Intermediate
30 min

Present textual information, numbers, and basic graphics with LS013B7DH03 and PIC18F4553

Customization made easy: Monochrome LCD at your command!

LCD Mono Click with EasyPIC v8

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

LCD Mono Click

Dev. board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F4553

Tailor the displayed information to your specific application, whether it's showing real-time data, status indicators, alerts, or user instructions.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

LCD Mono Click is based on the LS013B7DH03, an LCD display from Sharp that has a reflective active-matrix with a slightly transmissive-type memory liquid crystal display module with a 128 x128 panel which uses CG silicon thin film transistor. Its transmissive mode is implemented with a backlight, and you can control the display with serial data signal communication. It features a thin, light, and compact module with monolithic technology, and its most important feature is the super low power consumption TFT panel. For an MCU application, a powerful display can often be off-limits because of price, CPU processing power, or power budget. However, you can create a powerful display application using the EFM32's energy-saving capabilities and a Sharp low-power matrix memory LCD. The application can drive a

128x128 pixel display drawing as little as 2 µA while showing a static image. Even when updating the frame every second, the current consumption can be lower than 5µA. The display for this click, the LS013B7DH03 LCD, is a 1.28", 128x128 pixels monochrome display with a 3-wire SPI interface. Apart from the SPI interface, the display requires a 3.3V power supply and three extra pins named EXTMODE, EXTCOMIN, and DISP. The EXTMODE pin controls how polarity inversion is controlled. The display requires that the polarity across the Liquid Crystal Cell is reversed at a constant frequency. This polarity inversion prevents charge from building up within the cell. If EXTMODE is LOW, the polarity inversion is toggled by sending a special command over SPI. If it is HIGH, polarity inversion is controlled by the EXTCOMIN pin.

If EXTMODE is HIGH, the polarity inversion is armed for every rising edge of the EXTCOMIN pin. The actual polarity inversion is triggered at the next transition of SCS. The toggling frequency should be at least 1 Hz. If EXTMODE is LOW, this pin is ignored. The DISP pin toggles the display on or off (without the pixels losing their state). When LOW, the display is off; when HIGH, the display is on. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

LCD Mono Click top side image
LCD Mono Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

EasyPIC v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports many high pin count 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, EasyPIC v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any

circumstances at any time. Each part of the EasyPIC v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module, which offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment, the board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.

Communication options such as USB-UART, USB DEVICE, and CAN are also included, including the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, two display options (graphical and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets. These sockets cover a wide range of 8-bit PIC MCUs, from the smallest PIC MCU devices with only eight up to forty pins. EasyPIC v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

EasyPIC v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

PIC18F4553

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
SPI Chip Select
RE0
CS
SPI Clock
RC3
SCK
SPI Data OUT
RC4
MISO
SPI Data IN
RC5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
COM Inversion Polarity Output
RC0
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

LCD Mono Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v8 as your development board.

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 40 hardware assembly
EasyPIC v8 Access DIPMB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.

2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.

3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for LCD Mono Click driver.

Key functions:

  • lcdmono_draw_text - Draw text on the screen

  • lcdmono_display_power - Display Power State

  • lcdmono_display_reset - Reset procedure

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief LcdMono Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This application sets text on lcd displey.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Driver initialization - Starting LCD Mono display. Print text to the display by changing font size ...
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Drawing an image to the display every 3 second.
 * 
 * *note:* 
 * - Create Image:
 *     Save the image in resolution of 128x128 px with the extension (monochrome bmp) ...
 *     Upload the image to Image2Lcd program
 *     Set parameters to:
 *            1. Output file type : C array
 *            2. Scan Mode : Horisontal scan
 *            3. Bits Pixel : monochrome
 *            4. Max width and height : 128x128
 *            5. Check only MSB first
 *            6. Check Reverse color and adjust Normal type
 * The image to be generated should contain about 2048 bytes ...
 * Insert the image into the file Click_LCD_Mono_image.h
 *
 * - Create Font:
 *     Close existing project, open a new VTFT project
 *     Add label and adjust text font
 *     Generate source code
 *     Copy the font from resource.c file to this project in file Click_LCD_Mono_font.h
 * 
 * \author Nemanja Medakovic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "lcdmono.h"

// Resources
#include "click_lcd_mono_image.h"
#include "click_lcd_mono_font.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static lcdmono_t lcdmono;
static log_t logger;

static const char demo_text_lcd[ 4 ] = { 'L', 'C', 'D', 0 };
static const char demo_text_mono[ 5 ] = { 'M', 'o', 'n', 'o', 0 };
static const char demo_text_128x128px[ 10 ] = { '1', '2', '8', 'x', '1', '2', '8', 'p', 'x', 0 };

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    lcdmono_cfg_t cfg;
    lcdmono_text_settings_t tx_set;
    lcdmono_font_t font_cfg;

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init... ----" );

    //  Click initialization.

    lcdmono_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    LCDMONO_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );

    if ( lcdmono_init( &lcdmono, &cfg ) == LCDMONO_INIT_ERROR )
    {
        log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init Error. ----" );
        log_info( &logger, "---- Please, run program again... ----" );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init Done. ----" );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Running... ----\n" );

    lcdmono_display_reset( &lcdmono );
    lcdmono_clear( &lcdmono );

    // Background color for all text
    tx_set.bg_color = LCDMONO_COLOR_WHITE;
    // Display text
    font_cfg.this_font = lcdmono_font_tahoma_16;
    lcdmono_set_font( &lcdmono, &font_cfg );

    tx_set.len = 3;
    tx_set.start_cord_x = 25;
    tx_set.start_cord_y = 15;
    tx_set.text_color = LCDMONO_COLOR_BLACK;
    lcdmono_draw_text( &lcdmono, demo_text_lcd, &tx_set, LCDMONO_REFRESH_TEXT_BUFFER | 
                                                         LCDMONO_CHECK_NEW_TEXT );

    font_cfg.this_font = lcdmono_font_tahoma_8;
    lcdmono_set_font( &lcdmono, &font_cfg );

    tx_set.len = 4;
    tx_set.start_cord_x = 60;
    tx_set.start_cord_y = 50;
    tx_set.text_color = LCDMONO_COLOR_BLACK;
    lcdmono_draw_text( &lcdmono, demo_text_mono, &tx_set, LCDMONO_CHECK_NEW_TEXT );

    tx_set.len = 9;
    tx_set.start_cord_x = 10;
    tx_set.start_cord_y = 80;
    tx_set.text_color = LCDMONO_COLOR_BLACK;
    lcdmono_draw_text( &lcdmono, demo_text_128x128px, &tx_set, LCDMONO_REFRESH_DISPLAY_END );

    Delay_ms( 5000 );
    lcdmono_clear( &lcdmono );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    lcdmono_draw_frame( &lcdmono, demo_img_mikroe_light );
    Delay_ms( 3000 );
    lcdmono_draw_frame( &lcdmono, demo_img_mikroe );
    Delay_ms( 3000 );
    lcdmono_draw_frame( &lcdmono, demo_img_logo_light );
    Delay_ms( 3000 );
    lcdmono_draw_frame( &lcdmono, demo_img_logo );
    Delay_ms( 3000 );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; )
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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