Here’s a step by step guide for mounting a 2×16 character LCD in your computer and interfacing with it… – Link.
10 thoughts on “Add a LCD to your PC”
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excellent!but if you want to keep your updated pc updated please get it off the floor!!of course if you have to keep it there it provides for another hack..an airconditioner filter for dust and dirt stoppage..i look foreward to your next presentation
For the DIY crowd, there’s plenty of serial AND USB displays at http://www.matrixorbital.com and http://www.crystalfontz.com. They can get to be pricy, bu tare worth it in features. http://www.earthlcd.com also carries displays and panels, some with touchscreens.
The cheapest way to go is to get an el cheapo display and use the parallel port on your computer, if you have one, to address it, as in here: http://www.beyondlogic.org/parlcd/parlcd.htm
There are plenty of free software to drive the LCDs, too, such as http://www.lcdproc.org.
You can get a 2 line LCD display with on-board USB interface from Sparkfun for $37. It is made by Olimex- model no. PIC-MT-USB.
MR
Thanks for the comments and suggestions! I agree that there are better options for LCDs, but I already had that one laying around, and you can’t beat free. As far as dirt, I have a window in the side of the case, so I’m motivated to vaccuum it out when it needs it. Can’t be showing off dust!
If you’re a little more adventurous you can build your own USB LCD interface with a PIC or AVR microcontroller. It’s not as scary as it sounds. This is good because you can power and drive the unit all through one USB port, and it’s the only option when you don’t have a serial or parallel port. I did this with a PIC18F2455 and it worked out quite nicely.