The CFontzPacket Driver
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The CFontzPacket Driver

CrystalFontz offers a wide range of character and graphical LCD modules. The CFontzPacket driver supports the modules that communicate with the host computer using a packet-based communications protocol with 16-bit CRC (hence the driver name).

Currently this line of modules comprises the models:

CFA-631

  • 20x2 character LCD with backlight

  • keypad with 4 keys: Up, Down, enter & Escape

  • USB connection for data and power

  • mounting bracket to fit into 3,5" drive bays

  • Optional (via add-on board) temperature sensor, fan and ATX power control connectors (all unsupported by LCDproc)

CFA-633

  • 16x2 character LCD with backlight

  • keypad with 6 keys: 4 directions, Enter & Escape

  • serial or USB connection

  • mounting bracket to fit into 5,25" drive bays

  • Temperature sensor and fan control connectors (both unsupported by LCDproc)

CFA-533

  • This is the same as CFA-633 except it misses the fan control capabilities. The temperature monitoring is not supported in LCDproc though.

CFA-635

  • 20x4 characters LCD with backlight

  • keypad with 6 keys: 4 directions, Enter & Escape

  • USB connection for data and power

  • four bi-color LEDs to show status information

  • optional mounting bracket to fit into 5,25" drive bays

Configuration in LCDd.conf

[CFontzPacket]

Model = { 533 | 631 | 633 | 635 }

Select the LCD model that is connected. Legal values for this option are 631, 533, 633, or 635, with the default being 633.

Device = DEVICE

Select the output device to use. It may be a serial device or a USB device in serial emulation mode. If not given, it defaults to /dev/lcd.

Note

Mac OS X users may need to use one of the /dev/cu devices instead of the /dev/tty ones.

USB = { yes | no }

Enable this flag if the device is connected to an USB port. For serial ports leave it disabled. [default: no; legal: yes, no]

Size = WIDTH x HEIGHT

Select the LCD size. This overrides the size the driver uses for the selected model (631: 20x2, 533/633: 16x2, 635: 20x4).

Note

You should usually not need to set this value!

Contrast = CONTRAST

Set the initial contrast. Legal values for CONTRAST are 0 - 1000. If not specified, it defaults to 560.

Brightness = BRIGHTNESS

Set the initial brightness [default: 1000; legal: 0 - 1000]

OffBrightness = BRIGHTNESS

Set the initial off-brightness [default: 0; legal: 0 - 1000] This value is used when the display is normally switched off in case LCDd is inactive

Speed = { 19200 | 115200 }

Override the default baud rate the driver uses for communication with the selected LCD model. Allowed values are 19200 (default for CFA-533 and CFA-633) and 115200 (default for the CFA631 and CFA635).

Note

You should usually not need to set this value!

OldFirmware = { yes | no }

Very old 633 firmware versions do not support partial screen updates using 'Send Data to LCD' command (31). For those devices it may be necessary to enable this flag. [default: no; legal: yes, no]

Reboot = { yes | no }

Reinitialize the LCD's BIOS [default: no; legal: yes, no].

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