black/white display for EX5R - done :)

[ledan]

Hi,

so i took the plunge finally, installing the black/white lcd on my EX5R (and XV5080). Sure, they were perhaps on the more expensive side of things, but they surely also were quite convenient to install also (no, fiddling with resistors, soldering, manufacturing/ordering flat cables or odd connectors/headers, etc).

Besides the relative simplicity of installing them (well, the EX5R was not by far as easy as the XV5080 to be honest. It involved trimming down plastic pieces on the display housing and as always, removing and re-inserting those millions of screws that Yamaha is famous for using on their devices). The end result is quite stunning. The photos below does not really give them justice. They do look a lot better IRL.

(and yes, i needed that stiff drink half way through the disassembly of the EX5R for obvious reasons )

[parametric]

That looks fantastic Ledan . . . . You must be pleased!

they look great back in their racks too - really clear displays . . . .

That EX5R certainly looks to be serious pro build quality . . . . . so MUCH Metal . . .

Built to be serviceable I guess . . . .

parametric

[Derek]

Very nice, I am thinking of doing the same myself for my EX5R

[Miks]

Great! And like Derek I'm thinking about doing such surgery on my EX5R...

[EXer]

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

[Saul]

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

On the whole I would agree but It wasn't a fix it was a mod and a very good one at that. Massively better than the original display.

Nice job ledan

[ledan]

Absolutely nicer and no(t much) hacking/chopping was involved so reinstalling the original would be very easy (beyond those 10000 screws involved of course)

[EX5_etc]

Hi,

so i took the plunge finally, installing the black/white lcd on my EX5R (and XV5080).

Is there a part number for this display? I am not asking who the supplier was but what was printed on the back of the display board.

Regards,
DrF

[puremusic]

I'd like one of those EX5Rs someday.

BTW there's a tempting EX5S, silver millennium edition up on eBay at the moment. If I had a good spot for it I'd be thinking about it instead.

[Derek]

I had an EX5S. They were the last of the production line, and I think only around 500 were made. So rare, but not worth paying over the odds for a silver paint job.

[ledan]

Hi,

so i took the plunge finally, installing the black/white lcd on my EX5R (and XV5080).

Is there a part number for this display? I am not asking who the supplier was but what was printed on the back of the display board.

Regards,
DrF

I wish i could tell, to in all honesty, there was writing all over the place (the xv5080 display in this image was not even half as cluttered with writing as the EX5/R display was...). I tried to peek at the chips on the backside also, but they were almost not readable (by far). XV display as reference:

[EX5_etc]

That is the ERM32080-1 Series 4.5-inch 320x80 Dots Graphic LCD Module with a BuyDisplay.com logo. It is supposed to have a price tag of $30 on alibaba.com if bought in lots of 500 pieces. Even though the logo is from BuyDisplay.com they never made that display officially. It must be a custom part or something like that.

The display for the EX5/5R must be similar but not 320x80 since the blue beast features a 240x64 resolution.

There is no way I am paying 7 times up the price of something that costs $30. But I'll keep searching for alternatives and also I'll fire up a note to the BuyDisplay.com fellows asking them about this particular one.

Thank you for the high resolution picture. With a little detective work and help from google I found what was that part. But we still need the part number of the EX5 display, in the event someone has it.

Regards,
DrF

[ledan]

DrF,

The EX5R display did not really have much of identification on the backside at all. But with that said, i did read some post (i believe it was on the display retrofit group on FB) that someone actually contacted BuyDisplay and asked about this particular display and was told that it was a custom design and that the person ordering those displays had them (BuyDisplay) sign an agreement to never sell it to anyone else but the original designer/buyer himself.

If i understand things correctly, there is one guy in the US doing similar displays and one in the UK and i'm not sure which one of them signed that agreement with B.D (but i assume the UK fellow).

Sure they are pricey, but they were really more or less drop-in and since i don't plan, ever, to sell either the EX5R or the XV5080, then i think of it as a way to more or less "future proof" these instruments (at least the xv display was going a bit dim).

(ps, with all that said, i "might" actually open her up once more and try to snap some high-res photos of the back. Maybe you guys will see something that i didn't)

[rocknpop]

Do you guys know if there are any options other than the Reverb seller (SNAFU/Matt Rixx) for this display? It turns out that I had a pretty bad exchange with him where he took a stance of 1) intimidation and bullying 2) talking in a condescending tone and 3) shoving the fact that this display is sole-sourced to him in my face. Quite disappointing to be honest. One would hope musicians in this ecosystem help each other...