AVR-Based Serial Enabled LCDs Hookup Guide

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Contributors: QCPete
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Introduction

The AVR-based serial enabled LCD (a.k.a. SerLCD) is a simple and cost effective solution for adding Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) into your project. The PCB design on the back of the screen includes an ATmega328P that handles all of the screen control. It can accept commands via serial, I2C and SPI. The latest versions also include a Qwiic connector for solder-less single-cable connection setup. This simplifies the number of wires needed and allows your project to display all kinds of text and numbers. We offer three varieties of the AVR-based Serial Enabled LCDs:

SparkFun 16x2 SerLCD - RGB Text (Qwiic)

SparkFun 16x2 SerLCD - RGB Text (Qwiic)

LCD-16397
$21.50
6
SparkFun 16x2 SerLCD - RGB Backlight (Qwiic)

SparkFun 16x2 SerLCD - RGB Backlight (Qwiic)

LCD-16396
$21.95
2
SparkFun 20x4 SerLCD - RGB Backlight (Qwiic)

SparkFun 20x4 SerLCD - RGB Backlight (Qwiic)

LCD-16398
$26.95
15

The firmware is fully opensource and available for download at the GitHub repo here:

This allows for any customizations you may need. Uploading firmware (custom or updates), is easily done from the Arduino IDE using a Serial Basic. See firmware update instructions in the troubleshooting section of this tutorial for more info.

Also note, the example code used below is all available in the repo (along with many more examples). Before beginning this tutorial, it's a good idea to clone the repository (or download the entire repo as a zip), to grab all of the examples. But if you prefer, you can always use the "COPY CODE" button on each of the examples below.

Note that these all have identical firmware and can accept the same commands. However, you must adjust your display characters and cursor position as necessary for each model. Also note, there is a jumper on the back of each screen, and this "tells" the firmware how to correctly set the lines and columns for each screen.

Required Materials

If you are using Qwiic, then you will only need a Redboard Qwiic, a Qwiic cable, and a Micro-B USB cable for programming.

For non-qwiic setups, you may need the following materials in this wishlist. Depending on what you have, you may not need everything on this list. Add it to your cart, read through the guide, and adjust the cart as necessary.

Tools

You may need a soldering iron, solder, and general soldering accessories, and screw driver depending on your setup.

Solder Lead Free - 100-gram Spool

Solder Lead Free - 100-gram Spool

TOL-09325
$9.95
8
Pocket Screwdriver Set

Pocket Screwdriver Set

TOL-12891
$4.50
5

Weller WLC100 Soldering Station

TOL-14228
2 Retired

Suggested Reading

If you aren’t familiar with the following concepts, we recommend checking out these tutorials before continuing.

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

What is an Arduino?

What is this 'Arduino' thing anyway? This tutorials dives into what an Arduino is and along with Arduino projects and widgets.

Installing Arduino IDE

A step-by-step guide to installing and testing the Arduino software on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Logic Levels

Learn the difference between 3.3V and 5V devices and logic levels.

I2C

An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.

ASCII

A brief history of how ASCII came to be, how it's useful to computers, and some helpful tables to convert numbers to characters.