User manual

mechanical stability. Mount your board on the Pi and press down on it. The first thing my
board hits is a tall electrolytic capacitor on the Pi. Put your adhesive disc at this spot. You
can affix the disc to the bottom of the board or to the top of the capacitor. Either way, it
prevents direct contact and minimizes board sagging.
Here is a photo of my board. I decided
NOT to solder the LCD to the board.
Instead I soldered a 16-pin female
header. The header will let you plug in
different LCDs. I have put 16x2 and
20x4 displays on my board, and this
small modification lets me try whatever
LCD I like. Most backlit LCD modules
use the same industry-standard 16-pin
configuration, and will be compatible
with your board.
If you use a 20x4 display, you may
notice how heavy the display is. It also
can cause the board to sag, and put strain on the 26-pin connector. If you use a female
header like me, the sagging and strain will be even more obvious. What can you do?
3) BE SUPPORTIVE
If a sagging display bothers you, just prop it up!
This is surprisingly easy to do. Visit your local
hobby store/Home Depot/Lowes and get some
basswood/balsa strips. You will only need a few
inches, so one strip will do. Mine are about ¼”
square, and make excellent support posts. Hold
the strip beside your mounted display, and pencil-
mark it for the length you need. It doesn’t hurt to
add 1/16” or so, since the post can be shortened
very quickly. Cut two lengths. Drill a small 1/16”
pilot hole on the top of each post. Attach the post
to your LCD using a #4 wood screw. If a post is too long, sand it down. If too short, add
one or two #4 washers between the post and display (or cut another post - it won’t take
long).
You don’t have to use wood. You can do the same thing with nylon standoffs, metal or
acrylic rod. But wood is easy to use, cheap, and doesn’t need to be tapped. Be creative.
If you install a female header like I did, then drill two 1/8” holes along the bottom edge of the
board and attach two small posts. These posts will give you plenty of support to whatever
LCD module you attach.
16-pin female header
Support Posts