Hi Dwayne

Serial LCD is only a little more complicated
Data, clock, Vdd, Vss, command select pin (command/data mode), chip select pin (so multiple chips can share the SPI interface).

So, yes, contrast is done in software. The manual says exactly what I quoted in my previous post about which bits to send to turn it on.

And I wish I did have a scope... Time to schmoose some of my EE friends who do have scopes !

It is possible that I am not outputting clock signal or something (but I checked with a LED, and it does light up!).

Best regards
Richard