have a few questions

1) The LCD will be my only means of giving information to the user. Is it possible to flash or program a default bootup text ("Server starting / Please wait") to be displayed on the LCD until the server OS has loaded and my program can talk to it?

2) When using the USB driver, can my program easily get notifications of button presses, or do I have to poll the device? My application may be CPU-heavy at times. If I have to poll the buttons from the application, is this an expensive operation?

3) Are there rough estimates for the device's lifespan in a real life situation where temperature and humidity may not always be ideal? (I already put extra case fans in on all drives, just wondering if I should have any special concerns for the display.)

Thanks in advance!
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[CF Support]

In answer to your questions:

1. You can set the default boot state, including contrast, screen contents, backlight settings, fan settings, temperature reporting, and pretty much everything else.

2. The 633 reports all events with packets. If your software watches the serial port, if a key is pressed or released, it is reported with a corresponding packet. This also applies to acknowledging packets sent to the display.

3. There are no special concerns for the display. Ideally, you'll want to stay within the range of 0°C to 50°C.

 

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Thanks for these answers; they are very helpful! I will order a kit soon for the prototype.

If I read the docs correctly, the USB driver creates a virtual COM port?

One last question, which won't be a showstopper but just out of interest.. Is the module/communication fast enough to send "animations" to it, so I could "scroll away" or "blink" characters, for instance when browsing through a menu?