Communicating with a 1980s VFD Display

In the late 1980s, vacuum fluorescent displays, or VFDs, were all the rage, used in everything from microwaves, to VCRs, to calculators. While many millions per year were produced at the height of their popularity, depending on what you need they can be somewhat hard to source today. This is especially true of the particular 20 character x 2 line display that Scotty Allen of Strange Parts shows off in the video below, and figures out how to send characters to it.

The display in question was made by a company called ISE electronics corporation, which is now Noritake, and while it was likely much cheaper at one point, the beautiful displays now cost around $600. Obviously, this is something that Allen would rather not break, so the first task was looking at the datasheet. The device runs on 5V, and while he’s using the 3.3V Arduino Due with it, its 2V logic level means it can signal the display without a problem.

From there, the next step is to solder together a custom adapter to go from Arduino to VFD display, to which he also added the ability to interface with standard MAX7219 drivers. After going through the datasheet to find out what codes are needed for which characters, he then attempts to program it, and after a few hiccups, finally succeeds in sending the VFD a “Hello world!” message just after the 14:00 mark.

As he puts it, “If you’re curious, this is what being a professional software engineer is like...a lot of sitting around and going huh, I wonder why it’s not doing anything at all.” Probably a good one to watch if you’re wondering what career to pursue!