More LCD Goodness
I currently own and have used 2 16×2 LCD’s with my Arduino projects. One from Modern Device and one from Sparkfun. Both are very easy to use with the Arduino, as they have an added on board that handles all the communication and all you have to do is send 3 wires, power, ground and data to the LCD. I wanted to give a short rundown on the 2 LCD’s and maybe help you choose which one to get.
Cost:
Modern Device: $20
Sparkfun: $24.95
Winner: Modern Device
Colors:
Modern Device: White on Blue
Sparkfun: Red on Black, Black on Green, White on Black, Yellow on Blue
Winner: Sparkfun
Hardware:
Modern Device: You have to put the thing together, it has a test button and a demo button, trimpot for contrast, you can use the same power supply for running the LCD driver and the backlight or you can seperate things out Also the LCD117 is bigger than the sparkfun board, but can be removed from the LCD and connected to different inputs for different LCD’s
Sparkfun: It comes preassembled which is faster but has less hardware features.
Winner: Tie The Modern Device kit can be preassembled but it adds to the cost.
Modern Device Side
Sparkfun Side
Modern Device Back
Sparkfun Back
Software:
Modern Device: At the bottom of the page on the LCD there is detailed examples of how to use the code and an Arduino sketch to upload and demo the board. It allows custom characters and even has a windows utility to create them. You can use the serial port on your arduino or you can use the SoftwareSerial library
Sparkfun: No example code, you have to search the internet for such things or keep reading this blog as I am going to post on it in a few days. You can also use the serial port or SoftwareSerial
Winner: Modern Device
Support:
Modern Device: Has their own forum that is managed by the developer (its a one man shop). He also does support via email but would rather use the forum. He has a limited amount of items in his store and he designed most of them, so its a knowledgable place
Sparkfun: They have their own forum but are trying to support many more products (19 pages of results for arduino LCD). They also have ~10 16×2 LCD’s and over 20 different LCD’s for sale
Winner: Modern Device
Both sites have great LCD’s, for the Arduino user though, Modern Device is going to make you happier.
Overall Winner: Modern Device