Manual

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User’s Manual

Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc.

1939 S. Frontage Road, Suite F, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 USA

ph: 520-459-4802 • fax: 520-459-0623 • www.seetron.com

BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 1

BPI-216 Serial LCD Modules

BPI-216 LCD modules combine a serial interface with a 2-line by 16-character LCD. The combination

receives serial data at 2400 or 9600 baud (switch selectable) and displays it on the LCD.

The unit has two modes: text and instruction. It defaults to text mode; any data received appears on

the screen. Send the string “HELLO” and “HELLO” appears on the LCD. To distinguish text from

instructions (e.g., clear screen, position cursor, etc.), the interface looks for an instruction prefix (ASCII

254). The byte following this prefix is treated as an instruction. After the instruction code, the unit

returns to text mode.

This product replaces BPK-series serial LCD modules, which function identically. The primary difference

is in the physical layout of the circuit board, which has been optimized for 2x16 LCDs. The LCD Serial



board (without an LCD; BPK-000) remains available for other applications.

Disclaimer of Liability

Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc. is not responsible for any special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting

from any breach of warranty, or under any legal theory, including lost profits, downtime, goodwill, damage to or

replacement of equipment or property, and any costs or recovering, reprogramming, or reproducing of data

associated with the use of the hardware or software described herein.

Warranty

Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc. warrants this product against defects in materials and workmanship for a period

of 90 days. If you discover a defect, we will, at our option, repair, replace, or refund the purchase price. Return

the product with a description of the problem. We will return your product or its replacement via standard shipping.

Expedited shipping is available at the customer’s expense.

• Note: Abusing the module, operating it outside specified limits of power or temperature, or attempting to repair

or modify it, voids this warranty. See figure 1 (page 2) and specifications/notes (page 8).

Trademarks and Copyrights

LCD Serial Backpack

is a registered trademark of Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc.; BASIC Stamp

is a registered

trademark of Parallax Inc. All trademarked names referenced herein are the property of their respective holders.

This manual in its entirety is copyright Scott Edwards Electronics, Inc., 1994—2000.

Location of Connectors and Controls........................................................................................2

Quick Checkout and Contrast Adjustment ................................................................................2

LED Backlight............................................................................................................................2

Setting the Baud Rate...............................................................................................................3

Hookup for Use .........................................................................................................................3

Basic Operation.........................................................................................................................3

Positioning the Cursor...............................................................................................................4

Off-Screen Memory...................................................................................................................4

Defining Custom Symbols.........................................................................................................5

Program Examples....................................................................................................................7

Dimensions ...............................................................................................................................8

Differences from BPK- series....................................................................................................8

Specifications............................................................................................................................8

Important Notes on Handling, Installation, Mounting..........................................................8

Table of Contents

Summary of content (8 pages)

PAGE 1
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 1 BPI-216 Serial LCD Modules BPI-216 LCD modules combine a serial interface with a 2-line by 16-character LCD. The combination receives serial data at 2400 or 9600 baud (switch selectable) and displays it on the LCD. The unit has two modes: text and instruction. It defaults to text mode; any data received appears on the screen. Send the string “HELLO” and “HELLO” appears on the LCD. To distinguish text from instructions (e.g., clear screen, position cursor, etc.
PAGE 2
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 2 Location of Connectors and Controls Figure 1 shows the major features and configuration options of the BPI-216 circuit board. Note: The Backlight switch has no effect on non-backlit models. The model (-L for backlit, -N for non-) is marked at the lower-left corner of the interface board.
PAGE 3
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 3 Setting the Baud Rate Set the BPS switch down for 2400 baud; up for 9600. At either rate, the serial characteristics are no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit. For more information on serial transmission, see the application note: www.seetron.com/ser_an1.htm. NOTE: The interface reads the BPS switch only at startup. Change the BPS setting only with the power off. The Backlight (BL) may be turned on or off at any time.
PAGE 4
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 4 Table 1.
PAGE 5
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 5 Defining Custom Symbols Most of the LCD characters (figure 6) cannot be changed because they are stored in ROM. However, the first eight symbols, corresponding to ASCII 0 through 7, are stored in RAM. By writing new values to the character-generator (CG) RAM, you can alter these characters. Changing a symbol is easy; just point to the beginning of the symbol’s RAM location, then write eight bytes whose bits form the desired pattern.
PAGE 6
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 6 Program Examples Any computer/programming language that can produce serial output (2400 or 9600 bps, N81) can talk to the BPI-216. The examples here are in BASIC, chosen because of its popularity and readability. Don’t be put off by the size of the programs—they are mostly comments. See www.seetron.com for Windows® programming examples and an easy-to-use DLL that works well with Visual BASIC®. ' ' ' ' ' Program: BPKDEMO.
PAGE 7
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 7 ' ' ' ' ' Program: BPKDEMS1.BAS This program demonstrates fundamental techniques of driving BPI-216 serial LCDs in BASIC from the BASIC Stamp I. It assumes that the BPI-216 is connected to I/O pin 0 of the Stamp, and that it is set for 2400 bps. ' Start by defining some useful SYMBOL I = 254 ' SYMBOL CLR = 1 ' SYMBOL LINE2 = 192 ' SYMBOL L1_C7 = 135 ' constants for the BPI-216. Instruction prefix value. LCD clear-screen instruction.
PAGE 8
User’s Manual BPI-216 • v1.2 • 07/00 • pg 8 Dimensions The drawing below gives the primary dimensions of the 2x16 LCDs sold with our BPI-216N and BPI216L products. Three LCD manufacturers are listed, Truly, Data Vision (DV), and Powertip (PT), since we have at times used LCDs from each of these companies. Powertip is our primary supplier.