Basic 16x2 Character LCD - RGB Backlight 5V

This is similar to other 16x2 character LCDs that you've seen before but with one vibrant difference: The backlight is actually an RGB LED. This means that you can change the backlight of this display to any color you want by controlling the three backlight levels. It also utilizes an extremely common parallel interface so code is freely available (check below for an Arduino example). You will need ~11 general I/O pins to interface to this LCD screen, plus an extra 3 pins for the RGB backlight.

Note: It is recommended to use a current limiting resistor with the backlight colors. You can burn out your LEDs if you do not use a current limiting resistor. Try using a 1k Ohm resistor. The backlight is controlled by pins 18, 17, and 16.

Documents:

• Hookup Guide
• Datasheet
• Arduino Tutorial
• AVR Example
• Character Generator