FREE Serial LCD Backpack Board

[Nicmus]

Hi all,

I received my serial LCD controller board and completed the preliminary tests.
The board performs as advertised and is easy to use. It will be a really big help for someone who doesn’t have spare I/Os or doesn’t feel like fighting the “LCD war”.
I’m happy and the picture Rene posted shows it.

The Exerciser application is also a good, helpful tool.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I give it a 9+. It should be a “must” in everybody’s inventory.

Good job Rene.

I’m not sure how much is involved to change a couple of things that, in my opinion, will make the controller even more desirable:
• Change the control of the two outputs from “Toggle” to direct “High” or “Low” commands for full user control.
• Give user access to customized splash screen and (or) perform an automatic delayed CLS.
One possible problem to report: I was unable to communicate with the controller at 1200 and 38400 baud rates. I can’t say for sure if it was my setup or there is a problem. The controller will “connect” but will not receive anything after that. I’m mostly interested in 38400.

Regards,

Nick M

[rmteo]

Thanks for your comments, Nick.

Regarding the 2 outputs, they are both off by default when delivered. However, whenever their state is changed, it is stored in EEPROM so you have full control over them.

Regarding a custom splash screen, you can create your own in your application. If you disable the splash screen you will get a blank screen on startup/reset (the status of the splash screen is also stored in EEPROM so it will remain OFF until you deliberately turn in ON again).

[Nicmus]

Hi Rene,

My point on the two outputs is that the master controller has no way of knowing their status.

The way you have it setup will only let you change status without the master knowing what that status is or, go to the extreme of tracking all your changes to these pins. You will be able to get only a blinking LED without knowing when is ON and when is OFF. Saving it in EEPROM won’t do any good to the master after reset or power down. What if I need to turn a heater on if a temperature is bellow a certain value or send feedback information to the remote display that the heater is on?

Again, this is just my opinion.

Regards,

Nick

[rmteo]

Nick,

Now I see your point regarding the outputs. I will look into making them deliberate On-Off actions.