Basic Character LCD Hookup Guide

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Contributors: followr, MikeGrusin, bboyho
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Hardware 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.

5V Character LCD Connected to an Arduino