16x2 LCD 603-00006 Backlight?

playinmyblues_nscc

A while back I was looking at my 16x2 LCD that came with the StampWorks kit and noticed that it does not have pins 15 and 16 connected. I wondered if this was for a backlight. I did some searching and found no direct evidence that this option was not available on this LCD screen. In case you are wondering, I did look up the Parallax documentation for this LCD.

However, after looking at this document: https://content.solarbotics.com/products/datasheets/adm1602k-fsy-fbs-33v.pdf
which is for this LCD screen: https://solarbotics.com/product/50410/

On page 5 of the PDF there is item 5. Block Diagram. This block diagram shows that pins 15 and 16 can be connected for an LED backlight. I applied +5 V to pin 15 and GND to pin 16 but no backlight came on. By now, I assume that this LCD screen has no backlight. Is this correct?

I am just doing my research for this device and would hate to miss out on missing something simple. By the way, so far, it appears that all other functions are working with this LCD.

Mike Green

The 603-00006 is a non-backlit parallel interface 16x2 LCD. The LCD itself doesn't have a backlight. What you've noticed with the Solarbotics product is that the controller is capable of controlling a backlight and the PCB has provisions for one. Clearly, the original manufacturers of this sort of display have designed a general purpose product where they just have to substitute an LCD with a backlight and the whole thing works as expected. For example, Parallax does sell both a backlit and non-backlit serial interface 16x2 LCD. The difference there is the LCD itself

playinmyblues_nscc

Thanks for the confirmation. I do appreciate the answer.