SparkFun Forums

[CptanPanic]

Hello,
I just got a basic arduino Duemilanove, and want to get a LCD to play around with. Are there any sold by sparkfun that will just plug into headers?
Thanks,
CP

[UofMEShop]

Perhaps consider a serial LCD such as the SparkFun LCD-09393. $10 more than the non-serial but maybe easier for you to communicate with it.

[sylvie369]

I'd say definitely get a serial LCD, like one of these:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=9393

I don't think you're going to find an LCD that just plugs into a header on an Arduino, but with a serial LCD you only have to make three connections anyway: +5V (assuming you bought a 5V LCD like the one I linked to), GND, and the serial data line (which goes to one of your Arduino's I/O pins). It could hardly be more simple.

If you get an LCD that is not "serial-enabled", you'll need to make several more connections, as the data lines will come out in parallel, and that will take up several more of your Arduino's I/O pins. It's a little cheaper, but IMHO, not worth it unless it's for a permanent product.

[motopic]

If you can't hookup a h44780 lcd to a arduino give it up.

I have a arduino-like clone(teensy), and it only took me 10 minutes to dig out all the parts and jumpers and breadboard the thing up to my clone.

Arduino has the lcd software already done, all you have to do is map the pinout in sw correctly.(and get your backlight/contrast working).

Mine only has 1 hw serial port, so who wants to run a lcd on a sw only serial?

Anyway, sparkfun sells lcds in several forms, you want a text lcd. They come in several forms, #lines x #chars, and driver. Most are h44780, but there are others. Sparkfun also adds a serial interface to some (this is just a pic backpack that converts serial -> parallel).

I did not find a shield ready lcd, but LadyAda shows you how:
http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/lcd.html

[monkeyslayer56]

i second getting the serial LCD. serial is very simple IMHO just do a serial print and the text shows on the screen.

[pichenettes]

Serial LCD is the easier to use -- if you are using the HW serial pins (0/1) for something else, it's still possible to communicate with the display through software serial.

If you use a non-serial LCD, your options are:
- to waste a lot of GPIO pins and be limited in what your device can do.
- to put a shift register for serial/parallel conversion (See: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Code/LCD3wires) - which is not very different from doing software serial (except that here the transmission is asynchronous - you control the clock).