This 16×2 LCD packs 32 characters into an outline smaller than that of most two-line displays. An LED backlight enables optimal viewing in all lighting conditions. This unit uses the HD44780 interface found on most parallel character displays.

Overview

This 16-character, 2-line parallel liquid crystal display achieves a large viewing area in a compact package. It features a yellow-green LED backlight and uses the common HD44780 interface (330k pdf), so sample interface code is widely available for a variety of microcontrollers. This LCD is also available without a backlight.

The DDRAM address 0x00 corresponds to the first character of the top line, address 0x0F corresponds to the last character of the top line, address 0x40 corresponds to the first character of the second line, and address 0x4F corresponds to the last character of the second line.

You can find sample HD44780 LCD interface code written for Atmel’s ATmega644 AVR microcontroller on our Orangutan X2’s resources page. Sample code for other AVRs (e.g. ATmega168, ATmega328, ATmega324, and ATmega1284) can be found as part of the open-source Orangutan-lib package, or on our Orangutan LV-168’s resources page.

Pin-Out

Using Contrast and the Backlight

As shown in the diagram above, a potentiometer whose output is connected to Vo will allow you to set the contrast for optimal viewing of your display.

The backlight in this LCD is composed of LEDs in series. The total voltage drop across these LEDs is typically 4.2 V and the recommended current through the LEDs is 120 mA. You should use a current limiting resistor RLIMIT as shown above where:

RLIMIT = (VBACKLIGHT – 4.2V) / 0.12A

In the diagram above, VBACKLIGHT is shown as 5 V, but you are not restricted to 5 V; any voltage above the diode-drop voltage will work as long as you choose the appropriate value for your current-limiting resistor. You can also use a PWM-controlled MOSFET to achieve variable dimming of the backlight if so desired.

Dimensions
    - Size:85.0 x 29.5 x 13.5 mm
    - Viewing area:64.5 x 16.4 mm
    - Dot size:0.56 x 0.61 mm
    - Character size:3.00 x 5.23 mm
    - Weight:35 g

General specifications
    - Minimum operating voltage:4.5 V
    - Maximum operating voltage:5.5 V
    - Typical LED backlight voltage:4.2 V
    - Typical LED backlight current:120 mA
    - Supply current:2 mA