I have been given a couple of LCD modules to play with. I know nothing about these things but am keen to play and learn.
They are made by POWERTIP, part number PC1602F
My question:-
Are modules of this type interchangeable? In other words if I have a module from manufacturer A, will it work with code written for manafacturer B's code, assuming the basic specs - number of characters, lines, etc are the same?
If they are Hitachi compatible LCD text modules, then they are interchangeable with other manufacturers - it's really a quite successful standard, and it's rare to find a module which doesn't comply.
Hi HarveyH42, you're correct. I didn't remember that the 1602 lcd uses the ks0066 controller (and the S6A0069). From my experience and after reading some old posts on other forums, I believe that they're clone of the most famous HT44780. The 1602 lcd's do work with 44780 routines, but now I'm curious to check the datasheets and look for any differences.
I haven't actually gotten my first LCD project going yet, but it's mostly working a lot of overtime lately. The Samsung driver seems much simpler and some good features I didn't see in the 44780 (huge data sheet). The Samsung sheet didn't go into the commands much. I have very little experience, but have been studying this quite a bit lately.
I've found some differences in the initizialization method. I'll have to check this more carefully! EDIT: the timings are different for example. It should be easy to modify the routines for the 44780 and meet the requirements of the ks0066.
I've never actually had one, but back in the early days of LCD modules there were various different incompatible types - but for years every one I've ever seen has been 44780 compatible.