(Topic ID: 245976)

How big is too big for a dmd + how to guide

By Evilelement

4 years ago


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    There are 94 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.
    #51 4 years ago

    Now tough choice....large DMD or keep my lighted speakers

    Now this could maybe be applied to MMR perhaps....someone needs to investigate this.

    #52 4 years ago
    Quoted from Pickle:

    Now tough choice....large DMD or keep my lighted speakers
    Now this could maybe be applied to MMR perhaps....someone needs to investigate this.

    The speaker lights behind the large panels may still make some mood lighting.

    Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

    #53 4 years ago

    Do you have to have led or can lcd color dmd work as well?
    thanks for sharing this with the community, and not making it into some overpriced mod.

    #54 4 years ago
    Quoted from Pickle:

    Now tough choice....large DMD or keep my lighted speakers

    It’s driving me nuts that’s it’s been a whole day without littlecammi saying this ...

    That is a pickle.

    ahhhh finally, that’s better

    On topic, this is really cool creative work and a generous contribution to the hobby. Thanks OP

    #55 4 years ago

    Has to be the led version , the LCD version is totally different.

    Still working on the wood panel , the solution I use didn't work at a friend's , seems the tolerance isn't always the same on the backboxes, I have a few solutions but I wanna make sure it works for all. All standard metal brackets from homedepot. Be a day or two

    As for Williams and other machines , ANY machine that works with with colordmd led this mod will work , but I have no solutions for Williams

    Last we ran Into an issue with the pinball refinery version of Metallica, aparently with all the mods they have there isnt enough juice for the panels , the solution we did was to take the AC that used for the bill collector we put a 5v 100watt power supply and ran that to the panels .

    #56 4 years ago

    No expert here, but a quick read on specs shows the lower the P number the higher the pixel count. So with that being said, this is the same size but a P2. That certainly would help out with a higher res right? (Ssme dimensions 320x160) next question where would I get colored stuff for my LOTR?
    ebay.com link: 128 64 pixels led matrix RGB P2 5 Indoor Full color LED Display module 320 160mm

    #57 4 years ago

    2.5 is what's in the color dmd

    #58 4 years ago
    Quoted from CLEllison:

    No expert here, but a quick read on specs shows the lower the P number the higher the pixel count. So with that being said, this is the same size but a P2. That certainly would help out with a higher res right? (Ssme dimensions 320x160) next question where would I get colored stuff for my LOTR?
    ebay.com link » 128 64 Pixels Led Matrix Rgb P2 5 Indoor Full Color Led Display Module 320 160mm

    That's making some pretty big assumptions: I'm skeptical that just hooking up two of those displays that it would magically extrapolate a 128x32 signal.

    Even if it did, that's not going to magically increase the resolution either: the source is still 128x32. What does it matter if one dot is now displayed as 4 pixels? If it worked, it'd be a similar effect to switching from Dots XL to Tile on a ColorDMD LCD.

    Among others, the question you'd need to ask is "where do I get high res DMD graphics for LOTR?" Answer: nowhere. You'd have to create new source graphics like CGC does with their remakes.

    #59 4 years ago
    Quoted from HighVoltage:

    That's making some pretty big assumptions: I'm skeptical that just hooking up two of those displays that it would magically extrapolate a 128x32 signal.
    Even if it did, that's not going to magically increase the resolution either: the source is still 128x32. What does it matter if one dot is now displayed as 4 pixels? If it worked, it'd be a similar effect to switching from Dots XL to Tile on a ColorDMD LCD.
    Among others, the question you'd need to ask is "where do I get high res DMD graphics for LOTR?" Answer: nowhere. You'd have to create new source graphics like CGC does with their remakes.

    The P number is just the led pixel pitch ie 2 = 2mm 3 = 3mm just need to make sure the resolution is 64x32 so 2 panels will create a 128x32 pinball dmd, also noting you usually need 16 line scan (Not 32) and hub75 (as few have some other weird pinout)

    #60 4 years ago
    Quoted from russdx:

    The P number is just the led pixel pitch ie 2 = 2mm 3 = 3mm just need to make sure the resolution is 64x32 so 2 panels will create a 128x32 pinball dmd, also noting you usually need 16 line scan (Not 32) and hub75 (as few have some other weird pinout)

    Right, he linked 128 x 64 displays and is talking about getting better resolution...

    What you're talking about also isn't resolution, that's just like going from Dots XL to Dots on a ColorDMD LCD.

    #61 4 years ago

    That is so cool!

    3 weeks later
    #62 4 years ago

    Op, sorry to see that you deactivated your account but if you read this thanks for sharing. These are a cool ad on for a pin2dmd setup for only about $40. If anyone is looking for a way to hang these panels on a non metal backbox here is the mount I made up. It's made out of corrugated plastic, a galvanized metal strap and packing tape. There are three extended straps of tape that go over/under the machines dmd panel and get pinched in the backglass channel to hold it in place. I ran the power and data cables around the edge of the backbox dmd panel, the flat cables fit between the panel and the edge of the cabinet. I used one of the flat cables that came with the led panels to run power by soldering the power cables to .1 headers on either side. I'm sure this could be done in a more elegant fashion but this is what was lying around the basement. This worked for South Park and Street Fighter.

    20190727_174745 (resized).jpg20190727_174745 (resized).jpg
    20190727_175728 (resized).jpg20190727_175728 (resized).jpg
    20190727_180232 (resized).jpg20190727_180232 (resized).jpg
    20190727_180658 (resized).jpg20190727_180658 (resized).jpg
    VideoCapture_20190727-184505 (resized).jpgVideoCapture_20190727-184505 (resized).jpg

    3d printed connector to hold two panels tight together, I was getting light bleeding between the panels.
    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3774850

    #63 4 years ago

    WOW! Op deactivated his account like the pinball mod Mafia was after him for sharing this info.
    Wonder if people realize they can just log out of pinside and not deactivate their accounts?

    #64 4 years ago
    Quoted from arcademojo:

    WOW! Op deactivated his account like the pinball mod Mafia was after him for sharing this info.

    Why did he deactivate his acct? That was one of the coolest mods I've seen here in a while and he's gone?!

    #65 4 years ago
    Quoted from frunch:

    Why did he deactivate his acct? That was one of the coolest mods I've seen here in a while and he's gone?!

    Vid1900 strikes again? The legend of vid grows....

    Rumors are that Vid secretly returned to pinside from time to time under false names. He just came back to share whatever cool thing he was working on at that time. Then he would disappear again, like Santa clause, only coming to share his gifts then gone in the night.....

    #66 4 years ago
    Quoted from latenite04:

    Op, sorry to see that you deactivated your account but if you read this thanks for sharing. These are a cool ad on for a pin2dmd setup for only about $40. If anyone is looking for a way to hang these panels on a non metal backbox here is the mount I made up. It's made out of corrugated plastic, a galvanized metal strap and packing tape. There are three extended straps of tape that go over/under the machines dmd panel and get pinched in the backglass channel to hold it in place. I ran the power and data cables around the edge of the backbox dmd panel, the flat cables fit between the panel and the edge of the cabinet. I used one of the flat cables that came with the led panels to run power by soldering the power cables to .1 headers on either side. I'm sure this could be done in a more elegant fashion but this is what was lying around the basement. This worked for South Park and Street Fighter.
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]
    3d printed connector to hold two panels tight together, I was getting light bleeding between the panels.
    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3774850

    This looks fantastic. Do you have any video showing them both off?

    #67 4 years ago
    Quoted from latenite04:

    Op, sorry to see that you deactivated your account but if you read this thanks for sharing. These are a cool ad on for a pin2dmd setup for only about $40. If anyone is looking for a way to hang these panels on a non metal backbox here is the mount I made up. It's made out of corrugated plastic, a galvanized metal strap and packing tape. There are three extended straps of tape that go over/under the machines dmd panel and get pinched in the backglass channel to hold it in place. I ran the power and data cables around the edge of the backbox dmd panel, the flat cables fit between the panel and the edge of the cabinet. I used one of the flat cables that came with the led panels to run power by soldering the power cables to .1 headers on either side. I'm sure this could be done in a more elegant fashion but this is what was lying around the basement. This worked for South Park and Street Fighter.

    I kinda get this..

    ..but what type and how did you get the metal strap to stick to the corrugated plastic? Is it just bent around the edges of the plastic where needed?

    So the plastic panel is just held in place on the wood speaker panel with tape being pinched in the channel on the bottom and top? What are the 3 pieces stuck to the ends of the tape?

    My biggest suggestion, which should be very easy to do and I think do a lot of good......why not cut out speaker holes in the plastic panel? I believe there is a gap between the front of the plastic panel and the back of the LED panels when mounted....so I would think not having the speakers completely covered up would help quite a bit with the sound.

    #68 4 years ago
    Quoted from joelbob:

    This looks fantastic. Do you have any video showing them both off?

    I took these quickly.


    Quoted from DugFreez:

    ..but what type and how did you get the metal strap to stick to the corrugated plastic?
    What are the 3 pieces stuck to the ends of the tape?

    The metal was a foundation strap I had lying around for some reason and it's just taped to the corrugated plastic, I was going for quick and cheap. Anything thin and magnetic should work there's not that much weight to support. The three pieces in the tape are scrap pieces of plastic I had, they are just there to make sure the straps can't pull/vibrate through and let the display fall.
    Something like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/USP-18-in-20-Gauge-Wood-to-Wood-G90-Galvanized-Foundation-Strap/3611166

    Quoted from DugFreez:

    My biggest suggestion, which should be very easy to do and I think do a lot of good......why not cut out speaker holes in the plastic panel?

    You are correct on the speaker holes. After playing for a day I was wondering why my sound was so muted and then it dawned on me.
    LargeLEDMount (resized).jpgLargeLEDMount (resized).jpg

    After playing with it for a few days I'm not sure I would want to use it permanently in place of the normal DMD. The size and pixel spacing make it hard to read text quickly from only a few feet away. It does look spectacular from across the room so I think as a topper when guests are over it is awesome and lets others have something to look at while not having to stand right over your shoulder. My ceiling height doesn't let me mount it on top of the backbox so I think I'm going to try to figure out a way to have it hang in front of the translite.

    #69 4 years ago
    Quoted from latenite04:

    After playing with it for a few days I'm not sure I would want to use it permanently in place of the normal DMD. The size and pixel spacing make it hard to read text quickly from only a few feet away. It does look spectacular from across the room so I think as a topper when guests are over it is awesome and lets others have something to look at while not having to stand right over your shoulder. My ceiling height doesn't let me mount it on top of the backbox so I think I'm going to try to figure out a way to have it hang in front of the translite.

    I still haven't heard if a person can get a ribbon cable splitter so you could keep running the normal DMD and the large panels at the same time? It seems like that might be helpful for having the display elsewhere while the regular DMD was being used or to make switching to the big displays easier.

    #70 4 years ago

    I'm running a pin2dmd v4 shield which has a hub75 extension connector built in. I don't think I've seen a splitter for sale but you could crimp a custom 16 pin cable with 3 connectors or build a splitter with a stacking header and a standard header.
    Dualledpanel (resized).jpgDualledpanel (resized).jpg
    16pinsplitter (resized).jpg16pinsplitter (resized).jpg
    Here's a thread where someone built dual displays, he has pictures of the 3 way cables.
    http://vpuniverse.com/forums/topic/2718-rewire-hub-75-3-way-cable-for-duel-display-and-reuse-and-a-new-duel-addon-to-shield-pcb-design-by-cable-idea-and-uncle-sash/

    #71 4 years ago

    It's unfortunate these displays use 2121 LEDs, that's 2mm of LED in 5mm of space. That's a bit too much space at pinball distance. I wonder if any displays use larger LEDs.

    Also, if anyone needs some of the magnetic mount screws, I have extra, can sell a set of 12. These took forever to arrive, like 60 days. The displays arrived quickly.

    2 weeks later
    #72 4 years ago

    Where is the easiest place to connect the 5v?

    #73 4 years ago
    Quoted from joelbob:

    Where is the easiest place to connect the 5v?

    That would depend on the game.

    In Sega / Stern games (Twister - SAM system games), I think it would be the 3 holed connection in the front of the cabinet, on the right side near the service outlet. It's a 3 holed molex connection that has GROUND (on the pointy top end) +5V DC in the middle hole and +12V DC on the bottom hole.

    Looking at your collection...that info isn't going to do you much good...

    #74 4 years ago
    Quoted from DugFreez:

    That would depend on the game.
    In Sega / Stern games (Twister - SAM system games), I think it would be the 3 holed connection in the front of the cabinet, on the right side near the service outlet. It's a 3 holed molex connection that has GROUND (on the pointy top end) +5V DC in the middle hole and +12V DC on the bottom hole.
    Looking at your collection...that info isn't going to do you much good...

    Hahaha. Yeah this would be for WCS and Shadow so WPC games

    #75 4 years ago

    So I bought the panels and installed everything today. First off it is crazy how easy everything fits and plugs in. Super easy to do.

    The issue I am having is what others have mentioned which is that the Pixels themselves are rather small and there is a fair amount of black space around and between each. With that said do you think some sort of diffuser would help with this problem. Some sort of film or panel that would go in front of the pixels to make them "grow". Thoughts?

    #76 4 years ago

    This actually has potential... I turned the contrast up to 9 and brightness up to 8. It actually looks pretty great.

    IMG_8020 (resized).jpegIMG_8020 (resized).jpeg
    1 week later
    #77 4 years ago

    So I found an easier way to mount this to a wooden backboard. It doesn't cause any damage to the wood and still uses the magnetic standoffs.

    First you only have to order some of these thin metal plates used for cellphone mounts. $6
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q85KPZB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00

    And you will need to order slightly longer ribbon cables. $9
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FKRYJVR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00

    Once you have received your parts, the first step is to remove the speaker plastic as it will show around the edges of your display. I think black looks better around the edges. IMG_8032 (resized).jpegIMG_8032 (resized).jpeg

    Then you want to attached your sticky magnetic plates where the magnets are going to connect. I cut a few in half using tin snips. IMG_8033 (resized).jpegIMG_8033 (resized).jpeg

    After you have the front taken care of you will want to add some space between your LED screen and the wood so that the wires can run through it easily. I used some washers but you can really use just about anything. IMG_8034 (resized).jpegIMG_8034 (resized).jpeg

    Next run your ribbon cable and your power cable. You will want to plug your ribbon cable in the same spot the original was plugged. I added a molex connector on the end of my power wires so I could use the same molex header pins the original used. IMG_8035 (resized).jpegIMG_8035 (resized).jpeg

    After that reinstall your speaker panel and then plug everything in on the new LED panels and you should be good to go. IMG_8070 (resized).jpegIMG_8070 (resized).jpeg

    I love the way it looks. I turned up the contrast and brightness which helps with the colors. I have already ordered 2 more panels to swap out my other games. Good luck!IMG_8071 (resized).jpegIMG_8071 (resized).jpeg

    #78 4 years ago

    Video in action.

    #79 4 years ago

    That looks awesome. Thinking of doing this with my williams IJ!

    #80 4 years ago
    Quoted from joelbob:

    Video in action.

    Shipping seems to Be outrageous. We should get a group Buy going. What are you paying for shipping? Are you using the original link from OP?

    #81 4 years ago
    Quoted from Toppers:

    Shipping seems to Be outrageous. We should get a group Buy going. What are you paying for shipping? Are you using the original link from OP?

    Shipping was only like $8 per panel. So for two panels plus the shipping it was like $35 total.

    #82 4 years ago

    Here is a video with it off and then some more gameplay.

    #83 4 years ago

    I think the LED setting on the ColorDMD is reversed for those LED modules. Please make sure the ColorDMD menus appear in orange (and not magenta) for the intended colors. If it's not appearing correctly, you can flip the LED setting between RGB and RBG to swap the blue and green color channels.

    #84 4 years ago
    Quoted from Dmod:

    I think the LED setting on the ColorDMD is reversed for those LED modules. Please make sure the ColorDMD menus appear in orange (and not magenta) for the intended colors. If it's not appearing correctly, you can flip the LED setting between RGB and RBG to swap the blue and green color channels.

    You are 100% correct! I can’t believe I didn’t notice. I was too focused on the size to notice the color change. Thanks for the heads up and the amazing products!

    2 weeks later
    #85 4 years ago

    Someone has a large Business Model here........perhaps.....

    #86 4 years ago

    I want this.

    5 months later
    #87 4 years ago
    Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

    Someone has a large Business Model here........perhaps.....

    I don't think anyone is running with it

    1 week later
    #89 4 years ago

    I have a couple of prototypes already built including a topper version. Been toying with the idea of making them in mass actually.

    1 week later
    7 months later
    #93 3 years ago

    Shot in the dark here, I don't think so, but I figure I would ask...

    Will the panels work with stock WPC orange plasma displays, or do you specifically need the ColorDMD/Pin2DMD output controls for the new large display panels?

    I wonder how this would look in regular old WPC DMD orange...

    1 week later
    #94 3 years ago

    No, won't work: you need the LED DMD controller to convert the signals.

    There are 94 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.

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