Well, if you check Purdy electronics and Displaytech, among others, for multiplexed (multi-backplane) LCD's and find out what you can from them about the "right" way to drive these LCD's, you'll lear quite a bit.

It's still YOUR project, as I said. You're doing the work, so YOU get to make the choices.

Character LCD modules shouldn't cost anywhere near $30. If you check www.mpja.com, they often have some character LCD's for under $5. Since you ideally want a LARGE 8-character type, or one that you can use to build a useable character set yourself, it should be relatively inexpensive. Imaginative use of the programmable character generator may enable you to build a 2x set of digits, which may help with readability and certainly will enhance your dislay area utilization, which will help the overall appearance. Now, IIRC, the HD44780 only provides 16 programmable characters. You'd have to use your imagination some, I guess, in order to generate 20 half-digits.

I've got a bunch of old HP LaserJet-II printers that I'm saving for parts, which I bought for less than $10 each in order to salvage the not-yet-empty toner cartridges. Those all have 8-character displays, IIRC. They're out there if you look for 'em.

The things people suggest for you to consider in this environment are just that, namely suggestions, and they're not THE way to do things. Different people see things differently. This is YOUR chess clock, and YOU have to do the work. It would be a real shame if you ended up with something that you didn't really like just because someone else criticized what you were doing. Nobody, certainly nobody from this forum, is paying you to do this stuff. It's YOURS. Do it YOUR way.

RE