LCD character display issues (not displaying characters)

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seantheflexguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:54 am

LCD character display issues (not displaying characters)

Post by seantheflexguy »

Hi,

I'm having trouble with an LCD I got from the site. The backlight works and the pot is controlling the brightness of the backlight. The Cursor example makes the LCD pulse a little tiny bit. However the Hello World example doesn't seem to be working. There are no characters printed to the screen. I'm wondering how to debug this? I've checked the wiring and think it's correct. Not totally sure. Could the no character issue be a cause of faulty soldering? (I assume yes, but how do I know?)

Here's the link to the LCD I'm using and the tutorial I followed (from this site):

http://www.ladyada.net/learn/lcd/charlcd.html

Any input is greatly appreciated. I've posted photos that hopefully show the wiring. I'll put the links in this message below. Here is the code I'm using. (I removed the comments just for posting to the forum.)

#include
LiquidCrystal lcd(7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12);
void setup() {
lcd.begin(16, 2);
lcd.print("hello, world!");
}

void loop() {
lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
lcd.print(millis()/1000);
}

Here are the photos:

http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-1.JPG
http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-2.JPG
http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-3.JPG
http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-4.JPG
http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-5.JPG
http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-6.JPG
http://seantheflexguy.com/lcd-issues/lcd-7.JPG

Any input or help is greatly appreciated. I searched the forum before posting this but really didn't find anything that was this basic of a problem.

I'm pretty new to all of this (been programming for a while, just not hardware hacking) so there is no doubt it's probably something I've missed, or done incorrectly.

Thanks for your time.

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88086
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: LCD character display issues (not displaying characters)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Looks like some cold solder joints on the display header. Go over those and make sure that the solder flows out smoothly on both the pins and the dolder pads.

seantheflexguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:54 am

Re: LCD character display issues (not displaying characters)

Post by seantheflexguy »

Hi,

Thanks for your time and the help, really appreciate it.

I'll go back over the soldering as you've suggested. Thanks again for the help!!!

Sean

User avatar
adafruit_support_bill
 
Posts: 88086
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:11 am

Re: LCD character display issues (not displaying characters)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Also check pins 3-4-5 and 11-2 and 13-14 for solder bridges.

seantheflexguy
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:54 am

Re: LCD character display issues (not displaying characters)

Post by seantheflexguy »

hi,

thanks again for the help. i had to do some desoldering and then a little more soldering but i got the LCD working.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seantheflexguy/5278719851/

can't thank you enough for the help.

take it easy.

sean

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