20 pin ZIF connector to raspberry pi!

Question

So I took apart some old DV cameras and saw that they have tiny LCD panels inside the viewport and was wondering if I could hook these up to a raspberry pi. Does anyone know how to find the traces to get an image going?

I am willing to buy adapters as needed, thanks!

colporteur · Answer

Just spit balling some ideas.

The Pi 7 inch screen technology is video related and might have something. https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-files/2718/2718build.jpg

TFT display technology for the Pi is another https://www.adafruit.com/product/1983

I have done the hookup but never undertaken the analysis of how they work.

Now that I think of it, https://www.adafruit.com/product/3356 eye bonnets are another small display device.

shabaz · Answer

May I ask what information you would need

Hi Samuel,

From the two photos, it's not guessable which make/model of camcorder it came from. So, it's going to be very hard for anyone to speak up if they've managed to reverse-engineer the same model as the one you have, because they won't know which make/model you have, and so at least that information can help. It won't even come up in a google search (if someone searches for that particular model) since it's a photo. The make/model needs to be written down in your question or a comment, to increase your chances of finding someone who has worked with it before.

Secondly, the amount of people out there who may have reverse engineered that same camcorder and who happen across the question+photo, are likely to be extremely low. You can increase the chances of getting information that might help, if you can provide photographs of the insides with chipset markings at least visible. The reason is, the flat-flex connection is not a standard, it can be used for many purposes, so it's not possible to tell much from the photo so far (except that some of the traces are wider and they may be power traces).

I am willing to buy adapters as needed

Just to set expectations, you're likely to need more than that - perhaps a custom PCB designed to attach to the connector. The reason is, it is an internal interface (not like a standard USB or RS232 interface) from a 20-year-old device. Realistically, it is going to be unlikely there are ready-made adapters for it.

beacon_dave · Answer

Firstly, are you 100% sure it is a LCD based EVF ? A lot of old camcorders used miniature CRT based EVF modules.

If so, there was an Element14 Presents episode which repurposed two of them into a VR headset:

Episode 428: Raspberry Pi 4 CRT-based VR Headset

There was someone attempting to do something similar over on the All About Circuits forum a while back. Looks like they had a Sony CXA1854AR based display controller along with a Sony LCX005BKB8 LCD display.

https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/re-purposing-an-lcd-viewfinder-from-old-camcorder.153659/

There appear to be some links to schematics there which may give you some ideas.