SerLCD v2.5 & Vista LCDSmartie v5.4 = Garbled characters

Archive SparkFun Site Questions/Comments
1

Hi Newbie here - be kind,

I’m having trouble getting something sensible to appear on the SerLCD / B&W 2x16 LCD screen.

I’ve got it connect to the serial port on my Vista PC & a 5v power connection from a molex plug.

When I power up the PC I see the splash screen on the LCD and backing light is on.

I’m use the putty program to open a 9600,1,N connection to the LCD on COM1.

The manual says by typing ASCII character’s they should appear on the screen.

I seem to some random characters to appear on the LCD - mostly one for one, but not the characters I typed.

I’ve also tried using LCDSmartie & the SerLCDDerver version 1.1 driver - again I get lots of garbage characters on the LCD.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Neeto

2

How did you got it connected to the serial port?

3

b_bogk77:
How did you got it connected to the serial port?

1 wire connection from serial port pin 2 (TX) to RX connector on SerLCD

1 wire connection from serial port pin 5 to GND connector on SerLCD shared with ground on PC power supply.

1 wire connection from 5v power line to 5V connector on SerLCD

Thanks,

Neeto

4

From the LCD’s text information: “TTL serial (do not attach directly to RS232 port).”

TTL means 0v to 5v, RS232 port means -13v to 13v !

You need to use something like this:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … cts_id=316

or this:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … cts_id=449

to interface between the LCD and the RS232 port.

5

Ahhh - that would do it - I really should stick to software - this hardware stuff is a whole new mine field :wink:

Thanks,

Neeto