Nice!

Great stuff!! 😀

new version configurable with dip switches, under development.

very nice , the way to emulate the old looks using modern cases is now open 😁

New prototypes coming soon

Hi,

after some Brainstorming with Dreamblaster, a Solution for the last problems where found and finally a few Iterations later, all works well.
Here the Display is installed inside my Intel 486DX50 Mhz.

Thanks for the hopefully Final Version @dreamblaster

Preparing first available units

here is some more information :

front panel :

connections :

dip configuration:

dot configuration

another win for BCD gang

Very nice! A few questions:

1) How did you land on the colour profile for the bezel?

2) Is the bezel 3D printed, or from a mold/cast?

3) Will there be LCD colour options? I see how Matze has orange and dreamblaster has yellow. I think green was another common colour.

4) Are there any plans to create a unit which will fit into the two standard sized openings on the case itself? I think there were some full 3-digit MHz displays which fit, but they are harder to come by in the wild. 2-digit + 1 was more common, but 3-digit more desirable.

feipoa wrote on 2025-06-01, 13:55:

1) How did you land on the colour profile for the bezel?

for a previous project, mccake panel, a large amount of 3d print samples were done from different PLA, to search for the ideal 'computer beige'
the first choice from this selection ran out, so now using the 2nd choice, which is also good
it is hard to do it justice on a photo

feipoa wrote on 2025-06-01, 13:55:

2) Is the bezel 3D printed, or from a mold/cast?

3d printed, on a textured print bed for nice front effect

feipoa wrote on 2025-06-01, 13:55:

3) Will there be LCD colour options? I see how Matze has orange and dreamblaster has yellow. I think green was another common colour.

it is the same led display in both, amber color, just different effect in the photo

feipoa wrote on 2025-06-01, 13:55:

4) Are there any plans to create a unit which will fit into the two standard sized openings on the case itself? I think there were some full 3-digit MHz displays which fit, but they are harder to come by in the wild. 2-digit + 1 was more common, but 3-digit more desirable.

if you can come up with specs for this, if there is some standard, i'd give it a try

Will be making a 5.25"bay as well, this is coming soon

My understanding is there were basically two different footprints for case mounted LED displays but I have no idea where you'd get the dimensions other than careful reverse engineering. You could save a lot of board space by deleting the button and latch at least

The two common MHz display sizes were:

25.0 mm x 19.05 mm and with a depth of 7 mm
e.g. DA56-11SYKWA
https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/kin … 11SYKWA/4098503

20.2 mm x 16.0 mm and with a depth of 7 mm
e.g. DA04-11YWA
https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/kin … 4-11YWA/3084353

The examples shown above are for the yellow colour and are common anode, which is most commonly found in retro cases. Those are 7-segment, 2 digit. For a reproduction, we'd ideally want 3 digit. I don't have any 3-digit's in person, but here's an example of one on a case:

It is difficult to determine which of the above two standard sizes this MHz display is. I don't think it has the decimal, which is an acceptable compromise.

The closest 3-digit, 7-segments MHz display I could find on digikey is: https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/detail/sun … DK09A3/21801098
The specs indicate that it is 22.5 mm x 14 mm, which doesn't conform to either of the two standard sizes. The challenge here would be to find a source for a 3-digit display in both of the standard sizes.

EDIT: Using GIMP and using the width of a floppy bezel as 101 mm, the MHz display in that photo comes in at 18x13.5 mm, which cannot be correct. The image resolution of the photo is fairly poor, so it is most likely 20 mm x 16 mm.

That is helpful but you would still have to measure the screw boss offsets for the PCB mounting holes

Were those mounting points standardised? I have had to fudge these in the past, so probably no common standard. Best approach here might be to not route traces around common hole locations and have the user drill the PCB. If anyone is serious about this, I can measure some common screw hole locations.

I think the primary struggle is finding the 3-digit MHz display in the standard form factor.

feipoa wrote on 2025-06-04, 07:06:

Were those mounting points standardised?

I thought so, but honestly I don't know

1st prototypes of 5.25" panel :
- 'bright' edition
- 'concealed' edition

what do you like best ?
both options should exist ?

Nice work! i think the left one looks much better in my opinion and more similar to 'original' old ones. BTW I love the DIP switches, much better than fiddling around with a bazilion jumpers! 😁

Great idea to make the Diffusor with 3D Printer 😀