LCD2004 20×4 LCD Character Display with HD44780 Tutorial (All Switches and LEDs, No Microcontroller)

This tutorial covers interfacing with an LCD2004 20x4 LCD Character Display module with an HD44780 controller using only switches and simple components on a breadboard.
0:00 Introduction
0:21 LCD2004 available options
1:21 Power, contrast and back light
2:29 Control lines
6:02 Initialization
7:41 Writing to the screen
8:58 Enable line debouncing
10:51 Cursor positioning, interlaced memory layout
17:27 Reading data
20:04 CGRAM custom characters
21:05 Shifting the display left/right
22:11 Ending: Space Invaders playfield
HD44780 Datasheet: www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/L...
This video was inspired by the work of many other amazing creators on KZbin including:
- Ben Eater / beneater
- James Sharman / weirdboyjim
- Julian Ilett / julius256
#ElectronicsCreators

[@allenhuffman]

This is one of my all time favorite tutorials. Thank you for doing this. I was searching on how to READ data back from the LCD and found this video. By doing it manually, it made it crystal clear what I needed to do via a PCF8574 I2C interface chip. Very impressive work.

[@Gameplayer55055]

Too underrated video. Very useful to avoid Arduino shitlibraries

[@DavidTLutz]

Another great video. Wish I had found this before the CPU project. It clarifies so much that was intially obscure to me in the CPU series. Thanks!

[@ronhill9800]

The most comprehensive and easy to follow-along KZbins ever made....Sir u have my respect...

[@HashirEasa]

KZbin Videos*

[@HashirEasa]

Wtf is "a" youtube tho

[@HashirEasa]

WAIT A MINUTE, IVE BEEN HERE BEFORE?!?!?

[@RizzMonster69]

@@HashirEasaAlzheimercore

[@HashirEasa]

@@RizzMonster69 i would like to apologize as i havw no idea when i said any of that so yes very alzheimercore 💀

[@TimoteoLXX111]

Thank you Ian for posting this and other videos. I have followed this tutorial and finished it on breadboard. Now I am working on making the 20x2 lcd display project in a project box.

[@user-go9ed4kc3k]

Thank you for your surprise, it was a great help

[@desaoaraujo]

Excellent video!

[@steventaylor6294]

Awesome tute, thank you. I learned a lot and it was very helpful.

[@halradhi]

Awesome work! Liked and subbed 👍

[@jstro-hobbytech]

This is incredible. Of all the mini screens I have I do not have a 2004. I just ordered one. I have everything else.

[@HashirEasa]

nice

[@noca7529]

Excelente, 1000 gracias!

[@immanuelthomas3959]

Thanks for the video . Really Helpful. Liked and Subbed

[@vanhetgoor]

I myself are the happy owner of an LCD with only a humble two lines of sixteen characters. For more then a year now I an looking at it, and nothing happens while and because I don't do anything, but this is a great inspiration. You ought to become a motivational speaker, not the one that is hanging on the wall but the well paid one, the one that goes without the wires.

[@IanWard1]

sounds like a good next career idea

[@HashirEasa]

@@IanWard1 epic

[@user-ud6dw3pu1h]

Fabuleuse and interesting cours

[@ruhnet]

Fantastic

[@kiiikoooPT]

finally... I bought 5 az delivery hd44780 lcd 16x2 and they dont come with microcontroller, but since they have the pin connections I was looking for a tutorial to see how they work and how to make then function without the controller I have an arduino uno and an elego that is a copy of the arduino uno, so I wanted to know if it was possible to make it work without the controller, and seing this tutorial makes me believe I can... yes I know this is a different screen, but I have to try it even if I burn one of the screens I dont care cause they were cheap and I can always buy more, but I got to learn somehow so I will try to make it display stuff and look for the datasheet to see all the functions they have and try to make it work without the controllers :) Every other video talking about this cheap lcds all talk about the I2C controller, but I dont have any, and meanwhile, while Im waiting for it to arrive I have to try and make it work and learn how they work mechanically before going into easy made code cause if I learn it the manual way, it will be easier when I get to the programable way ;) Thank you a lot for this video I wish more people would explain stuff like this instead of just showing other products and copy paste code from others to make it work the easy way... I also know that if you are just looking for a fast way to make things work for diy projects, the other videos are great, but I like to know how things work before making any kind of project so when I get stuck, if I go the easy way, I can debug it better knowing how it works. Once again, thank you very much for sharing this...

[@crackednotme6361]

Omg crack at this gameee

[@RizzMonster69]

Liked and subbed :D

[@RizzMonster69]

:D

[@Bianchi77]

Nice info, I have for lines activated but can not go to line 4 ? any ideas ? Init Code lcd_send_cmd (0x28); // Function set --> DL=0 (4 bit mode), N = 1 (2 line display) F = 0 (5x8 characters)

[@KankanamgeMallika]

Nice way to use my 16×2 lec module i bought because it looked interesting but sits on my desk collecting dust ever since

[@IanWard1]

Did it work?

[@KankanamgeMallika]

@@IanWard1 yes :)

[@jstro-hobbytech]

How did you mount the dip switch like that? My screen arrived already. I'm going to go at it alone and use this great video as a reference

[@IanWard1]

That's awesome. Let me know how it goes! I'm using an IC socket for the DIP switches because the pins aren't long enough to go into the breadboard otherwise

[@jstro-hobbytech]

@@IanWard1 my ic sockets are like the many red switches I have and they don't stick in either. I may finagle a better way to use it by hotglueing it to female headers that resemble your dip sockets. I'm going to do it tomorrow

[@jstro-hobbytech]

@@IanWard1 hey man. I figured since we spoke before I'd bounce this idea off you. I think we spoke about an in box vic20 (unfaded) with the original manual and a floppy drive. I run a personal charity where I anonymously donate electronic engineering related arduino kits to people who can't afford it or who want to learn and I include a nice dmm and an arduino kit based on the 100cad elegoo most complete arduino kit. I used to advertise the kits but I've decided to just go all out for a school or a makerspace where elderly and disabled people attend and they can take the stuff home or have it to use at the space or school. I plan on having 15 kits which I already pretty much have, a new 2 channel dso with a function gen and a new 3d printer(with 20 rolls of pla I already have) along with a bunch of supplies like wire and stepper motors, big servos and bldc ones for building robotics or anything really even a large number of ics for logic, voltage, opamps. No soldering irons though. I don't want someone to burn themselves because of me haha. I'm doing this as a one time thing as part of my therapy for ptsd from being a first responder for my whole working career despite having a software engineering degree I never used haha. Sorry for rambling, there's a reason because I want to come off as sincere and I can prove who I am and all this. Anyway, I'm looking to sell the 8 bit computer to help fund this endeavor. I'm not looking to get a fortune for it and the problem is I don't know where to sell it. I checked ebay and all that and I only want barely half the going rate for what it's worth. Like 150cad plus shipping. That will get me 8 more digital multimeters. Sorry if I seem weird but you seem like someone who would be able to know someone or something. If not that's cool. I haven't even tested it yet but I'm sure it works. It is as if it were bought and used for a few weeks and put back in the box haha. There's a joystick and some generic game carts. I'm going to test it on an analog TV I have in our basement lol. Anyway. I appreciate you reading this diatribe. I'm sending out feelers to everyone I know of. Haha anyone in Canada or north America preferably. I can prove who I am and all that to anyone who is interested by letting police dispatch know someone might call asking if I'm a real person and where I live haha. Peace man

[@trysxit2236]

hello friend, nice project and good explanation. I'm started in embedded system, I already have some sub-routine work for controller lcd 40x02, with atmega 328p with ST7066 driver. but I have a problem with the "function set" I can't choice the fonte size 5*11, only can work with 5x8 dots font size. can you help me please try understund with can´t put the function set work correctly? thanks for your time

[@IanWard1]

IIUC the HD44780 controller is capable of using 5x11 fonts but your LCD 40x02 only supports 5x8 fonts, so setting this option won't work.

[@mr_ways]

Great demonstration, what are the value of resistors?

[@IanWard1]

Trying to read them from this screenshot excess.org/lcd2004-tutorial/ it looks like I used 10k for the debounce, pull-up and pull-downs; 390 for the blue LED and 220 for the other LEDs

[@IanWard1]

Trying to read them from a screenshot it looks like I used 10k for the debounce, pull-up and pull-downs; 390 for the blue LED and 220 for the other LEDs

[@markgreco1962]

Is there any way you could upload hi-res photos of all your breadboards I’m going to build them all. I have binge watched everything you have uploaded to KZbin.

[@IanWard1]

There are some images on excess.org/cpu/ do they work for you?

[@markgreco1962]

@@IanWard1 thanks

[@ceosealemon]

Is it possible to display hundreds of English words sequentially?

[@wasijadoon9791]

How many volts power supply are you using;

[@IanWard1]

I'm using a bench power supply set to 5v in this video but it also works with the 5v power lines from a regular cheap USB charger.