What fun! Got an LCD working on Junebug tonight. Ported my 16F88 code and tuned it up for 8MHz 18F1320. If anyone wants asm source just squawk.
Pinout is:
RB1 - RS
RB4 - E
RA1 - D4
RA2 - D5
RA3 - D6
RA4 - D7
That's the one I bought when I bought the Inchworm+ / Unicorn combo -- a nice display (model #LMB162AFC). They're a little more though... I think they're like $12 - $14 at Creatron.
Well, I'll throw a pic of mine up in this thread as well, now that I have it working.
This is an RS-232 communications test between a 16F88 / MAX232 and a PC (my laptop). It's running from the Inchworm+/Unicorn combo, with the LMB162AFC blue LCD.
The reason for the crystal (instead of using INTRC) is that it's running at 20Mhz -- because that's what I'm going to be working with in a near future project.
I think it's a different one. There's a lit up bar behind the display. Whether it's EL or LED I don't know. I never bothered to get a datasheet. Here's a pic of the back:
For a measly $6.00 they're a very nice display.
No I haven't. First time I've seen that - I looked at the site, but didn't read to the bottom before. That's very cool. I'm going to do that one of these days.
Doo eet!!! It's not nearly as difficult as you might think. And having a display to print stuff out on makes lots of other programming/debugging tasks easier. That's why I rigged up that RS232 connection first thing. Once you're able to display stuff that's happening inside your program, you're no longer "working blind" and just hoping your code is right.
Don't bother with LCDs. Get them to sell online! Digikey is expensive (fast though). Dipmicro has limited inventory. Another online shop would be great if their inventory is good.
There's a couple electronics stores here in the city but I NEVER go down there. It's a long drive and traffic is a nightmare (yes, I know Toronto traffic is horrible too - lived there for two years). I always mail order my stuff.
Debugging with LCDs is old hat, a hardware debugger with PICs that support it are superior and require no extra coding on the users part. They do require 3 pins (MCLR, PGC & PGD)
A debugger such as the PICkit 2 (Junebug) or ICD2 (Inchworm+) can both display any and all of the contents of the target PIC. You can even modify variables on the fly, set breakpoints etc.
Try the MPLAB Simulator (software) as it offers similar features to the debugger (hardware)
I'm hoping I can drop by Creatron tomorrow after three -- I'd like to check it out for sure.
Too late for the UART though -- I've got it all working on an 'F88 @ 20MHz, in both software and hardware -- I'm hoping to use software for RS-232 tonight, while leaving the hardware UART for RS-485 -- but I think I'll drop that on an 'F886.
A debugger such as the PICkit 2 (Junebug) or ICD2 (Inchworm+) can both display any and all of the contents of the target PIC. You can even modify variables on the fly, set breakpoints etc.
Try the MPLAB Simulator (software) as it offers similar features to the debugger (hardware)
I have the Inchworm+ with the Unicorn upgrade (USB) -- it made a world of difference in my programming -- I highly recommend it (but go with the USB upgrade if you can, the speed difference is more than night and day!).