hi there,
i just made a micro-reader, works great (i used programmer from the thread under),
however i could not find the right type display and got dual-character. there is no data sheet on it online for it, type ELD-3784E has 18 pins and common cathode. as i said it works fine with one character, but [of course!] i'm thinking how could i use both, either to 'scroll' the text or display it in 'syllables' ...
i can't figure out how the second letter is activated, i thought it's got its own cathode - but doesn't seem like. what other options could be, or may be someone knows such display or has a pdf?

thanks!

I don't see any data sheet for it lying around.

On the bright side, it's not so hard to figure out what the pinout is-- just take a multimeter on the diode setting-- or any other signal that can drive an LED-- and try out all the pins. There aren't that many pins, just map it out.

ok, i found out the pins, 2 and 7 are two common cathodes for each of the characters and the signal inputs are shared... but how do i drive both of them off a single attiny? or is it a job for atmega? i though if i quickly fluctuate between the cathodes i might be able to display different chars on two displays, but is it a good idea to control it like this? any ideas or code is welcome thank you http://www.flickr.com/photos/binary_koala/2198511360

The ATtiny2313 only has 17 really useful pins-- If you need 18 pins controlled to drive the display, then you might indeed consider going to a bigger chip. I suggest the ATmega48, little brother of the ATmega168 that shows up in the arduino, amongst other places.

You might also consider using the micrcontroller to control a chip that drives the LED segments-- the usual solution is the 74HC595-- you can program several of these, daisy chained, to each control eight lines of an LED display.