I finally found a 16×2 LCD screen at a reasonable price. It was 5.5$ from an electronics store that is not specifically targeted towards robotics. I can’t explain myself why stores that are targeting robotics or are even based around the arduino platform sell such a device for 15$ or worse. I mean you can get these things on Ebay for less than 3$. I understand that stores are meant to produce profit, but this is ridiculous.
Anyway, the one I bought is a Raystar RC1602B-GHY-CSXD, one of the green ones with a yellow backlight. It has 16 pins and it seems to be compatible with the Hitachi HD44780 driver. Well, it is, since it worked!
I simply followed the guide at arduino.cc, here’s the link. (if you follow the graphical representation it will make connecting the wires faster)
Also, here’s the datasheet for the LCD.
I struggled a bit to make it work, since I don’t have some “modular” connectors, and I couldn’t bother to solder some wire there. I have to find a way to make it easily connectable so I can learn more by prototyping. I mainly envision constructing an Arduino by myself and use it with the LCD screen in a practical project.
Related articles
- Arduino LCD Scrolling Text (runawaycoder.co.za)
- This Arduino Hack Makes Reading RSS Feeds More Fun (pcworld.com)
- Where Arduinos are Born: Touring a PCB Factory (adafruit.com)
- Raspberry Pi + Arduino + SPI #piday #raspberrypi @Raspberry_Pi (adafruit.com)
- Using an HD44780 character LCD with the Raspberry Pi (hackaday.com)
This is good, but why don’t try to use something to link some tablets with some sensors (temps or maybe droper moves) ?
I think this is a good idea. Also most of this tablets has some micro usb port. Just you need a interface and also one good android software programmer. If you think is a good idea just send me a mail to make all togheter. Good luck.
It might be a great idea, but I don’t own a tablet…yet. And even if I may own one in the future, I won’t expose it to my DIY hardware experiments, a tablet is just too expensive for that. Instead, for a more complex and maybe “intelligent” project I’d use a Raspberry PI and an actual color LCD. But I’m merely a beginner in all this, so Arduino is more than I can grasp at this moment.
I don’t like to show and make marketing stuff , but you can try e-boda E200 it is about 100 euro most or lest. See more here http://www.e-boda.ro/tablete-pc/tableta-pc-android-7-e-boda-impresspeed-e200.html. I have one and is very good for me .
That one seems like a good bang for the buck, but I’m not focusing on buying a tablet at the moment. Even if I did, I would go search for a 10 inch model, the 7 inch ones just seem to small for me, although they fit better in the pocket( some pockets…
). I was recently in a store and I tried using some of these cheaper ones. A lot of them are unresponsive, or operate like a snail. A tablet would be very convenient if I had a wi-fi adaptor for the Arduino( I think it’s the “xbee” shield), and needed to control a robot. But that is… very expensive.