Quote Originally Posted by Michlis View Post
Hi,
I have a Microchip's Mechatronics Demo Board and I am trying to use on board LCD with PBP. In the PBP manual it says that: "If a 4-bit bus is used the top 4 LCD data bits must be connected to either the bottom 4 or top 4 bits of one port."
Now the problem is that LCD is already pre-connected to the PIC and as it says in the data sheet fist 4 ports are COM0-COM3. So I took the board and it looks that COM0 is on pin RB4, COM1 is RB5, COM2 RA2, COM3 RD0. Is it possible to run this LCD in PBP with such connections? How should I set DEFINEs?
It's possible to run that LCD with a PIC, just not with the LCDOUT commands.
The LCDOUT commands used in PBP with the PICs are for LCDs with built-in Hitachi 44780 style controllers with a parallel interface.
Judging from the connector, what you've got is probably a 'dumb' LCD. You'll most likely have to dig up the spec's for the LCD, write a program to handle the multiplexing, etc.etc.etc.
If you want an LCD, it's a heck of a lot easier to get on eBay or wherever and just buy a 16x2 LCD from somewhere for $10.