lcd display 16x2 datasheet pdf free sample
16×2 LCD is named so because; it has 16 Columns and 2 Rows. There are a lot of combinations available like, 8×1, 8×2, 10×2, 16×1, etc. But the most used one is the 16*2 LCD, hence we are using it here.
All the above mentioned LCD display will have 16 Pins and the programming approach is also the same and hence the choice is left to you. Below is the Pinout and Pin Description of 16x2 LCD Module:
These black circles consist of an interface IC and its associated components to help us use this LCD with the MCU. Because our LCD is a 16*2 Dot matrix LCD and so it will have (16*2=32) 32 characters in total and each character will be made of 5*8 Pixel Dots. A Single character with all its Pixels enabled is shown in the below picture.
So Now, we know that each character has (5*8=40) 40 Pixels and for 32 Characters we will have (32*40) 1280 Pixels. Further, the LCD should also be instructed about the Position of the Pixels.
It will be a hectic task to handle everything with the help of MCU, hence an Interface IC like HD44780 is used, which is mounted on LCD Module itself. The function of this IC is to get the Commands and Data from the MCU and process them to display meaningful information onto our LCD Screen.
The LCD can work in two different modes, namely the 4-bit mode and the 8-bit mode. In 4 bit mode we send the data nibble by nibble, first upper nibble and then lower nibble. For those of you who don’t know what a nibble is: a nibble is a group of four bits, so the lower four bits (D0-D3) of a byte form the lower nibble while the upper four bits (D4-D7) of a byte form the higher nibble. This enables us to send 8 bit data.
As said, the LCD itself consists of an Interface IC. The MCU can either read or write to this interface IC. Most of the times we will be just writing to the IC, since reading will make it more complex and such scenarios are very rare. Information like position of cursor, status completion interrupts etc. can be read if required, but it is out of the scope of this tutorial.
The Interface IC present in most of the LCD is HD44780U,in order to program our LCD we should learn the complete datasheet of the IC. The datasheet is given here.
There are some preset commands instructions in LCD, which we need to send to LCD through some microcontroller. Some important command instructions are given below:
Abstract: 16X2 LCD DISPLAY IEC1107 IEC-1107 transformer protection based microcontroller Digital Frequency Meter with LCD Display display 16x2 SALEM 16X2 LCD trivector meter
Text: accuracy of the time maintained by the meter. A 16x2 LCD display along with two external buttons enables , LCD display and stored in Flash memory · True RMS measurement of all phase voltages and line , performs data management and peripheral control. · Harmonic Analysis optional LCD DISPLAY LCD , computed parameters along with the parameter index are displayed by the micro-controller on a 16x2 LCD , . The micro-controller controls the LCD module. The display of parameters can be selectively enabled
Text: Model 869 Stand Alone Device programmer The B+K Precision model 869 Stand Alone Programmer was designed to operate by itself to perform functions such as Copy, Edit Buffer, Read, Blank check, Erase and Test of some standard chips. It comes with an internal CPU, 7 key keypad, 16x2 LCD display , and flash memory for programming data and algorithms. Standard data buffer size is 4 Mbits. Programming algorithms can be downloaded from the PC host via printer port, which will stay inside the memory until
Text: 16x2 LCD display , USB cable, and reference designs for easy evaluation. Utility Window Provides , XC2C256-TQ144 device · USB 2.0 cable for power, programming and data transfer · 16x2 character LCD · 9V , meter Fax: 408-559-7114 display in the CoolRunner-II Utility Window. The meter includes 16
Abstract: Digital Alarm Clock with calendar using microcontroller project 16X2 LCD DISPLAY PIC24 slave parallel port examples AC164126 16 pin diagram of XIAMEN lcd display 16x2 AC164127 pic24 alarm PIC24 example C30 codes PORT PIC24 sleep
Text: Alpha-numeric 16x2 LCD display MPLAB ICD 2 debug connector USB and RS-232 interfaces Microchip"s TC1047A, using an interactive, menu-driven OLED display and Microchip"s Free Graphics library Low cost speech
Abstract: PIC24FJ128GA010 with watchdog timer Digital Alarm Clock with calendar using microcontroller project MMC FAT PIC AC164122 DV164033 PIC24 family standard values of Lcd 16x2 to microcontroller ds39754d 16X2 LCD DISPLAY
Abstract: 16 pin diagram of lcd display 16x2 16 pin diagram of lcd display 16x2 hd44780 LCD 16X2 5V RS232 Driver 16 pin diagram of HD44780 lcd display 16x2 16x2 lcd HD44780 BV4108 16x2 LCD display command lcd display 16x2 HD44780 16x2
Text: from Figure 3 the board mounts directly on to this 16x2 LCD display . LCD Command Set LCD , Interface) module designed to interface with an LCD display that uses a HD44780 or similar controller. This is just about every LCD character display available. The board is small enough to fit , IASI-2 section. 8. Trouble Shooting Display only responds sometimes LCD displays by their nature , LCD display required a delay after clearing and cursor home, so the macro would look like this
Text: for PIC16*/24 24. SD-Card Module with LEDs 25. 128x64 graphic LCD display (Or TFT) , 0.96 oLED 26. Seven Segment / 16x2 LCD display 27. 4x Touch pad (For additional experiment) 28. PIC16, ) Atmega328(on-Board) x1 Accessories contains 1602 LCD Display x1 0.96â 128x64 OLED x1 WIDE.HK , connector. GND and VCC - Display power supply lines Vo - LCD contrast level from potentiometer P4 RS - , (High), Instruction (Low) selection line 7 R/W H/L H:READ( LCD MPU) L:WRITE(MPU LCD ) 8 E Display Enable
Text: , JP1 communicates with the on-board PIC18LF4550 USB device. 2.2.6 LCD The Explorer 16 board includes an alphanumeric LCD display with two lines of 16 characters each. The display is driven with three control lines and eight data lines. The LCD can be driven by the PMP module, if supported, or the I/O , LCD Display +3.3V and +5V Supply 9-15 VDC SPI* ICSP* JTAG* USB POT JTAG LEDs , . 2-line by 16-character LCD 10. Provisioning on PCB for add on graphic LCD 11. Push button switches
Abstract: 16X2 LCD DISPLAY incremental quadrature encoder with dsPIC three phase motor control schematics diagrams schematic diagram online UPS D7NF can bus schematic mcp2551 MAX485 PIC PICDEM.net Development Tool Manual digital gate firing in DC drives
Text: . 1.2.10 LCD Display A 16x2 LCD display (U7) is included on the board. Communication to the display , standard. · · · · The LCD data lines are on RD0-RD3. The Enable line is on RD13. The Read/Write is , RC1 RC3 LCD R/W Line LCD RS Line - - 59 60 C C 13 14 - - ICSP Data if
Abstract: lumex lcm-so1062 LCM-SO1062 TC1074A analog thermal sensor p24FJ128GA010 p33FJ256GP710 14 pin diagram of optrex lcd display 16x2 7 segment LED display project digital calendar DS39756 TM162JCAWG1
Text: them for display on the LCD . The voltage is taken from the potentiometer (R6) and displays a voltage , display between current and stored temperature values. An `M" on the right side of the LCD indicates that , ) A/D volts to Hex conversion Hex to Decimal conversion (for LCD display ) LCD Update The time of , -line by 16-character LCD 10. Provisioning on PCB for add on graphic LCD 11. Push button switches for , MPLAB C30. The program displays PIC24 features on the alphanumeric LCD , and also displays voltage
Text: U5 16X2 LCD DISPLAY 16 17 18 19 20 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 , a general-purpose I/O to provide the eight bits of data to the LCD display . In addition, for other , select or logic outputs, two pins (PB0 and PB1) enable the LCD display and RS line. Another five I/O , programmable telephone with three off-the-shelf integrated circuits. The feature phone includes a 16 x 2 LCD display and can be programmed to offer many popular functions such as last- number redial, autodial by
Text: sales@p-tec.net Tel: Fax: (719) 589 3122 (719) 589 3592 PC1602A-L( 16x2 ) Character LCD Display , ( 16x2 ) Character LCD Display Absolute Maximum Ratings at TA = 25 °C Features *16 Character, 2 Line , sales@p-tec.net Tel: Fax: (719) 589 3122 (719) 589 3592 PC1602B-L( 16x2 ) Character LCD Display , PC1602C-L( 16x2 ) Character LCD Display Absolute Maximum Ratings at TA = 25 °C Features *16 Character, 2 , ( 16x2 ) Character LCD Display 80.0± 0.5 2.5 8.0 2.54x15=38.1 1.8 16-Ø1.0 2.0 4-Ø2.5 8.8
Abstract: 16x2 lcd HD44780 hitachi 16x2 lcd LCD ASCII CODE 16x2 LCD ASCII table CODE 16x2 HD44780 16x2 16x2 lcd HD44780 16x1 LCD command lcd display 16x2 LCD display module 16x2 HD44780
Text: character LCD display that is fitted with a Hitachi HD44780 controller. This 16x2 character LCD uses the , a Typical HD44780-Based Character LCD Module Liquid Crystal Display ( LCD ) is a very useful , characters displayed per line characterize LCDs into 16x2 , 40x2, and 40x4 dimensions. An LCD requires a controller to control various features of its display . An LCD with a controller is referred to as an LCD , eZ80Acclaim! MCU is a 16x2 character LCD controlled by the HD44780 controller by Hitachi. It features the
Text: 7 1 Symbol 14 DB7 1. Type of Display : 2. Development Number: 3. LCD TYPE: 4 , Optrex Numbering System DOT MATRIX Type LCD Modules DMC 50000 N Y H U S E B 1 Standard Pin Connections Pin No. Symbol Pin No. OPTREX CORPORATION HIGH CONTRAST LCD MODULE FEATURES , programming: clear display , cursor at home, on/off cursor, blink character, shift display , shift cursor, read/write display data, etc. · Compact and lightweight design. · Low power consumption. 1 2 3
Abstract: lcd 16x2 instruction set 24 pin diagram of lcd display 16x2 16X2 LCD TIMING CHARACTERISTICS 16x4 LCD ddram STN negative Blue 16X2 lcd display TC162F 16 pin diagram of lcd display 16x1 16X4 LCD CHARACTER CODE Okaya Electric Industries
Text: . Handle with care. ⢠Do not remove the panel or frame from the liquid crystal display module. ( LCD module) ⢠Do not soil or damage LCD panel terminals. ⢠Keep the display surface clean. Do not touch , MPU -» LCD Module â 1": Read MPU «- LCD Module E I Operation start signal for data read or write , "s NORMAL TEMP (+5VDC) WIDE TEMP (±SVDC) LCD v Module O vDD-VO VR 10KQ - 20KQ VDD LCD v Module SS vO , =250KHz RS R/W DB7 DB6 DB5 DB4 DB3 DB2 DB1 DBO Clear Display 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Clears all display and
Abstract: TC202A HEADER RT TC162C 16x1 LC display 16X2 LCD TIMING CHARACTERISTICS 16X2 LCD CHARACTER CODE 24 pin diagram of lcd display 16x2 lcd display 16x2 instruction set Okaya lcd
Text: display module. ( LCD module) · Do not soil or damage LCD panel terminals. · Keep the display surface clean , Name I/O Power Supply Requirements Function V DD-VO LCD v V s s V o c V o RS R/W E DBO thru , MPU LCD Module "1": Read MPU LCD Module Operation start signal for data read or write Data Bus of , Command Instructions Code Instruction Clear Display Cursor At Home Entry Mode Set Display On/Off Control Cursor/ Display Shift Function Set CG RAM Address Set DDRAM Address Set Busy Flag/ Address Read CGRAM
Abstract: 16x2 Text LCD optrex lcd display 16x2 16207 LCD display module 16x2 characters block diagram of lcd display 16x2 LCD MODULE optrex 16x2 driver lcd 16x2 LCD display module 16x2 optrex user manual
Text: driver required for a Nios® II processor to display characters on an Optrex 16207 (or equivalent) 16x2 , several ready-made example designs that display text on the Optrex 16207 via the LCD controller. For , SOPC Builder In SOPC Builder, the LCD controller component has the name Character LCD ( 16x2 , behavior on a miniature scale for the 16x2 screen. Characters written to the LCD controller are stored to , 10. Optrex 16207 LCD Controller Core NII51019-7.1.0 Core Overview The Optrex 16207 LCD
Abstract: 16x2 LCD Panel Display optrex lcd display 16x2 16x2 Text LCD Datasheet Lcd 16x2 16x2 Dot Matrix Character Display Driver driver lcd 16x2 lcd module 16x2 16x2 lcd VT100 manual
Text: (or equivalent) 16x2 -character LCD panel. Device drivers are provided in the HAL system library for , an Optrex LCD module and provide several ready-made example designs that display text on the Optrex , LCD ( 16x2 , Optrex 16207). The LCD controller does not have any user-configurable settings. The only , terminal-like behavior on a miniature scale for the 16x2 screen. Characters written to the LCD controller are , Section III. Display Peripherals This section describes display interface peripherals provided
Text: -07-ALL-002 SAMSUNG SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. 5 SYSTEM LSI LCD Driver ICs BW STN GRAPHIC DISPLAY DRIVER IC FOR , PAGE ASIC / FOUNDRY 3 ASIC ORDERING INFORMATION 4 CMOS IMAGE SENSORS 5 LCD DRIVER ICs 5-6 LCD DRIVER IC ORDERING INFORMATION 7 MOBILE APPLICATION PROCESSORS 8 HDTV , ) 11. " - " 4 SAMSUNG SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. BR-07-ALL-002 AUGUST 2007 Image Sensors / LCD , DISPLAY DRIVER IC FOR MOBILE DISPLAYS Part Number Segment S6A0031 80 S6A0032 80 S6A0065 S6A0069
Abstract: Display LCD 20x4 LCD ASCII CODE 20x4 pin diagram of serial lcd display 16x2 LCD 16X2 5V RS232 Driver LCD ASCII table CODE 16x2 explanation of 16x2 LCD lcd display 2x16 software command 16X2 LCD CHARACTER CODE display lcd 16x2 232
Text: ) Crystalfontz America, Incorporated 20x4 (634) and 16x2 (632) intelligent serial interface display command set , the "Connecting Your LCD " section above. Display Control Codes ASCII Keystrokes Function , 16x2 display ), and a second byte for the row (0-3 for a 4x20 or 0-1 for a 2x16). The upper-left , Connecting Your Crystalfontz Intelligent Serial Display v2.0 STATIC SENSITIVE DEVICE - USE PROPER ESD PROCEDURES Connection to Personal Computers For non-backlight operation when the display is
Text: yes yes 65 190x175x50 LCD /VF 20x4 MAC40+ yes yes yes 65 150x170x33 LCD 16x2 MAC 12 yes yes yes yes 65 96x72x36 LCD 16x2 MAC10 yes yes yes 65 96x72x36 LCD 16x1 FX-20DU-E yes 54 120x174x44 tLED 11+4 FX-10DU-E yes 54 92x115x26 tLCD 16x2 t Backlit Display ` Subject to Verification A , advanced display tools, which enable operators to make which mean the smallest to the largest application , Programmable Function Keys Touch Screen Networking IP Rating External Dimensions (WxHxD)mm Display Number of
Abstract: Display LCD 20x4 explanation of 16x2 LCD 20X4 LCD 20X4 pin architecture of lcd display 16x2 explanation of 20x4 LCD lcd 20x4 16X4 LCD CHARACTER CODE LCD ASCII CODE 16x2
Text: Crystalfontz Technology * PRELIMINARY * 20x4 and 16x2 intelligent serial interface display , " followed by one byte for the column (0-19 for a 20x4 display , or 0-15 for a 16x2 display ), and a second , value of length for a 20x4 display is 20*6=\120. For a 16x2 , the maximum value is 16*6=\096. row is the , examples to the display . You may highlight each line of the examples, copy them, and then past them into , return at the end of the line. The display will power itself (without the backlight) from the DTR and
Abstract: Display LCD 20x4 display module lcd 4x20 radio shack baud WR232Y02 20X4 standard values of Lcd 16x2 to microcontroller pin architecture of lcd display 16x2 16x2 display display lcd 16x2 232
Text: SPI_CLK SPI_BUSY Crystalfontz Display Function Ground (backlight and controller) Controller and LCD , 16x2 intelligent serial interface display command set This document corresponds with firmware v1 , "Control Q" followed by one byte for the column (0-19 for a 20x4 display , or 0-15 for a 16x2 display ), and , , so the maximum value of length for a 20x4 display is 20*6=\120. For a 16x2 , the maximum value is 16 , Connecting Your Crystalfontz Intelligent Serial Display Connection to Personal Computers For
Abstract: Display LCD 20x4 pin diagram of serial lcd display 16x2 16x2 serial lcd 20X4 LCD display display 16x2 datasheet 20x4 characters Display Driver explanation of 20x4 LCD led scrolling display lcd display 2x16 software command
Text: ) Crystalfontz America, Incorporated 20x4 (634) and 16x2 (632) intelligent serial interface display command set , the "Connecting Your LCD " section above. Display Control Codes ASCII Keystrokes Function , 16x2 display ), and a second byte for the row (0-3 for a 4x20 or 0-1 for a 2x16). The upper-left , Connecting Your Crystalfontz Intelligent Serial Display v2.0 STATIC SENSITIVE DEVICE - USE PROPER ESD PROCEDURES Connection to Personal Computers For non-backlight operation when the display is
We come across Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) displays everywhere around us. Computers, calculators, television sets, mobile phones, and digital watches use some kind of display to display the time.
An LCD screen is an electronic display module that uses liquid crystal to produce a visible image. The 16×2 LCD display is a very basic module commonly used in DIYs and circuits. The 16×2 translates a display of 16 characters per line in 2 such lines. In this LCD, each character is displayed in a 5×7 pixel matrix.
Contrast adjustment; the best way is to use a variable resistor such as a potentiometer. The output of the potentiometer is connected to this pin. Rotate the potentiometer knob forward and backward to adjust the LCD contrast.
A 16X2 LCD has two registers, namely, command and data. The register select is used to switch from one register to other. RS=0 for the command register, whereas RS=1 for the data register.
Command Register: The command register stores the command instructions given to the LCD. A command is an instruction given to an LCD to do a predefined task. Examples like:
Data Register: The data register stores the data to be displayed on the LCD. The data is the ASCII value of the character to be displayed on the LCD. When we send data to LCD, it goes to the data register and is processed there. When RS=1, the data register is selected.
Generating custom characters on LCD is not very hard. It requires knowledge about the custom-generated random access memory (CG-RAM) of the LCD and the LCD chip controller. Most LCDs contain a Hitachi HD4478 controller.
CG-RAM address starts from 0x40 (Hexadecimal) or 64 in decimal. We can generate custom characters at these addresses. Once we generate our characters at these addresses, we can print them by just sending commands to the LCD. Character addresses and printing commands are below.
LCD modules are very important in many Arduino-based embedded system designs to improve the user interface of the system. Interfacing with Arduino gives the programmer more freedom to customize the code easily. Any cost-effective Arduino board, a 16X2 character LCD display, jumper wires, and a breadboard are sufficient enough to build the circuit. The interfacing of Arduino to LCD display is below.
The combination of an LCD and Arduino yields several projects, the most simple one being LCD to display the LED brightness. All we need for this circuit is an LCD, Arduino, breadboard, a resistor, potentiometer, LED, and some jumper cables. The circuit connections are below.
We come across Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) displays everywhere around us. Computers, calculators, television sets, mobile phones, and digital watches use some kind of display to display the time.
An LCD screen is an electronic display module that uses liquid crystal to produce a visible image. The 16×2 LCD display is a very basic module commonly used in DIYs and circuits. The 16×2 translates a display of 16 characters per line in 2 such lines. In this LCD, each character is displayed in a 5×7 pixel matrix.
Contrast adjustment; the best way is to use a variable resistor such as a potentiometer. The output of the potentiometer is connected to this pin. Rotate the potentiometer knob forward and backward to adjust the LCD contrast.
A 16X2 LCD has two registers, namely, command and data. The register select is used to switch from one register to other. RS=0 for the command register, whereas RS=1 for the data register.
Command Register: The command register stores the command instructions given to the LCD. A command is an instruction given to an LCD to do a predefined task. Examples like:
Data Register: The data register stores the data to be displayed on the LCD. The data is the ASCII value of the character to be displayed on the LCD. When we send data to LCD, it goes to the data register and is processed there. When RS=1, the data register is selected.
Generating custom characters on LCD is not very hard. It requires knowledge about the custom-generated random access memory (CG-RAM) of the LCD and the LCD chip controller. Most LCDs contain a Hitachi HD4478 controller.
CG-RAM address starts from 0x40 (Hexadecimal) or 64 in decimal. We can generate custom characters at these addresses. Once we generate our characters at these addresses, we can print them by just sending commands to the LCD. Character addresses and printing commands are below.
LCD modules are very important in many Arduino-based embedded system designs to improve the user interface of the system. Interfacing with Arduino gives the programmer more freedom to customize the code easily. Any cost-effective Arduino board, a 16X2 character LCD display, jumper wires, and a breadboard are sufficient enough to build the circuit. The interfacing of Arduino to LCD display is below.
The combination of an LCD and Arduino yields several projects, the most simple one being LCD to display the LED brightness. All we need for this circuit is an LCD, Arduino, breadboard, a resistor, potentiometer, LED, and some jumper cables. The circuit connections are below.
ERM1601SYG-2 is 16 characters wide,1 row 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.
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.
ERMC1602SBS-2 is 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 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 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.
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.
Liquid Crystal Display(LCDs) provide a cost effective way to put a text output unit for a microcontroller. As we have seen in the previous tutorial, LEDs or 7 Segments do no have the flexibility to display informative messages.
This display has 2 lines and can display 16 characters on each line. Nonetheless, when it is interfaced with the micrcontroller, we can scroll the messages with software to display information which is more than 16 characters in length.
The LCD is a simple device to use but the internal details are complex. Most of the 16x2 LCDs use a Hitachi HD44780 or a compatible controller. Yes, a micrcontroller is present inside a Liquid crystal display as shown in figure 2.
It takes a ASCII value as input and generate a patter for the dot matrix. E.g., to display letter "A", it takes its value 0X42(hex) or 66(dec) decodes it into a dot matrix of 5x7 as shown in figure 1.
Power & contrast:Apart from that the LCD should be powered with 5V between PIN 2(VCC) and PIN 1(gnd). PIN 3 is the contrast pin and is output of center terminal of potentiometer(voltage divider) which varies voltage between 0 to 5v to vary the contrast.
In this tutorial I am going to explain about the pin out, working and control systems of character lcd’s. Character lcd’s comes in many sizes for example 8×1, 8×2, 8×4, 16×1, 16×2, 20×1, 20×2, 20×4, 24×1, 24×2, 24×4, 32×1, 32×2, 40×1, 40×2 and 40×4. In these MxN dimensions, M represents number of coulombs & N represents number of rows.
All these Lcd’s available in market have 14 or 16 pins depending on the vendor/supplier. Also they all contains a same lcd controller in them which controls all their activities. Talks to external peripherals(like microcontrollers) receives data from external devices and displays them on lcd display screen. Generally every character lcd has HD44780 controller in it which controls every operation of character lcd. Some variants and competitors of HD44780 also placed step in embedded market but they are not popular for exampleAIP31066 , KS0066 , SPLC780 and ST7066 lcd controller.
In these 14 pins, 8 are data pins(FromDB-0toDB-7). Three are lcd control pinsRS(Register Select),R/W(Read-Write) &En(Enable). Two are lcd power pinsVcc(+5v)Vss(Gnd). The last pin islcd contrast pin(V0).
If lcd contains 16 pins than the extra 2 pins are LED+ and LED- pins. LED+ and LED- are for lcd’s back light, if you want to switch on the back light of lcd then use these pins other wise leave them void.
Character lcd’s which have pins arranged in two lines like headers, their pin-out is given below. Female header pin-out is shown below. Vendors for ease pre-solder the lcd pins and provide a female header for connections.
Mostly character lcds contains HD44780U lcd controller in them. HD44780 was developed by Hitachi. A single HD44780 can handle up to 80 characters. In 40×4 lcd display total characters which we can display on lcd are 40×4=160. So to control 160 characters we need two HD44780 controllers. To work with two HD44780 controllers we need an extra pin to energize the second controller.
Lcd contrast pin is same like fine tuning your television. In televisions we fine tune stations using remote but in character lcd’s we have to manually do it by varying the resistance. Varying the resistance means we control the input current to lcd. Varying resistance will fade or brighten the characters or data appearing on lcd screen.
Character Lcd’s can be interfaced in 8-bit and 4-bit mode with external controllers. In 8-bit mode all the data lines(DB0-DB7) of lcd are utilized. In 4-bit mode only four data pins of lcd are utilized (DB7-DB4). In 4-bit mode first the 8-bit ASCII value is divided in to two nibbles, first the upper nibble is send on data line and then the lower nibble. 4-bit mode is used when we want to save GPIO pins of our external device like microcontoller. An example of lcd connection with remote controller is shown in the picture below.
I prepared a good tutorial on interfacing character lcd in 8-bit and 4-bit mode with microcontrollers. Demo codes are also presented and explained in the post. Click the below button to take the tutorial.