Backlighted LCD - one solution

KTarke

Senior Member
There have been questions about "fitting" LCD's and backlight wiring on AXE033.
Here is a little help.

If someone has done like me, made some boxes for Picaxe products (using AXE033), wouldn't it be nice to find a lcd, that fits in the same hole than ACM1602B (the one delivered with AXE033)?
Found one...



Nice blue/white lcd THAT IS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE THAN ACM1602B!
Also, pinout is the same. So, it fits straight to AXE033 - board.

Type is EA W162B-NLW.
They have also 4x20's at a reasonable price...

Connecting backlight to axe033 - tutorial:

1. Connect also pins 15 and 16 between lcd and axe033-board
2. Look at the picture. Lcd's power-contacts are on the up-right corner.
They can be connected to V+ and gnd on the AXE033-board OR wired separately from other power-source.
3. Solder a resistor to the place "RB". Value depends on the used lcd.
EAW162B-NLW is told to drain 15mA at 3-3,6Volts. That gives 133R at
3V/15mA, if Vdd=5V ,and 100R with Vdd 4,5V.
To be "at the safe side", I chose 160R (backlight ON maybe years straight)
and with it, the light is bright enough for indoors use.





There's a alternative for Axe033, too (if clock is not needed)

Found this one: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=258

Ordered a few of them, but haven't yet got...
I will tell more about those too, as soon as I get my hands on them.
 
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Chavaquiah

Senior Member
The announcement has been HERE since a few days. ;)

And I believe Rev-Ed sells to Finland. So, even if you don't have a local supplier, you can still "get stuff."

I DO have local suppliers. Unfortunately, it's cheaper for me to buy direct from Rev-Ed, even with higher delivery costs, than it is to buy anything around here. Go figure.
 

KTarke

Senior Member
I DO have local suppliers. Unfortunately, it's cheaper for me to buy direct from Rev-Ed, even with higher delivery costs, than it is to buy anything around here. Go figure.
That's what I was thinking ,too:)

Every "step on the food chain" has to get their own profit...


AND suppliers in Finland have also a limited list of all the stuff.

Really didn't notice the important news of "ready made" lcd W/ backlight.
And had already earlier ordered those gadgets mentioned.
 

KTarke

Senior Member
The announcement has been HERE since a few days. ;)

And I believe Rev-Ed sells to Finland. So, even if you don't have a local supplier, you can still "get stuff."

I DO have local suppliers. Unfortunately, it's cheaper for me to buy direct from Rev-Ed, even with higher delivery costs, than it is to buy anything around here. Go figure.
Rev-Ed does not want to sell...!

14.5 I registered to the webshop, and asked by e-mail some more details before ordering (about taxing and posting etc.) Haven't got any answer!

15.5 I asked a local (Finnish) Picaxe-reseller to order a few of those new lcd's, and ask, when Rev-ed will send them.
Rev-Ed hasn't answered to them either!
 

Technical

Technical Support
Staff member
Your email was responded to promptly, as was to that of the distributor - in fact the distributor even emailed us back at 11.03 on 17th May thanking us for the new product price...!

Tax and delivery methods are clearly shown in the basket after generating the order. The cost of postage varys and depends on the number of items/weight/value in the basket. As Finland is in the EU you pay the VAT inclusive price.
 

KTarke

Senior Member
Your email was responded to promptly, as was to that of the distributor - in fact the distributor even emailed us back at 11.03 on 17th May thanking us for the new product price...!

Tax and delivery methods are clearly shown in the basket after generating the order. The cost of postage varys and depends on the number of items/weight/value in the basket. As Finland is in the EU you pay the VAT inclusive price.
It is odd, I always check the "spam"-folder too. and did NOT get a answer to my questions to any folder. And I GOT answer to the registration, but NOT a answer to my questions. (so, my e-mail address could be reached to send confirmation of the registration...)

The local distributor told me ,that they have NOT got a answer ,when the the delivery will occur.

AND the VAT rules are NOT so easy, if two countries have different vat's, the seller should handle, what is done with the difference. Since Finland and UK has no contract on that, it must be cleared while deliverance .

And should I not get any information, what delivering -options there is to choose? (the speed and price?)

Answers to these things can NOT be found on the Internet-page.
They should be known BEFORE making a order!
It is "a little late" to consider costs, AFTER one has already made an order.
 

Janne

Senior Member
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.
 

donrecardo

Senior Member
Ktarke wrote ....

And should I not get any information, what delivering -options there is to choose? (the speed and price?)

Answers to these things can NOT be found on the Internet-page.
They should be known BEFORE making a order!
It is "a little late" to consider costs, AFTER one has already made an order.


You dont need to consider costs AFTER you have made the order
If you add things to your shopping basket it will tell you the price including tax , and all the delivery cost/speed options , and this all happens before you commit to buy or at least it has every time I bought from them.

Don
 

KTarke

Senior Member
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

Senior Member
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

Technical Support
Staff member
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

Senior Member
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

Senior Member
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/product_info.php?products_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

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

billacj

Member
Setting the Splash Screen

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
 
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billacj

Member
Sparkfun Back Pack SerLCD Splash Screen

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

Senior Member
Thanks, but I have already buy AXE033 and like to use it. I guess my supplier doesn't sell AXE033B.
 

Technical

Technical Support
Staff member
We would now recommend using an OLED instead of a backlight LCD - see the AXE033Y insted of the AXE033B
 

nick12ab

Senior Member
AXe033B appears to have been discontinued. Anyway, you could just use a backlit LCD with your current AXE033. The backlight is controlled by hardware you have to add rather than the on-board firmware so a transistor and resistor are required to switch power to the backlight via the A/K holes on one end of the AXE033 or another header on the other end.
 

Pekari

Senior Member
AXe033B appears to have been discontinued. Anyway, you could just use a backlit LCD with your current AXE033. The backlight is controlled by hardware you have to add rather than the on-board firmware so a transistor and resistor are required to switch power to the backlight via the A/K holes on one end of the AXE033 or another header on the other end.
I can't see any place to transistor on the board.
 

nick12ab

Senior Member
Not on the board itself, it's off-board so that for LCDs with backlights <30mA can be powered straight from a PICAXE output.
 
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