arduino lcd display power consumption pricelist

We have much merriment here when people refer to a "9v battery" if they mean the common "PP3" or "smoke alarm battery". It will not run an Arduino for very long at all.

You do not want to power the Arduino by "Vin" or the "barrel jack". The on-board regulator is not very capable and you are just wasting four volts out of nine. Four Ni-Mh "AA" cells in a holder would be far more appropriate, connected to the "5V" pin.

Now the backlight on the LCD draws about 20 mA (in most cases) while the LCD itself draws less than 1 mA. It will in fact draw only half of that if you correct a common mistake and remove the connection from the contrast potentiometer to 5 V, leaving it only connected to pin 3 and ground.

The Arduino itself however consumes as much or more power than the backlight, particularly a UNO or Nano etc. with a USB to serial chip. The Pro Mini does not have this USB to serial chip (you have to connect an adapter to program it) so is much better in this respect.

The logger runs off battery power in a remote location for days on end, I need the LCD to be on when I check the unit every week, but for the rest of the time I want the LCD to be off just to save power.

I had thought that I could simply add an on/off switch to the 5v supply to the LCD (the Vdd line on the circuit diagram). For some reason, this doesn"t seem to work as expected. With the LCD on I can power up the data logger and it will happily boot up and start logging with the LCD working fine. If I flick the switch the LCD will turn off as expected and the logger will continue logging (I know this because the file it logs to continues to grow correctly)

The problem comes when I attempt to switch the LCD back on again, I flick the switch but the LCD remains blank, the only way I can turn the screen on again is to cycle the power for the whole unit, the logger and screen together. I seems I can"t just turn the screen on and off on it"s own.

Then i saw those "A" and "K" one the right side, guess what, I used "A" for 3.3V and "K" for Ground, the back light was on and everything was working fine(except the lost pixels. I really don"t know what cause the LCD to malfunction, I just wont try to power the back light through pins 15-16.

Of course pins 15 and 16 for the backlight have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the LCD panel and its operation. What voltage are you powering it with?

In the previous tutorial I showed how to build a weather station using DHT11 and BMP180 with an Arduino. However, the project has a downside which is the power consumption of the 16X2 LCD. If we were building a battery powered project with the desire to last for several weeks and probably several months, like a weather station for instance, then we’ll have to replace the LCD keypad shield from the previous tutorials and go for something like the low powered Nokia 5110 84×84 LCD display. In this tutorial I will be showing you how to drive this display with the Arduino and thus build projects with longer battery life.

Since we are just going to drive the display we won’t be needing sensors for this tutorial, however we will need the components listed below which include the Nokia 5110 itself and we will show how to drive the display using an Arduino board.

The Nokia 5110 display is basically a graphic LCD display useful for a lot of applications. It was intended originally to be used as a screen for cell phones and was used in lots of mobile phones during the 90’s. This display uses a low powered CMOS LCD controller/driver PCD8544, which drives the graphic display of size 84×48. It is very cheap and costs about 3$. You can get one here.

The Nokia 5110 LCD can display text, graphics as well as bitmaps. When this display is fully lit, it draws about 10mA but with the backlight off, it draws as low as 0.4mA. The power consumed by this display is very low compared to that of the keypad LCD shield used in the previous tutorial. I will be using the Arduino Mega for this tutorial as usual and you can buy one here. You can also buy jumpers, breadboards and power bank which you will be needing for this tutorial.

The display has two sides to which headers pins can be connected. You can pick one of the sides and solder header pins so that the display can fit firmly on the breadboard. The display works best when powered with 3.3 volts.

Before we start writing the code for this project, first we need to download the 5110 LCD graph library that was made by rinky-dink electronics. The library does most of the heavy lifting and makes it easy for us o use the LCD. Click here to visit the download page and then download the LCD5110_graph zip file. When done, unzip the file to your preferred location and then rename the unzipped folder to something simple like “LCD5110”. Copy and paste this folder in your arduino library folder, then run your arduino IDE.

Click on the file, then on examples and then click on LCD5110. Since we are using the Arduino Mega, under the LCD5110 drop down click on Arduino (AVR) and the open up the LCD graph demo file.

In the code we only have to change a few things. we can see from the comment section above that the RST pin of the display was connected to pin 11 but in our case we connected this pin to pin 12 of the Arduino Mega. We also have to change the CS from pin 12 to 11.

The first line after the comment section, the LCD5110 library was included and after that a myGLCD object was created with the numbers being the pins to which the LCD is connected. The last two values in the myGLCD object is the RST and CS values which has been changed as explained initially.

with this done, we move to the setup function. In the setup function, the InitLCD method is used to initialize the display and this method takes in a parameter for the display contrast. The contrast value is between 0-127 and since we didn’t pass in any value the default value which is 70 will be used. Next, the setFont method is called which sets smallFont as the display font style is called and lastly, the randomSeed function which is used to initialize the random number generator using analogRead on an unconnected pin as a random input.

In the loop function, on the first line the screen buffer is cleared using the clrScr method. The drawBitmap method was used to draw the arduino logo and this logo is placed in the screen buffer when the method is called. The update method is used to copy the screen buffer to the screen then we give it a delay of 2 seconds before clearing the screen buffer again.

Most of the functions used in the project have names that are self-explanatory like myGLCD.drawLine needs no explanation for instance as its clear the function draws a line.

Here is the full code for this project. Its an example from the Library named LCD5110_Graph_Demo and how to get to it has been described at the beginning of this section.

This is a thin, extremely low-power 128x64 graphic LCD display module. It has no backlight, so consumes no power to illuminate the display. However, if you wanted to backlight the module, the rear polarizer is transflective, so you could add your own lighting solution there. This display is perfectly suited for hand-held or any application requiring low power consumption or a very thin display. It has an integrated controller and the tail is designed to mate with standard 18-conductor 0.5mm pitch ZIF connectors (typical would be Omron XF2L18351A/ DigiKey P/N OR754CT-ND).

My colleague needed to know the index of refraction of air to umpteen decimals. So I bought an arduino, a barometric pressure sensor, plagiarized some code from Sparkfun (THANKS!) and now he has what he needed. Made a friend along the way. What"s not to like about that.

I"ve used Arduino Unos in the past and they have always been a solid little micro-controller for simple projects. I can"t say I"m testing the limits of the unit since I only run 20-30 lines of code at a time with my current project but it always does what you tell it to do. Only issue Ive experienced is using the Rx Tx pins while connected to the USB port of the computer can cause the PC to not recognize the board and you need to unplug and reset the board and then the PC will recognize it. All in all, great board for beginners and small projects.

So been using Arduino or the ATmegas a while now and I have done a lot of neat things with them. As time has gone by I have found this guy, which requires a little learning but worth it:

This is my second Arduino Uno. The previous one came with a starter kit and I ordered a wavshield with it so it is dedicated to a specific application that I have in mind. I needed another Arduino Uno to play with so I could learn to develop other applications. This one from sparkfun was available and the note that told me to order the updated IDE was helpful. It works and I"ve been able to apply sketches from the Arduino Cookbook. I"m having fun and in geek heaven with this Arduino board.

Bought it to use as a test mule for my new designs, and have become hooked. Seriously, this thing is more useful than duct tape and WD40. Absolutely amazing, saved some cash from the Arduino website and got a real one, not some cheap knockoff. Thanks sparkfun!

Sparkfun should make clear that this is an arduino.org and not arduino.cc board. I"d rather buy a clone from seeed or another company than from the guys that are basically screwing up the arduino brand.

I bought this (supposedly) Original Arduino board a few weeks ago and the Arduino IDE shows me that it is not a Certified board. It works fine, but I preferred to buy from SparkFun and not Amazon because I wanted a certified one!

The Uno and other “official” Arduino boards such as the Mega, are not manufactured by the original crew. The error you are seeing is the Arduino.cc crew bringing attention to the fact that your board was made by Arduino SRL. However, at this time, Arduino.cc is not manufacturing a Uno board of their own. We suggest the Arduino Pro and Pro minis from Sparkfun as they do pay a royalty from each item sold back to the Arduino team. Additionally, the RedBoard is a great alternative is you choose to not purchase Unos

I bought an R3 because I had read on arduino.cc that it would not suffer the reset on serial connection problem that other boards have. That does not seem to be the case, this board still resets itself as soon as I connect over the serial interface.

i need a microcontroller for a home-brew sous-vide and the arduino is a nice and simple core that powered the operation. will definitely use the arduino again for other home projects!

I used the Arduino board with the Olimex SHIELD-EKG-EMG to create a EMG-EKG sensor unit that can display the output graphically using a laptop running Windows 10.

I"m sorry about this. The Uno and other "official" Arduino boards such as the Mega, are not manufactured by the original crew. The error you are seeing is the Arduino.cc crew bringing attention to the fact that your board was made by Arduino SRL. However, at this time, Arduino.cc is not manufacturing a Uno board of their own. We suggest the Arduino Pro and Pro minis from Sparkfun as they do pay a royalty from each item sold back to the Arduino team. Additionally, the RedBoard is a great alternative is you choose to not purchase Unos.

The Arduino Uno R3 is a solid microprocessor. There is a complete set of libraries for adding all sorts of inexpensive sensors. The device is fairly rugged. Its easy to program.

New to Arduino, and only kinda knew HTML and CSS, but figured code is code. I had this up an running super fast, and figured out how to read a few sensors and control motor speed via PWM on day one! Instantly I started to think of all the things I could do with one of these. The usb port and dc power jack make this very easy to hook up and use. I would highly recommend this board.

If your IO ports needs are not excessive (14 digital and 6 analog pins) and your sketch is of medium length (500 lines), the Arduino Uno R3 is perfect. Those limitations are not excessive and in many cases can be extended with simple external circuits. It also has I2C and SCI interfaces for use with many different shields.

This is my first venture into electronics. The Arduino has proven to be a very enjoyable learning tool. I look forward to learn about the Arduino and add accessories to the micro controller as I continue. For novices to electronics like myself, I recommend the use of the Arduino.

(My 2nd one), smoked the first one,trying to run 4 stepper motors on a 298d & 293d, bread board got kinda full of wires & I plugged the 12 v power into the UNO. corrupted the memory, had to download new IDE

I like the Uno - R3 because I am very familiar with its capabilities. It is a complete microprocessor platform, ready to be put to work. I often use them in non-Arduino projects. I also like the Red Board for the same reasons.

My initial attraction to the Arduino Uno R3 was that it runs with C/C++, a language I’m familiar with. So far it, and the Xbee attachments have performed flawlessly, just as the community (hobbyists/engineers) has advertised. I’m very much enjoying my first project and am already dreaming of others. I find it most satisfying to work with a quality product while having the immense support of the manufacturer and it retailers. Another very much appreciated group I turn to for help and advice are those sharing their experiences over the Internet.

Arduinos are great for quick set up to control experiments. Even better is Sparkfuns support. Their guides make set up quick, painless, and fun. Keep up the good work Sparkfun!

I"m just starting to learn arduino and it"s already awsome !!! Very easy to power, to connect to pc aver usb, to program and load sketches...This board have a big potential to do almost everything you want, just very user friendly and a must have for DIYers, geeks or any curious guys !!! ;p

Amazing technology. I built my first computer IBM AT 10 megahertz . Telling you my age, the credit card size at 16 megahertz. I"m learning a lot about electronics, my background is Mechnical engineering. I highly recommend this open source and generous people supporting the Arduino uno.

The pin printout on the side I needed for the longest time, and its a nice machine that treats my old computer as if it was new, and It took my sketches without stress! I am a neardy Dad and my kids like to see Arduino in action. Thank you for the Sale also!

This is less powerful than a Raspberry pie, but is very simple and straight forward. The documentation and forum sites easily answer any questions that you might have when starting out. The example sketches (programs, for those who haven"t started with Arduino yet), are a great learning tool and you"ll have a sketch of your own up and running in minute or hours instead of days. My only complaint is that you are limited to the number of digital and analog pins, but then you could connect more Arduinos together as a system.

After opening the box there was a 3m Bumpon strip that looked hotglued to the board is over the UNO writing and I believe one of the resistors. This is my first Arduino from Sparkfun and I"m very disappointed. Why smear hotglue all over the top of the board. I haven"t. Checked if it runs fine but to be honest I like to use clear cases and display my arduinos in projects.

However, I had to make sure that students dowloaded IDE from Arduino.org and not from Arduino.cc in order to match up the drivers for the Arduino SRL boards.

Glad Sparkfun still carries Arduino UNO but might want to document the download path better. The "Arduino.org" sticker attached to the processor chip was helpful in differentiating different boards (SRL vs. Original boards), so I left it attached.

The only real issue I have with the hardware is that there is no direct connection to the output of the power input barrel connector. Sure, you can pick off the power in at Pin 8 on the power connector, but then you have to deal with a diode drop and a limit on the current. I just wish "PWRIN" popped out on one of the connectors some place.

Other than that, the board design is very flexible and seems to work reliably. The Arduino Uno really shines when you add external circuits to it to drive your projects electronics. They give you Eagle Files in both schematic and layout. This makes it easy to design other hardware around your project.

Currently, I use Altium as my design package. I have though exported the layout to a DXF file and use that to put an Arduino "component" on my printed Circuit assemblies. Then I just plug the Arduino Uno onto my design.

The Arduino software though can be buggy at times. For example, you cannot double click on your project file and have the software compile. You need to open Arduino first, then open you project. If you don"t do this, you"ll get all kinds of weird errors.

Uno - R3 works great, starting to learn the code. (Sketches) Have used Basic before so I have to learn the new codes and protocol of sketching for Arduino. THANKS!!!

Just getting into the exciting world of Arduino. Of course, Sparkfun was my first stop for purchases. The Arduino Uno is an excellent product, well-built and works as expected. I look forward to learning more and utilizing the little board in various projects,

There are fancier Arduino"s such as the DUE but for straightforward shields this is a good choice. Mine has been rock solid. I do have to laugh at the USB jack!

I used the code and project design from Bill Porter"s Reaction Time Challenge exhibit (https://github.com/madsci1016/Reaction-Time-Challenge-Exhibit) to build a game that I use at fairs and public events. It"s intended to get people"s attention and prompt discussion about distracted driving. The game works great and the Arduino Uno has been flawless. Here"s a photo of the end result:

We used the Arduino Uno flashed with firmware so it detects as a USB HID device, an XBee kit, and a Raspberry Pi to adapt a USB 2d barcode scanner so that it operates wirelessly and supports scan history and playback, all transparent to the host machine.

The one hiccup is that it would have been better to know I had to buy the USB data cable and power adapter myself before receiving the device to hit the ground more immediately.

I love this thing. I been playing with the Arduino Uno for several years now. The support is incredible, the software easy to use. If you can imagine it you can probably make this thing do it. One new addition I found with this particular unit was the addition of the plastic bottom. With the exposed solder joints on the bottom of the card there is always a chance of shorting something out if you set it on a metal surface. Now there is no worries. It also provides with a couple extra mounting holes. I highly recommend this card, the price is low, it"s powerful and well supported!

It is my first time with any kind of Arduino and so far I am really happy and satisfied with it. I have tons to learn and every time I start to work with the Arduino I love.

Although I use the Arduino Uno - R3s for other things, my main use is running GRBL on them to control a low power laser engraver (2.5 to 7w). It is absolutely amazing how much this little board can do. In this case it is controlling three stepper motors (coordinating all three simultaneously as is needed) while doing the PWM for the laser and while doing spindle control.

My recent purchase of an Arduino Uno has met my expectations so far. It"s been a good learning tool and fun to experiment with. I use both Windows 7 and Ubuntu Linux versions of the IDE, and I prefer using C syntax for programming as I"m more experienced with it. I also have a Raspberry Pi 3B but for most of my projects, simple robotics and environmental sensing, the Uno works quite well. I don"t have many add-ons at the moment, but I"ll be expanding on them soon. I intend to buy a few more advanced Arduinos in the near future as well. My experience with sparkfun has been positive and I look forward to doing more business with them.

Arrived in quick time and works as expected. The only surprise was the USB-B type connector. That"s not a Sparkfun issue, but merely an Arduino thing that caught me off guard. Overall it"s working great and doing everything I need!

This arduino board was able to perform all the functions needed! It was exactly how the description said and matched all of the necessary requirements!

I’ve had an Arduino for several years, which I’ve used on several projects. I bought this one for backup, but it’s going to be my go to controller. The base plate of hard plastic makes mounting it in projects is easier and safer. And the pin markings are a huge improvement over my old Arduino.

I NEVER got a notification saying that this wasn"t a licensed Arduino. This is just a 100% legit, made in Italy microcontroller. Like, dude. It is what it is, and it does what it"s built to do! Stop whining!

Board arrived well packaged and fully functional. I"m not a power user, so can"t speak to the benefits of the R3 updates. The plastic tray is a very welcome addition, makes handling the board much easier. My Win7 laptop found it and connected no problems, happily hacking away on pixel programming.

I used the Arduino to build a dynamometer for a 2.5” to 12’ scale train. I used the Arduino software on my Linux system and it worked perfectly. My son did I all the programming.

Hosting a virtual summer camp became part of our new normal this year. We decided to introduce our upper elementary and middle school campers to the basics of programming with an Arduino. The Arduino boards arrived on time, and all checked out well upon inspection. The mounting frame is also a great feature.

I have several Arduino clones, but the best is the original. Yes it costs more, but to me I like it and the plastic carrier is a nice touch they added to it.

I"ve been working on a Mini Tank Robot Kit. I have accidentally blown 3 Arduino boards before I realized that the 12V wall wart was actually putting out 16V when not loaded (blows the 5V regulator, and they fail shorted, sadly enough). Those were knock-off boards. Even my Sparkfun Redboard died (test lead slip, but the regulator is fine), the Amtel chip is SMT). The genuine Arduino is nice that it has the pin out labeling on the sides of the connectors, so I can see the signals without having to count pins when connecting mini-grabbers to check signals with my meter. Also the Amtel chip is in a socket, so it can be replaced.

This is the non-SMD Arduino Uno - R3 board. Exactly what I wanted ... at a good sale price. Should have purchased ten more as same does everything that I expected it to.

The Uno and other “official” Arduino boards such as the Mega, are not manufactured by the original crew. The error you are seeing is the Arduino.cc crew bringing attention to the fact that your board was made by Arduino SRL. However, at this time, Arduino.cc is not manufacturing a Uno board of their own. We suggest the Arduino Pro and Pro minis from Sparkfun as they do pay a royalty from each item sold back to the Arduino team. Additionally, the RedBoard is a great alternative is you choose to not purchase Unos.