I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack

I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack info

I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack reduces the number of pins needed to connect to an LCD. LCDs are a fun and easy way to have your microcontroller project talk back to you. Character LCDs are common, and easy to get, available in tons of colors and sizes. There are lots of tutorials written on using character LCDs with an Arduino or a similar microcontroller. The problem with the LCDs is that the number of pins to control an LCD can be restrictive, especially with ambitious projects. Therefore using a backpack to reduce the number of pins to control an LCD is important.

By using simple i2c and SPI input/output expanders I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack reduces the number of pins while still making it easy to interface with the LCD. For Arduino users, Adafruit provides an easy-to-use library that is backwards compatible with projects using the '6 pin' wiring. The breakout comes with a 2-pin and 3-pin terminal block.

I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack will work with any 'standard' character LCD, from 8x1 to 20x4 sizes as long as they have a 16-pin single-line connection header at the top.

Note that the backpack only works with LCD modules. It does not work with the 16x2 OLED displays. The backpack also does not control the LCD backlight on RGB backlight LCD displays. If you want to control the RGB backlight you have to connect them to your microcontroller and control via the microcontroller.

I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack - General Specifications

• Reduces the number of pins to control LCDs to two
• Works with any standard character LCD
• Does not control RGB backlight
• Control LCDs with I2C/SPI communication
• Good for ambitious projects that need lots of microcontroller pins

I2C/SPI Character LCD Backpack - Technical Specifications

• I2C Addresses: Uses 7-bit I2C addresses between 0x20-0x27, selectable with jumpers

Documents

Adafruit page for detailed tutorial on usage

References

Adafruit Web Site: https://www.adafruit.com/product/292