Thanks Greg. I’m nowhere as talented as you in understanding ?the options. I do have a spare backup camera kit…hmmm. My other concern is that I’m using the CAT connection for the Z817 LDG tuner. So unless there is a way to use both devices together or an A-B switch, assuming baud rate etc are the same, it just complicates the radio. Maybe my pico LED front illumination idea is the easiest, if not very elegant.

Mike Davis WA1MAD

On Dec 21, 2024, at 1:27?PM, Greg D via groups.io <ko6th.greg@...> wrote:

? I've not used that particular product, but I don't think there's much more to know about it.? Connect it to the radio and get the two to talking.? The device just loops through fetching the parameters, displaying the information on the screen.? You probably want to cobble some sort of case for it, to protect the electronics.

I built something similar from a Raspberry Pi 3B.? I have the radio in my car, and as you can imagine it's impossible to read the display while driving.? But the car's in-dash radio display has an input for a back-up camera, so I wired the Pi's video out into that and wrote a short Python script to read the radio's frequency, mode, and such, displaying them on the screen.? The car's display is FAR more visible, and with the Pi I can run other radio-related apps such as YAAC for an APRS map.

Greg? KO6TH

Michael Davis via groups.io wrote:

Hi, my non ND 817 display is fine, but 2 color backlighting isn’t very helpful in low light. I see a $42.88 external CAT display device, 12864 on Ali Express, but very little info. I’m not skilled enough to do any mods, but a plug and play, inexpensive option would be nice. For now, I’m experimenting with an external, soft white, pico LED to illuminate the screen from the front. Kind of like a reading book light. Anyone using this or other device? Thanks