thanks for all the help so far.

>>"Of course you could, even without using a PIC by simply having some DIP-Switches on the Data Lines and a PushButton on the Clock Line."

would it work for only 4 dips for data(d7,d6,d5,d4) plus 1 "clock" button?
is the clock the E or R/S?

how many times would the "clock" have to cycle to get a
command? because only 4 DIPS would mean only 16 combinations.

or

does it(lcd) recive a byte of data through a means of 4 bits on 1 clock and the next 4 bits on the second clock?

if the second is true then i think i can manage a work around.


yes i agree that the lcdout command would be the best method. unfortunatly im not sure if the original code for this board was written in c or assembly er somthing which may not even matter how it is interfaced.

'-------


i know i could design a board to make this eaiser to code, but the whole idea behind this project is to utilize what has already been manufactured and improve on its functionality. in short... No Hardware Mods i really do appreciate all the help i have recived. and i am doing a lot of research before posting.