Here is a hack that will let you use some 5v HD44780 LCDs at 3V. On some common LCDs you can short the resistor labeled R7 and interface with the LCD at 3.3V. Via the forum.
Category Archives: LCD
NEW PROTOTYPE: USB & serial LCD backpack
Small character LCDs can show new mail stats, system performance, news feeds, and more. The USB and Serial LCD backpack connects HD44780-compatible character LCD screens to your USB (or serial) port. Almost every open source hardware shop sells some type of serial LCD backpack. Our goal is to build an update to the classic serial […]
LCD-MCU interface tutorial
Rickey’s World has an interesting collection of information on interfacing LCDs to MCUs. Beginners will find a lot of information here on the use of standard HD44780 LCD displays, including the basics as well as the generation of custom characters. If you’re already familiar with LCD interfacing this can serve as a handy reference.
Interface 16×2 LCD with Altera DE1 FPGA in VHDL
The Altera DE1 is an educational and development board based on the Cyclone II 2C20 FPGA and is commonly used in college and university courses on digital logic and FPGAs. Kiran writes to inform us of her tutorial on interfacing this board with the 16×2 LCD from Terasic. Kiran writes: Here is my tutorial for […]
Arduino library converts LCD output to VGA output
The Gadget Factory has a new Arduino library that lets you take Arduino code written for LCD displays, change 3 lines of code, and convert it to VGA output: The VGALiquidCrystal library converts sketches that will run on an HD44780 LCD display to sketches that will run on a VGA moniter. This library is derived […]
App note: CoolRunner-II character LCD module interface
Xilinx has an application note explaining how to use LCD modules with a CPLD. CoolRunner-II CPLDs can be used to control dot-matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) modules. The low-power characteristics of LCD modules make them an ideal complement to the CoolRunner-II family. These displays typically require 3.3V signals. However, this is not of concern because […]
Novel technology allows LCDs to recycle energy
The idea that LEDs can act as light detectors as well as emitters is well known. Now researchers at UCLA are looking at LCDs with an eye toward using them to produce electric energy in addition to functioning as your smartphone display. The UCLA engineers have created a novel concept for harvesting and recycling energy […]
Tic tac touch using Arduino
Jersagfast from The Custom Geek developed this tic tac toe game using an Arduino and a Adafruit 2.8″ TFT touchshield. He describes: It’s pretty basic tic tac toe, and has score tracking, game logic (you can’t go twice in a row, and telling you if you win), and the ability to consume a chunk of […]
Dual-screen Nexus One
follower presents his project using a USB accessory to create a “dual screen” Nexus One with SMS notification & time display. Besides the Nexus One phone, the hardware consists of an Arduino Duemilanove with ATmega328, a SparkFun USB Host Shield and 2×16 LCD display. This hack is made possible by Android’s Open Accessory API. The […]
Laser range finder testing
Dino at hacked a laser range finder this week: I decided to test mine on an Arduino and build a setup that could be mounted to the back of my vehicle as a backup proximity warning device. Something that would readout the distance on a dash mounted LCD and sound an audible warning below a […]
Low power LCD smackdown
Big Mess o’ Wires’ posted a roundup of small, low power LCDs for MCU projects. Sometimes it seems like there are a million different LCDs you might use with your microcontroller project, and deciding on one can be hard. Once you’re ready to move beyond a basic text display, you’ll find graphic displays have a […]
Command line LCD Arduino interface
Joseph Swanson from swantron likes working with the command line. He also likes working with the Arduino. So he came up with this simple project which takes the results of his command line entries and directs them over the Linux box’s USB output to the Arduino. The Arduino then displays the data on an attached […]
Web interactive LCD controlled by Arduino
Here’s a project by Everett Robinson which demonstrates how to use an Arduino, Ethernet shield, 2×16 LCD, a breadboard and 2K resistor to produce a web-controlled interactive LCD display. The Arduino generates a simple HTML web page showing the text currently displayed on the LCD, providing an input form to change the LCD text, resulting […]
PIC LCD backpack release package v1a
A source archive and user package is now available for the PIC LCD Backpack. Several of these have been assembled on free PCBs, and we initiated a small batch of assembled boards last week. Latest downloads (check me first) LCD Backpack PIC HD44780.source.r1121.v1a.zip LCD Backpack PIC HD44780.package.v1a.zip Over the last few weeks we did a […]
Another LCD backpack free PCB build
Greg built the LCD backpack free PCB. By popular demand we initiated a small batch of this project, it should be available in a few weeks. If you build a free PCB we’ll send you another one! Blog about it, post a picture on Flicker, whatever – we’ll send you a coupon code for the […]
Canadian lab prototypes “PaperPhone”
Cellphones have been getting lighter and smaller with each new release. If researchers at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada have their way, the next gen phones will be paper thin. They recently unveiled the prototype of their “paperphone”, a smartphone prototype using a 3.7″ electrophoretic E Ink display which was built with E Ink’s Broadsheet […]
STATUS UPDATE: PIC LCD backpack
We’re trying a new Monday post with status updates on new projects currently in production. This will cover project development, and gritty details like last minutes changes and production problems. This is a USB and serial backpack for simple HD44780 character LCD screens. It has a few nice features that set it apart from the […]
Microchip introduces PIC16LF190X 8-bit PIC® MCUs with integrated LCD control
Microchip has announced an expansion of its 8-bit segmented LCD microcontroller (MCU) family with five new devices—the PIC16LF1902/3/4/6/7 (PIC16LF190X) MCUs. The PIC16LF190X family supports many general-purpose applications and enables the implementation of LCD into low-power and cost-sensitive designs, such as security tokens, smart cards, medical devices, home appliances, key fobs or any application involving a […]
Arduino varies LCD contrast using PWM
We’ve seen a number of tutorials explaining the use of LCD displays with Arduino. In most the display contrast is varied by use of a potentionmeter. Here’s a tutorial from Hobbytronics which varies the contrast using PWM. A 100uF capacitor is connected between the PWM output and ground to smooth the signal. Using this technique […]
Display custom characters on 16×2 LCDs
Chris from PyroElectro informs us of his tutorial on designing custom characters for display on a 16×2 HD44780 compatible LCD. This tutorial shows how to use the advanced functionality of HD44780 16×2 LCD’s where you can create your own characters instead of using the built-in character set, and includes a simple demonstration of animation on […]