Basic Character LCD Hookup Guide
MikeGrusin
bboyhoHardware Hookup
The basic character displays use a parallel interface, which can be either 4 bits or 8 bits wide. We'll use 4 bits, since it requires fewer wires. It will take a total of 8 wires to connect the display to your a microcontroller:
- two for Vcc and ground
- two to load the data
- four for data
You will also need to connect a potentiometer to the display. This is necessary to set the contrast of the display for best visibility. See the following diagram for details.
Note: Depending on the manufacturer, some LCDs may not come with a current limiting resistor for the backlight. You may need to add an additional current limiting resistor to control the backlight pin(s) from an Arduino's I/O pin. For more options controlling the backlight, you can connect the LED to any PWM pin. Depending on your microcontroller specifications, you may want to use a transistor to source enough current to an LED from an I/O pin.
RGB Backlight
Note: If you are using the 5V basic 16x2 character LCD w/ RGB backlight, the LED's pins are slightly different. Pin 15 is for the LED's common cathode pin and it should be connected to the GND pin. Additionally, the LCD-10862 requires a current limiting resistor for each color. The diagram below shows a general 330Ω resistor in series.