Generic LCD serial board vs Parallax LCD display
Prettybird
Posts: 269
·· I am new at this and am shopping for my just assembled and modified Boe Bot Kit. I am upgrading it to a BS2-P and am thinking of adding an LCD display. I saw a generic board on ebay thas supports 16 pin LCDs and hex keyboard. It also has more inputs on the left side. I have a blue 16 X 2 LCD I got cheap last year. The spec. on the generic says it will support basic stamp. Has anyone experimented with this before? The Parallax LCD seems to only support the LCD and is green. I am very new at this and am looking for pre written programs and advice. Thanks· 
Comments
regards
Jeff T
I have that same LCD and it works fine with the BASIC Stamp. That LCD is sold on the internet as both a parallel version and also with the serial interface board attached on the back. You can also purchase the serial board separately. I am assuming from the manual you attached that you have the serial board attached. Most of the LCDs use the popular Hitachi 44780 controllers. If you interface a BASIC Stamp to the parallel versions of these LCDs, you will require more pins on the Stamp and will be required to communicate in a more "cryptic" fashion than if you are interfacing with a serial connection. The serial connection requires that an interface board be attached to the LCD. These are piggy-backed to the rear of the LCD. The commands that you use to communicate with the serial board are those developed by the manufacturer of the interface board, so the commands you use with the Parallax serial LCD will differ from those that are used with the blue unit you purchased on the internet. But once you knows those commands, it is no problem. The serial board is basically a serial to parallel interface, a command interpreter and some other interface goodies that make life a bit easier to work with than with a parallel LCD. The "P" series of BASIC Stamps have some nice additional commands (LCDCMD, LCDOUT, LCDIN). that allow you to work with parallel LCDs a bit easier. These won't be necessary when using the serial LCD as you'll be using the SEROUT command.
If you are having problems getting this LCD to work with the BASIC Stamp, let me know what you'd like to do and I can assist.
Rick
Here is an attachment of what I got purchased. I no nothing of programming yet but getting ready to jump into it when I get all the parts. Hardware is my expertese.It mentions it can also handle a hex keyboard. Now to shop for headers. Thanks again.
Hello!
You stated Polly: (That's a common female parrot name by the way.)
I am ignoring the typos for the moment as I'm also a programmer at heart and typically when I write sometimes quickly that happens too.
The display is a standard LCD two by 24 or two by 16 display depending whose you've bought. However the 2x24 is quite rare and is only used for special circumstances such as part of a portable terminal that's only supposed to display 2x24 lines of text, the 2x16 is normally the one's we see used practically everywhere. Now depending on which piggy back board you select the thing will tell you whose it is when you power up the circuit each time. Mine for example is made by Sparkfun. Ideally yes you should be able to do as you've indicated here. I also suggest that you compose your program on a pad of paper and slowly work it out that way first.
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Buck Rogers
www.gregg.levine.name
Thanks for the imfo.