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Need some help choosing a 0.96" OLED and a connector

starfox5194

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I am trying to fit this 0.96" SPI OLED SSD1306 screen into my dash cluster. Although the screen fits, the controller board must be relocated.

I want to use SPI, not I2C for the draw speed.

image

Problem is, I damaged the screen when I used a heat gun to de-solder the screen from the control-board. Screen still kind of works, but I would like to re-do this with less soldering down the road.

 

This SPI display does not come with a controller board, and the connection is a 30-pin 0.7mm pitch. 0.7mm is non-standard, so I can't find a connector to make a solder-free extension.

https://www.buydisplay.com/datasheet-128x64-oled-module-spi-0-96-inch-graphic-displays-white-on-black

 

This I2C display uses a 0.5 mm pitch. But I don't know if there is a controller board that I can connect this to that is cheap and affordable.

https://www.buydisplay.com/128x64-oled-i2c-0-96-display-white-color-connector-fpc-ssd1306

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I really need to keep the 0.96" dimension, I just need a way to relocate the breakout board with ease!

 

Thanks,
Alex

  • I seem to be having permission problems seeing the photos you've attached.

  • I cannot see the photos either, but the 0.7mm pitch one is designed for soldering on a PCB, so there will be no connector for that.

    I didn't understand the requirement, by controller board do you mean an adapter board to go from 0.7mm to 0.5 mm? or to translate from one protocol to another?

    Do you mean a microcontroller board? Any microcontroller can communicate to the display, provided you can supply the voltages needed by the OLED module (usually they need one unusual voltage but if you already have a board for the 0.7mm pitch part, then it will already have such a supply).

  • in reply to shabaz

    Sorry the photos were not working. I tried uploading them to imgur this time.

    https://imgur.com/a/peHIm8c

     

    The controller board I am referring to is the OLED controller board, not the microcontroller board (ESP32)

     

    I am trying to figure out the simplest way install the screen without using the 30 wires you can see I added in the photos.

     

    I think my best option now is to download Adafruit's eagle schematic and redesign the PCB to be a slightly different shape to fit my needs. I've never used eagle before, so this is going to be interesting.

    https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-128x64-Monochrome-OLED-PCB

     

    Still, if there is a better way to do this, please let me know!

    image

     

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    image

  • Redesigning the PCB might be the easiest. Your other option would be to design a longer flex PCB to replace the existing one. That would be interesting to do, but likely to be more expensive - and quite tricky depending on how it connects to the screen..

  • in reply to starfox5194

    As Fred says would be the cleanest option. Another option could be to use flat flex cable, and two PCBs created, one either end (and fold the flat flex at 45 degrees to make a 90 degree turn, if you see what I mean).

    It's all a complication though! The wires can be reliable too, (or use ribbon cable) but perhaps with a PCB if possible, rather than directly onto the display (i.e. have a small PCB where the display is, where you can solder in the display, and run your wires, either soldered to the PCB and then secured, or using a connector, if you have space).

  • I you have damaged the display, maybe a new display with easier wiring is an option:

     

    .96" TFT color SPI.96" TFT color SPI

     

    .96" OLED.96" OLED

     

    .96" color OLED.96" color OLED

  • in reply to dougw

    Good suggestion , the middle option looks best.

     

    @ , the flex board on this type of display is usually an integral part of the display and often carries the interface chip - it's not replaceable.

     

    @ , these flexible PCB display interfaces are very difficult to manage unless you have a good production process sorted out. I've seen

    prototype workshops with a lot of pcb experience come to grief with them. So much so that I gave up specifying them a long time ago. Doug's suggestion

    is your best bet.

     

    MK

  • in reply to michaelkellett

    Thanks for the ideas, all.

     

    i am still thinking my best option here is to redesign the oled “flex board” to properly fit in the space I require. It is a pretty simple pcb, and moving around a few traces shouldn’t be too hard. This will be a good learning experience.

     

    re-soldering the ffc is also not too difficult if it is just to connect to a properly designed pcb. Also, the oled displays are a couple of dollars, so it’s fine if a few break in the process.


    i think switching to an entirely different display at this point would not be a good idea, unfortunately all of the displays I saw Doug link to would probably still have the same issue I am currently experiencing.