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|   Jan  8, 2009 at  2:19pm

You can get by with 6 I/O lines for an HD44780. Just keep the RW pin pulled low (assuming you don't need to read from the display) and connect only the high 4 data lines. You'll need to send it a command to put the bus into 4-bit mode, and of course you'll have to write to it one nybble at a time, but that's not hard to do.

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|   Jul  6, 2009 at  5:39am

Any chances of getting this in other colours like the 16x2s? I'd really like to see this in Red on Black

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|   Oct 10, 2009 at  6:46pm

Adding to what N1VG posted, you can indeed control this module, or any other HD47780-based character LCD module for that matter, with six lines. If you're using an Arduino as the brains for your project, the LiquidCrystal library that comes with the Arduino IDE will run a HD47780-based module from six pins without having to manage things like passing nybbles to the module - you can just include LiquidCrystal.h, declare a new object (e.g., LiquidCrystal lcd(2,3,4,5,6,7); to use pins 2-7 to control the module), and just shoot data to it with the print() and write() commands. The library will handle the rest.

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|   Apr  9, 2010 at  6:54pm

Has anyone got an Eagle or Gerber file for this? Thanks!

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|   Apr 21, 2010 at  7:06pm

I am having loads of trouble with these. Is it possible to send data to them too quickly? I am counting pulses and when it really gets going, the screens go crazy. I can't figure it out.

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|   May 31, 2010 at  8:50am

@Twiddler: Yes, it's possible to write too fast. Check the write cycle timings in the datasheet. The enable signal can't be cycled faster than 2MHz. Also after each command sent to the LCD, you have to wait until the busy flag is clear, or delay several microseconds to milliseconds (depending on which command).

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|   Jul  6, 2010 at  2:07pm

Can anyone tell me what size resistor to use when using the back light, or is the resistor built-in?