Basics LEDs & Lighting Resources

LCD 16×2 Pinout, Commands, and Displaying Custom

Characters
By CD-Team

August 25, 2023  375529

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We come across Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) displays everywhere around us. Computers, calculators, television
sets, mobile phones, and digital watches use some kind of display to display the time.

Table of Contents
16X2 LCD Display Pinout Diagram
RS (Register Select)

Important Command Codes for 16×2 LCD

Displaying Custom Characters on 16X2 LCD

How to Generate Custom Characters in CG-RAM

Interfacing LCD 16X2 with Arduino

Display the LED Brightness on a 16×2 LCD

16×2 LCD Display – FAQs

What is a 16×2 LCD display?

How does a 16×2 LCD display work?

What is the pin configuration of a 16×2 LCD display?

What is the purpose of the contrast control in a 16×2 LCD display?

What kind of information can be displayed on a 16×2 LCD display?

Can I use special characters on a 16×2 LCD display?

What is the backlight in a 16×2 LCD display?

What are the common applications of a 16×2 LCD display?

Can I change the font size on a 16×2 LCD display?

Are there any limitations to using a 16×2 LCD display?

Is it possible to display multiple languages on a 16×2 LCD display?

×
Can I control the cursor position on a 16×2 LCD display? 
An LCD screen is an electronic display module that uses liquid crystal to produce a visible image. The 16×2 LCD
display is a very basic module commonly used in DIYs and circuits. The 16×2 translates a display of 16
characters per line in 2 such lines. In this LCD, each character is displayed in a 5×7 pixel matrix.

LCD 16×2

16X2 LCD Display Pinout Diagram

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 Pin Diagram

Pin No.

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Function Name

Ground (0V) Groun

1
d

Supply voltage; 5V (4.7V – 5.3V) Vcc

2

Contrast adjustment; the best way is to use a variable resistor such as a

Vo /
potentiometer. The output of the potentiometer is connected to this pin. Rotate the
3 VEE
potentiometer knob forward and backward to adjust the LCD contrast.

RS
(Regis
4 Selects command register when low, and data register when high ter
Select
)

Read/
5 Low to write to the register; High to read from the register
write

Sends data to data pins when a high to low pulse is given; Extra voltage push is
required to execute the instruction and EN(enable) signal is used for this purpose.
6 Enable
Usually, we set en=0, when we want to execute the instruction we make it high en=1
for some milliseconds. After this we again make it ground that is, en=0.

7 DB0

8 DB1

9 DB2

10 DB3
8-bit data pins
11 DB4

12 DB5

13 DB6

14 DB7

15 LED Backlight VCC (5V) Led+

16 LED Backlight Ground (0V) Led-

RS (Register Select)
A 16X2 LCD has two registers, namely, command and data. The register select is used to switch from one
register to other. RS=0 for the command register, whereas RS=1 for the data register.

Command Register: The command register stores the command instructions given to the LCD. A command is an
instruction given to an LCD to do a predefined task. Examples like:


 initializing it

clearing its screen

setting the cursor position

controlling display etc.

Processing for commands happens in the command register.

Data Register: The data register stores the data to be displayed on the LCD. The data is the ASCII value of the
character to be displayed on the LCD. When we send data to LCD, it goes to the data register and is processed
there. When RS=1, the data register is selected.

Important Command Codes for 16×2 LCD

Sr.No. Hex Code Command to LCD instruction Register

1 01 Clear display screen

2 02 Return home

3 04 Decrement cursor (shift cursor to left)

4 06 Increment cursor (shift cursor to right)

5 05 Shift display right

6 07 Shift display left

7 08 Display off, cursor off

8 0A Display off, cursor on

9 0C Display on, cursor off

10 0E Display on, cursor blinking

11 0F Display on, cursor blinking

12 10 Shift cursor position to left

13 14 Shift the cursor position to the right

14 18 Shift the entire display to the left

15 1C Shift the entire display to the right

16 80 Force cursor to the beginning ( 1st line)

17 C0 Force cursor to the beginning ( 2nd line)

18 38 2 lines and 5×7 matrix

Displaying Custom Characters on 16X2 LCD

Generating custom characters on LCD is not very hard. It requires knowledge about the custom-generated
random access memory (CG-RAM) of the LCD and the LCD chip controller. Most LCDs contain a Hitachi HD4478
controller.

CG-RAM is the main component in making custom characters. It stores the custom characters once declared in
the code. CG-RAM size is 64 bytes providing the option of creating eight characters at a time. Each character is
eight bytes in size.

CG-RAM address starts from 0x40 (Hexadecimal) or 64 in decimal. We can generate custom characters at these
addresses. Once we generate our characters at these addresses, we can print them by just sending commands
to the LCD. Character addresses and printing commands are below.


 Table

In the table above you can see starting addresses for each character with their printing commands.

The first character is generated at addresses 0x40 to 0x47 and is printed on LCD by just sending a command 0.

The second character is generated at addresses 0x48 to 0x55 and is printed by sending a command 1.

How to Generate Custom Characters in CG-RAM

In LCD displays, each character is in a 5×8 matrix. Where 5 is the number of columns and 8 is the number of
rows.

LCD 16×2 Matrix

Here is a simple example of how to create the letter ‘b’ in CG-RAM.

The Array for generating ‘b’ is char b[7]={0x10,0x10,0x16,0x19,0x11,0x11,0x1E}; That is,

Send the address where you want to create a character.

Now create your character at this address. Send the ‘b’ character array values defined above one by one to the
data register of the LCD.

To print the generated character at 0x40. Send command 0 to the command register of LCD. The table below
would explain this more clearly-

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CG-RAM Address Table

Interfacing LCD 16X2 with Arduino

LCD modules are very important in many Arduino-based embedded system designs to improve the user interface
of the system. Interfacing with Arduino gives the programmer more freedom to customize the code easily.

Any cost-effective Arduino board, a 16X2 character LCD display, jumper wires, and a breadboard are sufficient
enough to build the circuit.

Interfacing Circuit

For detailed explanation, you can check how to use LCD with Arduino.

Display the LED Brightness on a 16×2 LCD

The combination of an LCD and Arduino yields several projects, the most simple one being LCD to display the
LED brightness. All we need for this circuit is an LCD, Arduino, breadboard, a resistor, potentiometer, LED, and
some jumper cables. The circuit connections are below.


LCD 16×2 Project Circuit

The detailed project is available at displaying the brightness of a LED on an LCD display.

16×2 LCD Display – FAQs

What is a 16×2 LCD display?

A 16×2 LCD display is a liquid crystal display that can show 16 characters in each of its two rows, providing a
total of 32 characters of information. It’s commonly used to display alphanumeric information in various
electronic devices.

How does a 16×2 LCD display work?

A 16×2 LCD display works by controlling the liquid crystals to either block or allow light to pass through, creating
characters and symbols on the screen. It’s controlled by sending data and commands to its controller, which in
turn manages the display of information.

What is the pin configuration of a 16×2 LCD display?

A standard 16×2 LCD display has 16 pins, typically organized into two rows of eight pins each. These pins are
used for power supply, data communication, and control signals.

What is the purpose of the contrast control in a 16×2 LCD display?

The contrast control adjusts the contrast between the text and the background on the LCD screen. By changing
the voltage across the liquid crystals, you can control the readability of the displayed content.
×


What kind of information can be displayed on a 16×2 LCD display?
A 16×2 LCD display can display a wide range of information, including text, numbers, symbols, and basic
graphics. It’s often used to display status information, menu options, sensor readings, and more.

Can I use special characters on a 16×2 LCD display?

Yes, most 16×2 LCD displays support custom character generation. This allows you to create and display your
own characters or symbols beyond the standard alphanumeric characters.

What is the backlight in a 16×2 LCD display?

The backlight is a built-in light source that illuminates the LCD screen, making the displayed information visible in
low-light conditions. It can be controlled to adjust the brightness of the display.

What are the common applications of a 16×2 LCD display?

16×2 LCD displays are widely used in various applications, including digital clocks, temperature and humidity
displays, electronic voting machines, industrial automation, robotics, embedded systems, and more.

Can I change the font size on a 16×2 LCD display?

No, the font size on a standard 16×2 LCD display is fixed. Each character occupies a single cell, and the font
cannot be changed. However, some advanced displays may offer larger or smaller font options.

Are there any limitations to using a 16×2 LCD display?

While 16×2 LCD displays are versatile, they have limitations such as limited screen size and resolution, and they
might not be suitable for displaying complex graphics or large amounts of information.

Is it possible to display multiple languages on a 16×2 LCD display?

Yes, it’s possible to display multiple languages on a 16×2 LCD display as long as the characters are within the
supported character set of the display. You might need to map characters from different languages to the
available characters in the display’s memory.

Can I control the cursor position on a 16×2 LCD display?

Yes, you can control the cursor position on a 16×2 LCD display using commands. You can position the cursor at
specific coordinates on the screen to control where the next character or information will be displayed.

This article was first published on 21 November 2016 and recently updated on August 2023.