Product Description

Give your Arduino the power to display stunning full-color text and graphics with this remarkably sophisticated backlit TFT LCD display. The onboard SD socket is an added bonus; an SD card's capacious memory will store tons of graphics and image data. The data interface for both the LCD controller and the SD card is SPI. Runs on 3.3 or 5 volt power, via the onboard regulator. 3.3 volt logic or 5 volt logic signals work just fine, No longer required to use the 4050 buffer to interface this module with your 5 volt Arduino,(NTE4050B buffer chip ($1.69 at Vetco)). The single-row 0.1 inch header will plug directly into your breadboard.

Here are links to the Arduino libraries written by Ada which work well with the LCD module:

• hardware library: github page for Adafruit LCD hardware library, zip download of Adafruit LCD hardware library from Vetco's Dropbox.
• graphics library: github page for Adafruit GFX library, zip download of Adafruit GFX library from Vetco's Dropbox.

In the hardware library, there is a note describing two hardware variants: the 'red tab' and the 'green tab'. Vetco's LCD module works with the 'red tab' setting, which is the default, so these libraries should work without needing to be modified.

One note on the pin labeling: Pin number 7 on the LCD module is labeled A0, which is not a very descriptive label. The actual function of this pin is to select between data mode and command mode. If you are using the default configuration in Ada's library, then this pin should be connected to pin 9 of the Arduino.

A note on the onboard 3.3 volt regulator: The Vcc pin of this module connects to the input of the onboard 3.3 volt regulator. The output of the regulator provides power to the LCD module. There are two solder pads on the back of this module, with the text "JP1" silkscreened next to them. Bridging these pads will bypass the onboard regulator, connecting the module's Vcc pin directly to the LCD sub-assembly. If you plan on powering this board with 5 volts, do not bridge these solder pads. If you want to power the board with 3.3 volts, you might want to bridge the pads with a drop of solder. However, this may not be necessary. The demo LCD module here at Vetco runs just fine with 3.3 volts connected to the Vcc pin and the pads unbridged. This means that 3.3 volts is running into the regulator, and the regulator is probably outputting slightly less than 3.3 volts, but the LCD does not seem adversely affected by this lower voltage. The LED backlight works well on 3.3 volts or 5 volts. It is notably brighter on 5v.