LCD Replacement for RCH3000

[W3AXL]

So I've got a few of these RCH3000's laying around. When I was changing out the buttons I noticed that the LCD module looks a hell of a lot like the standard $4 character LCD assemblies you can get on popular auction sites.

As it turns out, the pin mapping is almost 1:1 between the stock LCD board and those cheap LCD modules. The only thing different between the two is the polarity of the backlight LED. With a little creativity, you can add some bodge wires into the new module and get the backlight working no problem.


eBay LCD pinout.


RCH3000 LCD Pinout

Personally I think white text on blue looks nice and sharp, but the choices for colors are as wide as what you can get your hands on. It seems like almost all the LCD modules on ebay have the same pinout. Just make sure that you check the polarity.





Just some more information I figured I'd share. I know there are a few avid users of the RCH3000 and I'm really enjoying finding all the little quirks and surprises in these units.

[motorola_otaku]

Very sharp! I was about to ask how you got two lines of display until I realized that one was probably hooked up to a MCS2000.

One question: have you ever found a microphone audio adjustment on those things? I drove people nuts with the base mic audio on mine, and ended up earning the nickname "bathroom base."

[W3AXL]

[Local] + [1], handset gain
[Local] + [2], internal mic gain.

I'm working on scanning the whole installation and operation manual which was graciously included in the purchase of my second RCH. It's got all kinds of special info inside. For instance, did you know there was a clock & date option for the Astro display that would show the time in the lower right?

[jackhackett]

Those displays are pretty standardized. I changed out a bunch of them in paging encoders where the EL backlight had gone bad with LED types, just had to add a 5V regulator for the LED module. Even from places like Mouser you can get them for under $10.