Backlighted LCD - one solution

[KTarke]

Well luckily since both countries are members of EU, purchasing stuff is easy. The VAT is paid to the country of purchase, in this case U.K. No extra duties / customs or taxes needs to be paid.

Personally I prefer rev-ed over the Finnish supplier. The first (and last) time i called the Finnish supplier they just replied they're not selling to individuals. And with 2-3 days shipping time from rev-ed it's as fast as ordering from Finland too.

Yes, no extra duties, but the difference in VAT's has to be handled, since both the seller and buyer are companies, and both have vat-clearances...

It is (unfortunately) normal ,that many electronic-stuff resellers do not like to sell to individuals. (billing/retrieving money between companies is simpler)

Your name tells me, that You might live in Finland too? If so, and You need something from those companies that don't sell to individuals, I can help...
Send a private message, if interested.

[Chavaquiah]

If the buyer is a registered business, then Rev-Ed won't charge VAT. It's the buyers reponsability to pay this tax. I assume you'll have to provide a valid VAT number but, other than that, it's just a matter of selecting the right option on the shopping basket.

[Technical]

If you pay VAT in the UK you do not need to worry about different VAT rates in different countries. In the EU you only pay VAT once, at the rate of the country you buy from. This is standard business accounting across the whole EU.

If you are VAT registered business you can choose to enter your valid VAT number in the 'my account' details on the TechSupplies store. In the basket you then select 'VAT registered business' as your tax type. You will then be charged 0% rather than the UK rate and you will be responsible for declaring the import on your monthly VAT return in your own country. Again this is just standard business practise across the EU.

As already pointed out, the shipping rate is displayed on screen in the basket before you place your order. Airmail to Finland should take under 5 working days, FedEx would be quicker but more expensive.

[KTarke]

Sorry, I had old knowledge about VAT... Now it really is the same in all EU- countries, when exporting, VAT is paid in the target country.

Now I can order from Rev-Ed directly, but will first see, how long it takes to get those two lcd's ,that I have ordered through the local reseller. (yesterday they did not know, when they will arrive...)

[KTarke]

Earlier I promised to introduce a alternative serial lcd-system for Picaxe use.
Got 15 modules from US, and got them working w/ Picaxe. Showing now, how.

Here's the link to the product:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/pro...roducts_id=258

The gadget is nice, very small, and packed with features. Here are the most important ones:
-works with lcd's w/ HD44780 controller
-supports 2x16 ,2x20 ,4x16 ,4x20 lcd's
-connects with only 3 wires (Vcc,Gnd,serial), to a screw-terminal
-brightness of the backlight can be controlled (30 steps) by a serial command!


First warning: I think, that pin1 on the backpack is not shown clearly enough.
It is at that end of the pcb, where the terminal is.

Second warning: Pins 1-14 are usually always set the same way in lcd's, but 15 and 16 can be placed on the "wrong" end of the line... So,check carefully the datasheet (lcd's sheet)

Third warning: check pins 15 and 16, which is positive (usually 15, but not necesserely) .Check also lcd's and backlights voltage...


Getting the modules to work was some effort, because I must say that I've seen better manuals... some things are not told at all.

The Sparkfun datasheet says, that when one self solders the backpack to a lcd, the backpack must be told, how many rows and columns the lcd has.
THIS was the hard part, it was not told, HOW it should be done...
One gets a expression, that it is done the same way that any other control data is sent, but not!
The setting is stored permanently to the eeprom on backpack, it has to be done only once (not every time when program loads)

It goes like this:
-power up lcd
-send serial command ($7c,$04) 'control code, code of "16 characters"
-reset lcd (power down, power up)
-send serial command ($7c,$06) 'control code,code of "4 lines"
-power down lcd

With next power-up, the lcd should now show the "splash-screen" for 500ms.
If so, the lcd is ready for use.
If not, you can try to control the backlight. If that works, connection between Picaxe and Backpack is ok... and the problem is between Backpack and lcd - settings or traffic.

Here is a picture of two backpacks on lcd's. Small, isn't it...




Did not immediately find the right settings for the serial commands my self... Explain here, what should be used.
The backpack defaults to 9600bps ,can be changed (but that is again a "reset-procedure"). So lets stick with 9600, which can be reached with most Picaxes.

Use the right setup in the serout-command, according Your Picaxes speed.
I used X2, which defaults to 8Mhz.
"True output"-mode should be used (T), and that is not working, if the pin is not put high first, for a while.

Example:

pin B.3 high
pause 100 'maybe a shorter one is enough, didn't try...
serout B.3 ,T9600_8, (254,1) 'send "clear screen"
serout B.3 ,T9600_8, (" Hello World") 'send text

[westaust55]

That backpack module is certainly very small/compact. PCB size is dictated by the connector to the LCD more that anything else.

[billacj]

I also have the SparkFun SerLCD Version 2.5 LCD-00461 and 00258 with HD44780 compat sparkfun 2X16 LCD.

Splash screen setup calls for Control J, what is the ascii/decimal/hex representation and control sequence to transmit.

Here is my non working code for the PICAXE 20X2

init: hsersetup B9600_8,%00 ;20X2 Pin 10
pause 100

main: hserout 0,(0xfe,0x01) ;clear lcd
pause 100
hserout 0,("SPLASH N CUR") ;setup splash message line 1
hserout 0,(254,199,"X",124,"<control>j") ;setup cursor and 'x' on line 2 and save as splash screen.

Thanks for the help with <control>J

Bill

[billacj]

Don't know why the splash screen didn't work the first time so I added some delays. <control>J is decimal 10, don't know why Sparkfun denote it they way they do ... but this works. I will use it at the beginning of my programs to add the software name and version to the splash screen to help document whats running on the proto board.

#rem

Spark Fun (Sparkfun) SerLCD V2.5 Serial Enabled LCD
Setup Splash Screen
Line 2 uses cursor positioning
Pause appears necessary for a successful setup.
Repower the LCD to see the new Splash Screen for 500ms

#endrem


init: hsersetup B9600_8,%00 ;20X2 Pin 10
pause 100


main: hserout 0,(0xfe,0x01) ;clear lcd
pause 100
hserout 0,("HMC6352 Compass")
Pause 100
hserout 0,(254,198,"Ver2") ;254-send cmd, line 2 pos 64+6+128=198
pause 500
hserout 0,(124,10) ;Set Splash Screen
stop ;sparkfun special char 124 and dec 10 for <control>J

[Pekari]

You can also buy AXE033s with backlights directly:

http://81.134.141.187/epages/Store.s...oducts/AXE033B

I can't open a site.

How can I connect a backlight LED to AXE033 board? Is there some code which should use to use LED?

Both of board have holes to LED. Where I should put a LED?

[nick12ab]

Try here:

http://www.techsupplies.co.uk/epages...oducts/AXE033B