lcd module rcf8574 in stock

This LCD I2C interface adapter can be added to a 16 x 2 or 20 x 4 character LCD display with a standard parallel interface to make it I2C compatible.  It can also be repurposed for other I2C to parallel tasks.

By default, the industry standard HD44780 compatible 16 x 2 and 20 x 4 character LCD displays require 4 or 8 parallel data lines to drive them along with a couple of pins for chip select and chip enable.  This consumes a lot of pins on the MCU.  This adapter board reduces the data pin requirements to only 2 pins which can also be shared with other I2C devices.

The backlight can be controlled ON/OFF, but the intensity is not directly controllable though the I2C interface.  Some modules have a jumper on the board that supplies Vcc power to the backlight.  That jumper can be removed and a voltage applied to the header pin nearest the ‘LED’ markings on the board to provide power to the backlight separately.  Note:  Some modules do not have this header / jumper installed, instead the solder pads have a trace connecting them.  It is possible to cut the trace between the pads and add header pins if desired.

The PCF8574 is a generic I2C to 8-bit I/O device and the module can be repurposed for other uses besides driving LCD modules.  Max I2C clock frequency is 100kHz which makes it most suited to lower speed applications.

VCC =  Connect to 5V.  This can come from the MCU or be a separate power supply.  Some LCD may operate at 3.3V and this module can also operate at 3.3V

The pin-out of the header which is soldered to the LCD follows for reference, but in general you don’t need to worry about it as the I2C interface board and software library takes care of this interface unless you are adapting the module for another use.  These pins are listed starting at the I2C header end of the board.

To use the adapter with an LCD, you will need to insert the 16-pin header into the 16 solder pad holes on the back of the LCD and solder them in place on the front side.  The pins are long and can be cut off before or after soldering.

Soldering the module on is easy to do, but if you already have other pins in those holes, they will need to be removed first before this board can be added.  The picture below shows the adapter mounted to the back of an LCD2004 4 x 20 character LCD.

This is the same module used on our I2C compatible LCD displays we sell and is well supported using the LiquidCrystal_I2C.h and similar libraries.  For using the board with software, you can check out one of the LCDs below that already have this module installed.

The PCF8574 itself is a general purpose 8-bit I/O expander for the I2C bus.  The reverse engineered schematics are provided here mainly for those who may want to adapt the module to other applications.  The I2C bus on this module is limited to a 100kHz clock frequency.