16x2 lcd display module for arduino quotation
The Serial Monitor is a convenient way to view data from an Arduino, but what if you want to make your project portable and view sensor values without access to a computer? Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are excellent for displaying a string of words or sensor data.
This guide will help you in getting your 16×2 character LCD up and running, as well as other character LCDs (such as 16×4, 16×1, 20×4, etc.) that use Hitachi’s LCD controller chip, the HD44780.
As the name suggests, these LCDs are ideal for displaying only characters. A 16×2 character LCD, for example, can display 32 ASCII characters across two rows.
If you look closely, you can see tiny rectangles for each character on the screen as well as the pixels that make up a character. Each of these rectangles is a grid of 5×8 pixels.
Character LCDs are available in a variety of sizes and colors, including 16×1, 16×4, 20×4, white text on a blue background, black text on a green background, and many more.
One advantage of using any of these displays in your project is that they are “swappable,” meaning that you can easily replace them with another LCD of a different size or color. Your code will need to be tweaked slightly, but the wiring will remain the same!
Before we get into the hookup and example code, let’s check out the pinout. A standard character LCD has 16 pins (except for an RGB LCD, which has 18 pins).
Vo (LCD Contrast) pin controls the contrast of the LCD. Using a simple voltage divider network and a potentiometer, we can make precise contrast adjustments.
RS (Register Select) pin is used to separate the commands (such as setting the cursor to a specific location, clearing the screen, etc.) from the data. The RS pin is set to LOW when sending commands to the LCD and HIGH when sending data.
R/W (Read/Write) pin allows you to read data from or write data to the LCD. Since the LCD is only used as an output device, this pin is typically held low. This forces the LCD into WRITE mode.
E (Enable) pin is used to enable the display. When this pin is set to LOW, the LCD ignores activity on the R/W, RS, and data bus lines; when it is set to HIGH, the LCD processes the incoming data.
D0-D7 (Data Bus) pins carry the 8 bit data we send to the display. To see an uppercase ‘A’ character on the display, for example, we set these pins to 0100 0001 (as per the ASCII table).
The LCD has two separate power connections: one for the LCD (pins 1 and 2) and one for the LCD backlight (pins 15 and 16). Connect LCD pins 1 and 16 to GND and 2 and 15 to 5V.
Depending on the manufacturer, some LCDs include a current-limiting resistor for the backlight. It is located on the back of the LCD, close to pin 15. If your LCD does not contain this resistor or if you are unsure whether it does, you must add one between 5V and pin 15. It should be safe to use a 220 ohm resistor, although a value this high may make the backlight slightly dim. For better results, check the datasheet for the maximum backlight current and choose an appropriate resistor value.
Let’s connect a potentiometer to the display. This is necessary to fine-tune the contrast of the display for best visibility. Connect one side of the 10K potentiometer to 5V and the other to Ground, and connect the middle of the pot (wiper) to LCD pin 3.
That’s all. Now, turn on the Arduino. You will see the backlight light up. As you turn the potentiometer knob, you will see the first row of rectangles appear. If you have made it this far, Congratulations! Your LCD is functioning properly.
We know that data is sent to the LCD via eight data pins. However, HD44780-based LCDs are designed so that we can communicate with them using only four data pins (in 4-bit mode) rather than eight (in 8-bit mode). This helps us save 4 I/O pins!
8-bit mode is significantly faster than 4-bit mode. This is because in 8-bit mode, data is written in a single operation, whereas in 4-bit mode, a byte is split into two nibbles and two write operations are performed.
Therefore, 4-bit mode is commonly used to save I/O pins. 8-bit mode, on the other hand, is best suited when speed is a priority in the application and at least 10 I/O pins are available.
The sketch begins by including the LiquidCrystal library. This library comes with the Arduino IDE and allows you to control Hitachi HD44780 driver-based LCD displays.
Next, an object of the LiquidCrystal class is created by passing as parameters the pin numbers to which the LCD’s RS, EN, and four data pins are connected.
In the setup, two functions are called. The first function is begin(). It is used to initialize the interface to the LCD screen and to specify the dimensions (columns and rows) of the display. If you’re using a 16×2 character LCD, you should pass 16 and 2; if you’re using a 20×4 LCD, you should pass 20 and 4.
In the loop, the print() function is used to print “Hello world!” to the LCD. Please remember to use quotation marks " " around the text. There is no need for quotation marks when printing numbers or variables.
The function setCursor() is then called to move the cursor to the second row. The cursor position specifies where you want the new text to appear on the LCD. It is assumed that the upper left corner is col=0 and row=0.
There are many useful functions you can use with LiquidCrystal Object. Some of them are listed below:lcd.home() function positions the cursor in the upper-left of the LCD without clearing the display.
lcd.scrollDisplayRight() function scrolls the contents of the display one space to the right. If you want the text to scroll continuously, you have to use this function inside a for loop.
lcd.scrollDisplayLeft() function scrolls the contents of the display one space to the left. Similar to the above function, use this inside a for loop for continuous scrolling.
lcd.display() function turns on the LCD display, after it’s been turned off with noDisplay(). This will restore the text (and cursor) that was on the display.
If you find the default font uninteresting, you can create your own custom characters (glyphs) and symbols. They come in handy when you need to display a character that isn’t in the standard ASCII character set.
As previously discussed in this tutorial, a character is made up of a 5×8 pixel matrix; therefore, you must define your custom character within this matrix. You can define a character by using the createChar() function.
The CGROM stores the font that appears on a character LCD. When you instruct a character LCD to display the letter ‘A’, it needs to know which dots to turn on so that we see an ‘A’. This data is stored in the CGROM.
CGRAM is an additional memory for storing user-defined characters. This RAM is limited to 64 bytes. Therefore, for a 5×8 pixel LCD, only 8 user-defined characters can be stored in CGRAM, whereas for a 5×10 pixel LCD, only 4 can be stored.
Creating custom characters has never been easier! We’ve developed a small application called Custom Character Generator. Can you see the blue grid below? You can click on any pixel to set or clear that pixel. And as you click, the code for the character is generated next to the grid. This code can be used directly in your Arduino sketch.
After including the library and creating the LCD object, custom character arrays are defined. The array consists of 8 bytes, with each byte representing a row in a 5×8 matrix.
This sketch contains eight custom-characters. Take, for example, the Heart[8] array. You can see that the bits (0s and 1s) are forming the shape of a heart. 0 turns the pixel off, and 1 turns it on.
ERM1602SBS-5 is 16 characters wide,2 rows character lcd module,ST7070 controller (Industry-standard HD44780 compatible controller),6800 4/8-bit parallel+3/4-wire serial spi interface,single led backlight with white color included can be dimmed easily with a resistor or PWM,stn- blue lcd negative,white text on the blue color,wide operating temperature range,rohs compliant,built in character set supports English/Japanese text, see the ST7070 datasheet for the full character set. It"s optional for pin header connection,5V or 3.3V power supply and I2C adapter board for arduino.
It"s easily controlled by MCU such as 8051,PIC,AVR,ARDUINO,ARM and Raspberry Pi.It can be used in any embedded systems,industrial device,security,medical and hand-held equipment.
Of course, we wouldn"t just leave you with a datasheet and a "good luck!".For 8051 microcontroller user,we prepared the detailed tutorial such as interfacing, demo code and Development Kit at the bottom of this page.
ERM1602SYG-1 is big 16 characters wide,2 rows character lcd module,SPLC780C controller (Industry-standard HD44780 compatible controller),6800 4/8-bit parallel interface,single led backlight with yellow green color included can be dimmed easily with a resistor or PWM,stn-lcd positive,dark blue text on the yellow green color,wide operating temperature range,rohs compliant,built in character set supports English/Japanese text, see the SPLC780C datasheet for the full character set. It"s optional for pin header connection,5V or 3.3V power supply and I2C adapter board for arduino.
It"s easily controlled by MCU such as 8051,PIC,AVR,ARDUINO,ARM and Raspberry Pi.It can be used in any embedded systems,industrial device,security,medical and hand-held equipment.
Of course, we wouldn"t just leave you with a datasheet and a "good luck!".For 8051 microcontroller user,we prepared the detailed tutorial such as interfacing, demo code and Development Kit at the bottom of this page.
The LCDduino board enables users to create many applications/projects that require a 16×2 LCD display and Arduino. The board has the exact size of 16×2 LCD and can be installed on the backside of the LCD. This is a low-cost solution that has onboard Arduino + LCD so no extra Arduino Nano or Arduino board is required. The Arduino compatible hardware includes onboard programming and boot-loader connectors, Atmega328 microcontroller, and 16×2 LCD interface. Each Arduino I/O Pin including the VCC and GND is exposed to the connectors for easy connection with sensors and other devices. The board enables the easy interface of many devices and sensors. The operating power supply is 7 to 15V DC.
After the board assembly, the brand new Atmega328 microcontroller requires burning the bootloader before it can be programmed using Arduino IDE. Refer to the connection diagram and follow the links below to learn more about bootloader and Arduino IDE programming.
Arduino example code is provided below to test the project. This code will help you to convert this board into a 0 to 5V Voltmeter. Just connect the DC source at analog in A0 to measure the DC voltage.
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This tutorial includes everything you need to know about controlling a character LCD with Arduino. I have included a wiring diagram and many example codes. These displays are great for displaying sensor data or text and they are also fairly cheap.
The first part of this article covers the basics of displaying text and numbers. In the second half, I will go into more detail on how to display custom characters and how you can use the other functions of the LiquidCrystal Arduino library.
As you will see, you need quite a lot of connections to control these displays. I therefore like to use them with an I2C interface module mounted on the back. With this I2C module, you only need two connections to control the LCD. Check out the tutorial below if you want to use an I2C module as well:
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These LCDs are available in many different sizes (16×2 1602, 20×4 2004, 16×1 etc.), but they all use the same HD44780 parallel interface LCD controller chip from Hitachi. This means you can easily swap them. You will only need to change the size specifications in your Arduino code.
For more information, you can check out the datasheets below. The 16×2 and 20×4 datasheets include the dimensions of the LCD and in the HD44780 datasheet you can find more information about the Hitachi LCD driver.
Most LCDs have a built-in series resistor for the LED backlight. You should find it on the back of the LCD connected to pin 15 (Anode). If your display doesn’t include a resistor, you will need to add one between 5 V and pin 15. It should be safe to use a 220Ω resistor, but this value might make your display a bit dim. You can check the datasheet for the maximum current rating of the backlight and use this to select an appropriate resistor value.
After you have wired up the LCD, you will need to adjust the contrast of the display. This is done by turning the 10 kΩ potentiometer clockwise or counterclockwise.
Plug in the USB connector of the Arduino to power the LCD. You should see the backlight light up. Now rotate the potentiometer until one (16×2 LCD) or 2 rows (20×4 LCD) of rectangles appear.
In order to control the LCD and display characters, you will need to add a few extra connections. Check the wiring diagram below and the pinout table from the introduction of this article.
We will be using the LCD in 4-bit mode, this means you don’t need to connect anything to D0-D3. The R/W pin is connected to ground, this will pull the pin LOW and set the LCD to WRITE mode.
To control the LCD we will be using the LiquidCrystal library. This library should come pre-installed with the Arduino IDE. You can find it by going to Sketch > Include Library > LiquidCrystal.
The example code below shows you how to display a message on the LCD. Next, I will show you how the code works and how you can use the other functions of the LiquidCrystal library.
After including the library, the next step is to create a new instance of the LiquidCrystal class. The is done with the function LiquidCrystal(rs, enable, d4, d5, d6, d7). As parameters we use the Arduino pins to which we connected the display. Note that we have called the display ‘lcd’. You can give it a different name if you want like ‘menu_display’. You will need to change ‘lcd’ to the new name in the rest of the sketch.
In the loop() the cursor is set to the third column and first row of the LCD with lcd.setCursor(2,0). Note that counting starts at 0, and the first argument specifies the column. If you do not specify the cursor position, the text will be printed at the default home position (0,0) if the display is empty, or behind the last printed character.
Next, the string ‘Hello World!’ is printed with lcd.print("Hello World!"). Note that you need to place quotation marks (” “) around the text. When you want to print numbers or variables, no quotation marks are necessary.
The LiquidCrystal Arduino library has many other built-in functions which you might find useful. You can find an overview of them below with explanation and some code snippets.
Clears the LCD screen and positions the cursor in the upper-left corner (first row and first column) of the display. You can use this function to display different words in a loop.
This function turns off any text or cursors printed to the LCD. The text/data is not cleared from the LCD memory. This means it will be shown again when the function display() is called.
Scrolls the contents of the display (text and cursor) one space to the left. You can use this function in the loop section of the code in combination with delay(500), to create a scrolling text animation.
This function turns on automatic scrolling of the LCD. This causes each character output to the display to push previous characters over by one space. If the current text direction is left-to-right (the default), the display scrolls to the left; if the current direction is right-to-left, the display scrolls to the right. This has the effect of outputting each new character to the same location on the LCD.
The following example sketch enables automatic scrolling and prints the character 0 to 9 at the position (16,0) of the LCD. Change this to (20,0) for a 20×4 LCD.
With the function createChar() it is possible to create and display custom characters on the LCD. This is especially useful if you want to display a character that is not part of the standard ASCII character set.
Technical info: LCDs that are based on the Hitachi HD44780 LCD controller have two types of memories: CGROM and CGRAM (Character Generator ROM and RAM). CGROM generates all the 5 x 8 dot character patterns from the standard 8-bit character codes. CGRAM can generate user-defined character patterns.
/* Example sketch to create and display custom characters on character LCD with Arduino and LiquidCrystal library. For more info see www.www.makerguides.com */
After including the library and creating the LCD object, the custom character arrays are defined. Each array consists of 8 bytes, 1 byte for each row. In this example 8 custom characters are created.
In this article I have shown you how to use an alphanumeric LCD with Arduino. I hope you found it useful and informative. If you did, please share it with a friend that also likes electronics and making things!
I would love to know what projects you plan on building (or have already built) with these LCDs. If you have any questions, suggestions, or if you think that things are missing in this tutorial, please leave a comment down below.
In this tutorial, I’ll explain how to set up an LCD on an Arduino and show you all the different ways you can program it. I’ll show you how to print text, scroll text, make custom characters, blink text, and position text. They’re great for any project that outputs data, and they can make your project a lot more interesting and interactive.
The display I’m using is a 16×2 LCD display that I bought for about $5. You may be wondering why it’s called a 16×2 LCD. The part 16×2 means that the LCD has 2 lines, and can display 16 characters per line. Therefore, a 16×2 LCD screen can display up to 32 characters at once. It is possible to display more than 32 characters with scrolling though.
The code in this article is written for LCD’s that use the standard Hitachi HD44780 driver. If your LCD has 16 pins, then it probably has the Hitachi HD44780 driver. These displays can be wired in either 4 bit mode or 8 bit mode. Wiring the LCD in 4 bit mode is usually preferred since it uses four less wires than 8 bit mode. In practice, there isn’t a noticeable difference in performance between the two modes. In this tutorial, I’ll connect the LCD in 4 bit mode.
BONUS: I made a quick start guide for this tutorial that you can download and go back to later if you can’t set this up right now. It covers all of the steps, diagrams, and code you need to get started.
The 3-in-1 Smart Car and IOT Learning Kit from SunFounder has everything you need to learn how to master the Arduino. It includes all of the parts, wiring diagrams, code, and step-by-step instructions for 58 different robotics and internet of things projects that are super fun to build!
Here’s a diagram of the pins on the LCD I’m using. The connections from each pin to the Arduino will be the same, but your pins might be arranged differently on the LCD. Be sure to check the datasheet or look for labels on your particular LCD:
Also, you might need to solder a 16 pin header to your LCD before connecting it to a breadboard. Follow the diagram below to wire the LCD to your Arduino:
All of the code below uses the LiquidCrystal library that comes pre-installed with the Arduino IDE. A library is a set of functions that can be easily added to a program in an abbreviated format.
In order to use a library, it needs be included in the program. Line 1 in the code below does this with the command #include
Now we’re ready to get into the programming! I’ll go over more interesting things you can do in a moment, but for now lets just run a simple test program. This program will print “hello, world!” to the screen. Enter this code into the Arduino IDE and upload it to the board:
There are 19 different functions in the LiquidCrystal library available for us to use. These functions do things like change the position of the text, move text across the screen, or make the display turn on or off. What follows is a short description of each function, and how to use it in a program.
TheLiquidCrystal() function sets the pins the Arduino uses to connect to the LCD. You can use any of the Arduino’s digital pins to control the LCD. Just put the Arduino pin numbers inside the parentheses in this order:
This function sets the dimensions of the LCD. It needs to be placed before any other LiquidCrystal function in the void setup() section of the program. The number of rows and columns are specified as lcd.begin(columns, rows). For a 16×2 LCD, you would use lcd.begin(16, 2), and for a 20×4 LCD you would use lcd.begin(20, 4).
This function clears any text or data already displayed on the LCD. If you use lcd.clear() with lcd.print() and the delay() function in the void loop() section, you can make a simple blinking text program:
This function places the cursor in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and prints any subsequent text from that position. For example, this code replaces the first three letters of “hello world!” with X’s:
Similar, but more useful than lcd.home() is lcd.setCursor(). This function places the cursor (and any printed text) at any position on the screen. It can be used in the void setup() or void loop() section of your program.
The cursor position is defined with lcd.setCursor(column, row). The column and row coordinates start from zero (0-15 and 0-1 respectively). For example, using lcd.setCursor(2, 1) in the void setup() section of the “hello, world!” program above prints “hello, world!” to the lower line and shifts it to the right two spaces:
You can use this function to write different types of data to the LCD, for example the reading from a temperature sensor, or the coordinates from a GPS module. You can also use it to print custom characters that you create yourself (more on this below). Use lcd.write() in the void setup() or void loop() section of your program.
The function lcd.noCursor() turns the cursor off. lcd.cursor() and lcd.noCursor() can be used together in the void loop() section to make a blinking cursor similar to what you see in many text input fields:
Cursors can be placed anywhere on the screen with the lcd.setCursor() function. This code places a blinking cursor directly below the exclamation point in “hello, world!”:
This function creates a block style cursor that blinks on and off at approximately 500 milliseconds per cycle. Use it in the void loop() section. The function lcd.noBlink() disables the blinking block cursor.
This function turns on any text or cursors that have been printed to the LCD screen. The function lcd.noDisplay() turns off any text or cursors printed to the LCD, without clearing it from the LCD’s memory.
This function takes anything printed to the LCD and moves it to the left. It should be used in the void loop() section with a delay command following it. The function will move the text 40 spaces to the left before it loops back to the first character. This code moves the “hello, world!” text to the left, at a rate of one second per character:
This function takes a string of text and scrolls it from right to left in increments of the character count of the string. For example, if you have a string of text that is 3 characters long, it will shift the text 3 spaces to the left with each step:
Like the lcd.scrollDisplay() functions, the text can be up to 40 characters in length before repeating. At first glance, this function seems less useful than the lcd.scrollDisplay() functions, but it can be very useful for creating animations with custom characters.
lcd.noAutoscroll() turns the lcd.autoscroll() function off. Use this function before or after lcd.autoscroll() in the void loop() section to create sequences of scrolling text or animations.
This function sets the direction that text is printed to the screen. The default mode is from left to right using the command lcd.leftToRight(), but you may find some cases where it’s useful to output text in the reverse direction:
This code prints the “hello, world!” text as “!dlrow ,olleh”. Unless you specify the placement of the cursor with lcd.setCursor(), the text will print from the (0, 1) position and only the first character of the string will be visible.
This command allows you to create your own custom characters. Each character of a 16×2 LCD has a 5 pixel width and an 8 pixel height. Up to 8 different custom characters can be defined in a single program. To design your own characters, you’ll need to make a binary matrix of your custom character from an LCD character generator or map it yourself. This code creates a degree symbol (°):
What is the purpose of declaring LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x27, 2, 1, 0, 4, 5, 6, 7, 3, POSITIVE); if we are using pins A4 and A5? I know that 0x27 is the ic address but what is the rest for?
there is a bit more but i"ll leave that for you to look into. in a more sophisticated IDE you normally can right click to a sub menu that will take you to the definition. it"s a great way to help you get a deeper understanding of how things work.0
I am getting a error while i m going to add zip file of lcd library error id this zip file does not contains a valid library please help me to resolve this issue as soon as possible.....
Hey guys. My LCD works fine using the above instructions (when replacing the existing LCD library in the Arduino directory) but I can"t get the backlight to ever switch off. Suggestions?
The CFA533-***-KC series is a 16x2 I2C LCD with keypad. The I2C interface allows you to use just two lines (SDA & SCL) to have bi-directional communication with the I2C LCD. Other devices can also share those two I2C control lines with the LCD. Only 4 wires are needed to connect this I2C LCD: power, ground, SDA (I2C Serial DAta) and SCL (I2C Serial CLock).
The CFA533 can run on 3.3v to 5.0v directly, with no changes needed, so you do not need to do any level translation between your embedded processor and the I2C LCD. Simply power the CFA533 from the same supply as your processor and the I2C signal levels will match up.
Using only one address on your I2C bus, you can add all the elements that you need for your front panel. The CFA533 I2C LCD can also read up to 32 DS18B20 digital temperature sensors, giving you an easy way to integrate temperature sensing over the I2C bus. No additional firmware or pins are needed on the host system.
This CFA533-TFH variant features crisp dark letters against a white, backlit background. The keypad has a matching white LED backlight. Since the LCD is a backlit positive FSTN, the CFA533-TFH I2C LCD is readable in direct sunlight, as well as complete darkness.
Module with LCD display 16x2 characters with green backlight. It is supplied with the voltage from 3.3 V to 5 V and communicates via the I2C interface. The display has adjustable backlight brightness and is controlled using a dedicated library. The Wiki page contains the manual and sample programs.
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The Displaytech 162J series is a lineup of 16x2 character LCD modules. These modules have an 80x36 mm outer dimension with 66x16 mm viewing area on the display. The 162J 16x2 LCD displays are available in STN or FSTN LCD modes with or without an LED backlight. The backlight color options include yellow green, white, blue, pure green, or amber color. Get a free quote direct from Displaytech for a 16x2 character LCD display from the 162J series.
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