new LCD and driver

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marks

Senior Member
Its Christmas
was today got myself a new lcd 20x4 backlit from sure ebay delivered 12 bucks
and a driver module from toysdownunder only 9 ausi bucks
dont know how these things can be made for such a price...
so have to try it although i dont have a project yet in mind
BEST TO JUST TRY AND GET IT WORKING FIRST LOL as its first time with a lcd

Just need to solder 16 pins and a header for the display
and a 4pin plug to the module for power 5v and serial 9600
looks like thats all you have to do fingers crossed
hmm has a tx on pin 3 dont what this is for wont bother connecting that lol.
 

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westaust55

Moderator
That interface module appears to be intended for connection to a PC.

If you wish to drive with a PICAXE chip then be aware that the RS232 may generate voltages in excess of what the PICAXE can handle so a MAX232 chip or transistor interface will be required. Additionally be aware that instead of the more usual SEROUT pin, N<speed>, (“your data here”) you may need to change the N to a T depending on your final interface arrangements.
You could use the FRM010 LCD interface chip by Rev Ed for PICAXE to LCD modules (available form Microzed in Qld) but as you have already purchased an RS232 interface give it a go.

Suggest that you do some forum searches as well for LCD projects and RS232 interfacing
 
M

marks

Senior Member
Everything went easy fora change on my trusty picaxe20x2 lol
some test code to get it up and running
only transmitting to the lcd module on pin 4 so not worried about 232 levels
hav to check later i guess lol
the display draws 85ma with the backlight on 5v supply
rx of lcd from picaxe c.4 2.4v
tx of lcd driver module 9v not connected

Code: 
Initialise:
serout c.4,n9600,($FE,$41,$FE,$52,$FE,$51)       'turn on,backlight on,clear screen

Main:
serout c.4,n9600,($FE,$45,1,2,"HappyBirthDay HippY!")  'cursor line2
serout c.4,n9600,($FE,$45,2,4,"Picaxe Rules 2010")      'cursor line4
GOTO main
 

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M

marks

Senior Member
Added circuit seems to work ok lol

have been looking at some other lcd threads the codes are a bit different for this driver
runs at 9600 bps 8 n 1 dosent seem to require any pauses in code
seems easy plug and go lol no contrast adjust seems hav a fixed resistor .

Havent read the the hd44780 pdf its a bit full on
but the display i'm using seems to use the same characters as table 4 page 17.
wish i new how to chop just that page out lol.
 

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centrex

Senior Member
Well done.
But I have a question what is the lol I see on many posts.
Just dumb aussie who is not into shorthand.
regards
 
M

MPep

Senior Member
westaust55 said:
That interface module appears to be intended for connection to a PC.

If you wish to drive with a PICAXE chip then be aware that the RS232 may generate voltages in excess of what the PICAXE can handle so a MAX232 chip or transistor interface will be required. Additionally be aware that instead of the more usual SEROUT pin, N<speed>, (“your data here”) you may need to change the N to a T depending on your final interface arrangements.
You could use the FRM010 LCD interface chip by Rev Ed for PICAXE to LCD modules (available form Microzed in Qld) but as you have already purchased an RS232 interface give it a go.

Suggest that you do some forum searches as well for LCD projects and RS232 interfacing
Click to expand...
Looking at the Datasheet, the only RS232 intended here, is the fact that it is serial data. Requires an external MAX232 chip to do the actual level-conversion.

Cheap driver. Good find.;)
 
darb1972

darb1972

Senior Member
centrex said:
Well done.
But I have a question what is the lol I see on many posts.
Just dumb aussie who is not into shorthand.
regards
Click to expand...

lol = Laugh Out Loud.

Don't worry Centrex, I didn't get it at first either. Email and SMS have created a whole new set of Acronyms many of which I struggle to decipher. I tend to use most of the English language for descriptive purposes. I must be too "old school".

darb.
 
W

westaust55

Moderator
centrex said:
Well done.
But I have a question what is the lol I see on many posts.
Just dumb aussie who is not into shorthand.
regards
Click to expand...
Darb has given you the answer to LOL.

A solution might be to Google such acronyms/abbreviations.

Mind you Marks (also an aussie) does tend towards a lot of laughter :D
 
T

trevorboultwood

Member
WOW is there any lessons in understanding this as i am only young im just interfacing picaxe with leds sound and IR at the moment, i have done a lot of research on picaxe and in all honesty havent even programmed 1 yet(need the cash) but i have simulated some:) any one got any lessons ?
 
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manuka

Senior Member
Are you a totally raw beginner with PICAXEs? Many skinflint starter approaches use a solderless breadboard and a 08M. See perhaps Andrew's Picasa pages- there are numerous code snippets in the Rev.Ed manuals.
 
W

westaust55

Moderator
@Trevor,

welcome to the PICAXE forum.

Since you indicate that you still do not have an actual PICAXE chip, have you downloaded and read the PICAXE manuals - 3 parts in total.
There are tutorials, program comamnd syntax/operational explanations, and hardware interface examples provided.

There are books such as those by Ron Hackett and David Lincoln available from Rev Ed's on-line store and other sources if you wish to follow a detailed step by step approach to some projects until you get your feet/fingers "wet".
 
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centrex

Senior Member
Question for Mark.
Does the lcd driver module store the user defined characters.
Is it possible just to define them once and call them as required without having to define them each time a new program is loaded.
Regards
 
M

marks

Senior Member
Hi centrex,
i just tried this you can download a new program without the character data
and it will still display the character correctly
but if you switch power off then on again character data is lossed it displays lines instead
of your usual programmed character.

hopes this helps a little different then how i assumed it would work.
 
C

centrex

Senior Member
Thanks Mark, likewise I would have hoped the user characters were stored.
Just the same I have ordered one of the units to use with the shield look alike.
Your programs have helped understand the operation
Regards
 
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centrex

Senior Member
Hi Mark
I have just fired up the serial board from toysdownunder.
As you posted it does not appear to retain the special characters which is a bit of a shame.
A bit of a waste of program lines to have to repeat the character but not critical.
Other than that it appears to work as advertised certainly is quick.
Regards
 
M

marks

Senior Member
Hi Centrex,
Glad to see you got it working so easily.
I think this will be the same for other serial drivers as the character ram is on the HD44780
8 characters is about 150 bytes so i guess its not too bad,its the only driver i,ve used so cannot make any comparisons.
I've rewritten the command summary to make it a bit more picaxe friendly
and here's a characracter map with decimal numbers
I couldnt help but load a few extra characters lol.
hope it makes things easier for others ...
 

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centrex

Senior Member
Hi Mark
Interesting and handy although I had no problem with the command structure, the longtech manual is pretty detailed.
I normally use the ph anderson serial interfaces which work in a similar manner except they will store the 8 user defined characters.
One good thing about the anderson chip is that it can be built onto a pcb with the picaxe an associated components.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
 
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