FDI ELI121-CRW User manual

Copyright ©2021, Future Designs, Inc., All Rights Reserved
User’s Manual
ELI121-CRW
Revision 1.11

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
Page 2of 13
Important Legal Information
Information in this document is provided solely to enable the use of Future Designs, Inc. (FDI) products.
FDI assumes no liability whatsoever, including infringement of any patent or copyright. FDI reserves the
right to make changes to these specifications at any time, without notice. No part of this document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without
the express written permission of Future Designs, Inc. 996 A Cleaner Way, Huntsville, AL 35805.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows 10 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other brand names
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Printed in the United States of America.
For more information on FDI or our products please visit www.TeamFDI.com.
2021 Future Designs, Inc. All rights reserved.
FDI Document PN: MA00077
Revision: 1.11, 6/10/2021

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
Page 3of 13
Important Legal Information.......................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Recommended Accessories (Purchased Separately)........................................................................... 4
ESD Warning ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Determining the Revision of your ELI................................................................................................ 5
Technical Specifications ..................................................................................................................... 6
Mechanical and Mounting Details ...................................................................................................... 7
Connectors........................................................................................................................................... 8
Power Details ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Extended Display Information Data (EDID) .................................................................................... 10
PWM Control of Backlight ............................................................................................................... 11
Support .............................................................................................................................................. 13
11.1 Where to Get Help......................................................................................................................... 13
11.2 Useful Links .................................................................................................................................. 13

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
Page 4of 13
Introduction
About ELI (the Easy LCD Interface)
ELI®is Future Designs, Inc.’s family of long-life, plug-and-play embedded displays. ELI
products are true modular embedded display solutions that require no engineering or lead-time.
All ELI products are compatible with a wide range of single board computers including
Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black and Windows-based units. FDI designed ELI as an embedded
display option that requires minimal development time to help customers reach production
quickly. Once a product is in production, FDI’s 10-15 year ELI product availability guarantee
helps ensure production schedules without the risk of expensive or time consuming redesigns.
Learn more about ELI at TeamFDI.com/ELI.
ELI Compatibility
ELI products are compatible with most Single Board Computers, PCs and operating
systems. See https://www.teamfdi.com/product-details/eli121-crw#compatibility for the results
of FDI’s compatibility tests with popular operating systems and platforms. Our results, as
indicated in the table, demonstrate ELI versatility but the table is not exhaustive. ELI products
are designed to work with any single board computer that has an HDMI or DVI output. To
submit a question about ELI compatibility with a platform or operating system that is not
included in the table, contact a member of the FDI support team at [email protected].
Your ELI Experience
Share your experience connecting ELI devices to various (single board) computers at:
http://www.teamfdi.com/edid/#edidform.
Recommended Accessories (Purchased Separately)
•12V DC (+/- 5%) 2A Power Supply with a center positive barrel plug
o2.1mm I.D. x 5.5mm O.D. x 9.5mm
oAll ELI units operate from +12V DC so this is the recommended power supply input
voltage for the entire Family.
oSee Section 8, Power Details, for more info
•USB Type A to Mini Type B Cable (For touch)
•HDMI Cable (Type A Male)
•Lengths for the USB and HDMI cables will be determined by the ELI mounting location and
position in each user application.

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
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Future Designs, Inc.
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ESD Warning
Figure 1. Electrostatic Sensitive Device
Our ELI units are shipped in a protective anti-static package. Do not subject the module to high
electrostatic potentials. Exposure to high electrostatic potentials may cause damage to the boards
that will not be covered under warranty. General practice for working with static sensitive devices
should be followed when working with this device.
Determining the Revision of your ELI
All ELI devices have a label placed on the board to identify the part number and revision of the unit.
This label will help you quickly and correctly identify your ELI unit’s part number and revision
number. An example of an ELI label is shown below.
ELI Part Number ELI Revision Number

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
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Future Designs, Inc.
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Technical Specifications
Table 1. Technical Specifications
Screen Size (inches):
12.1
Display Technology:
a-Si TFT LCD
Resolution:
1024 x 768 (XGA)
Brightness (nits typical):
400
Contrast Ratio (typical):
700:1
Aspect Ratio:
4:3
Interface Input Mode:
HDMI/DVI
Colors:
16.7M (24 bit)
Horizontal Viewing Angle:
80/80°
Vertical Viewing Angle:
70/70°
Surface:
Antiglare
Touch Screen:
4-Wire Resistive
Touch Screen Interface:
USB Device
Touch Panel Hardness:
≥ 3H
Touch Panel Force (gF max):
80
Active Area (in mm W x H):
245.76 x 184.32
Response Time (ms):
16 tr & 16 tf
Backlight:
LED
Backlight Life (K hours typical):
> 30
Backlight Power Consumption (W Typical):
4.8
Operating Temperature:
-20° to 60° C
Storage Temperature:
-30° to 70° C
Input Voltage:
+12.0 VDC + 5%
Power Consumption:
800mA (typ) / 950mA (max) @
12VDC
Backlight Power Consumption:
Up to 65% of Power Consumption
USB Power Consumption:
50mA (typ) / 100mA (max) @ 5.0VDC
RoHS Compliant:
Yes
Dimensions (in mm W x H x D)
263.00 x 204.00 x 22.30
Mounting:
M2 screws in 4 locations
Weight (grams)
736

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
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Mechanical and Mounting Details
A 2D Mechanical Drawing of the unit is available on our website under the Documentation tab
https://www.teamfdi.com/product-details/eli101-cpw
3D Mechanical Models (in both STEP and EASM format) are available from our website after
completing a simple fillable NDA or Non-Disclosure Agreement.
https://www.teamfdi.com/mechanicalmodelrequest
ELI121-CRW comes with a bracket that provides a variety of mounting options. The dimensions of
the bracket and mounting holes are shown below for your reference. If necessary, the brackets can be
removed or replaced by removing two screws on each side of the ELI display.
Figure 2. Dimensions of the ELI121-CRW including Mounting Brackets

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
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Future Designs, Inc.
Page 8of 13
Connectors
Figure 3. ELI121-CRW Connectors
Power Details
A 12VDC +/- 5% power supply with a 2.0A output will power any board from the ELI Family. This
allows a common, off-the-shelf power supply such as the T1071-P5P-ND to be used for quick demos
or prototyping across the entire ELI Family. In general, any 12VDC power supply with a 2.1mm
center positive plug will be acceptable if it can provide enough current to power the particular ELI
unit being used. On the ELI121-CRW plug power into the (P2) connector.
All ELI121-CRW units use 12.0V DC + 5% (2.0A) power supplies.
For volume production applications, the input power can be optimized for your ELI unit and lower
capacity power supplies can be used.
In cases where the barrel connector is not desired, you can use the alternate power input connector
(J9) with supports directly plugging in 20-26 AWG wire with maximum 5A current per contact. The
datasheet for this J9 connector (PCB terminal block - PTSM 0,5/ 2-2,5-H SMD WH R24 – 1814634)
can be found at http://tinyurl.com/1814634.
To verify that the ELI11201-CRW unit is correctly powered you may check the input voltage with a
Fluke multi-meter or scope by probing the +12V and GND contacts shown below. Please verify that
the input voltage is present, and within the +/- 5% tolerance and is free from excessive noise or AC
ripple.

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
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Figure 4. ELI121-CRW Power Test Points
12V Test
Point
3.3V Test
Point
3.3V LCD
Test Point
Ground

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
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Touch Activity LED
ELI121-CRW units have a touchscreen activity LED (D2) located near the USB touch connector
(P1):
Figure 5. ELI121-CRW – Touch Activity LED
This Green LED will turn ON whenever any touchscreen input is detected, allowing for
verification of the touch response even without a connected display.
Extended Display Information Data (EDID)
ELI uses Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) for automatic configuration with many
operating systems. You can find out more on our website at http://www.teamfdi.com/edid/.

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
Copyright ©2021,
Future Designs, Inc.
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PWM Control of Backlight
Figure 6 PWM Backlight Control
J5 mating connector housing information:
•Manufacturer: Hirose
•Part Number: DF12-3S-1.25C
•Digi-Key Link: https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=H2180-ND
•Pre-terminated wires https://www.digikey.com/products/en?PPV=1811-9-566967
ELI provides an input so external processor or SBC can control the backlight to vary the display
brightness or to reduce power consumption (the display backlight is typically one of the larger
sources of power consumption in the unit). PWM dimming is an input with a 0 to 3.3 VDC range and
the user should drive this with a push-pull type output or a suitable open collector output.
To control the display backlight, the user should connect an externally generated Pulse Width
Modulated (PWM) signal to J5 pin 2 along with a common ground to J5 pin 3. The frequency range
for this signal is from 190Hz to 210Hz. Each ELI unit’s display backlight properties will vary, so the
user should test their version for an acceptable range of brightness control. For example, your 0 to
100% brightness range may be 40% to 90% of the PWM range. In certain installations, a series
resistor on J5 pin 2 may be required to ensure a clean PWM signal is provided to the ELI. The
suggested value for the resistor is 100ohms. See Figure 8 below, for example of connectivity. Actual
testing in your installation may require this resistor to be changed, or possibly not required at all.
On the ELI unit, the PWM dimming signal is pulled up to LCD_VDD providing 100% backlight
power when no PWM signal is applied at pin 2 of J5. If nothing is connected to J5 the ELI will drive
the display at 100% brightness (default).
The LCD_VDD output at pin 1 of J5 is a 3.3VDC ± 5%. If the external system is capable of directly
driving the PWM dimming signal at 3.3VDC, there is no need to connect pin 1 to the cable. ELI

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
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Future Designs, Inc.
Page 12 of 13
provides the 3.3 VDC signal, called LCD_VDD, for the external system in case this voltage is needed
to generate the correct levels on the PWM dimming input.
Figure 7. ELI121-CRW Backlight Curve in Nits
Figure 8 Raspberry Pi Signal and Ground
The ELI backlight can be controlled from a Raspberry Pi. See Figure 8 for a wiring diagram. Our software
is available on the FDI website https://www.teamfdi.com/product-details/eli121-crw#software or you may
copy the code from here:

ELI121-CRW User’s Manual
6/10/2021
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Future Designs, Inc.
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Figure 9. Renesas Synergy S7G2 Signal and Ground
The ELI backlight can also be controlled from a Renesas Synergy S7G2 wired as shown in Figure 9. The
software for Synergy can be found on our website at https://www.teamfdi.com/product-details/eli121-
crw#software.
Support
12.1 Where to Get Help
Online technical support is available at http://www.teamfdi.com/support/
12.2 Useful Links
•Future Designs, Inc. Forums: http://www.teamfdi.com/forum
•ELI121-CRW Product Page: http://www.teamfdi.com/product-details/eli121-crw
•ELI Software User’s Manual: http://www.teamfdi.com/wp-content/uploads/ELI-Software-
Users-Manual.pdf
•Tell us about your ELI experience: http://www.teamfdi.com/edid/#edidform
•EDID Information Page: http://www.teamfdi.com/edid/