Grove - LCD RGB Backlight

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Done with tedious mono color backlight? This Grove enables you to set the color to whatever you like via the simple and concise Grove interface. It takes I2C as communication method with your microcontroller. So number of pins required for data exchange and backlight control shrinks from ~10 to 2, relieving IOs for other challenging tasks. Besides, Grove - LCD RGB Backlight supports user-defined characters. Want to get a love heart or some other foreign characters? Just take advantage of this feature and design it! This product is a replacement of Grove - Serial LCD. If you are looking for primitive 16x2 LCD modules, we have green yellow backlight version and blue backlight version on sale also.

note

This document works for Grove-LCD RGB Backlight Version 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0.

Version

Product Version	Changes	Released Date
Grove-LCD RGB Backlight V1.0	Initial	June 2012
Grove-LCD RGB Backlight V2.0	Optimize PCB layout	Nov 2013
Grove-LCD RGB Backlight V4.0	Optimize PCB layout	Sep 2016

Features

RGB Backlight
I2C communication
Built-in English fonts
16x2 LCD

tip

More details about Grove modules please refer to [Grove System](https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Grove_System/)

Specification

Item	Value
Input Voltage	5V
Operating Current	<60mA
CGROM	10880 bit
CGRAM	64x8 bit
LCD I2C Address	0X3E
RGB I2C Address	0X62

note

There are 4 I2C addresses and we use 2 I2C addresses for LCD and RGB.

Platforms Supported

Arduino	Raspberry Pi

caution

The platforms mentioned above as supported is/are an indication of the module's software or theoritical compatibility. We only provide software library or code examples for Arduino platform in most cases. It is not possible to provide software library / demo code for all possible MCU platforms. Hence, users have to write their own software library.

Application Ideas

Human Machine Interface
Smart House
Sensor Hub

Here are some projects for your reference.

Edison Wi-Fi Address	WiFi Enabled Greenhouse	Grove Lucky Dumpling

Make it Now!	Make it Now!	Make it Now!

Toothbrushing Instructor	LinkIt ONE Pager	LinkIt ONE IoT Demo

Make it Now!	Make it Now!	Make it Now!

Getting Started

note

If this is the first time you work with Arduino, we firmly recommend you to see [Getting Started with Arduino](https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Getting_Started_with_Arduino/) before the start.

Play With Arduino

Hardware

Step 1. Prepare the below stuffs:

Seeeduino V4.2	Base Shield	Grove-LCD RGB Backlight

Get One Now	Get One Now	Get One Now

Step 2. Connect Grove-LCD RGB Backlight to I2C port of Grove-Base Shield.
Step 3. Plug Grove - Base Shield into Seeeduino.
Step 4. Connect Seeeduino to PC via a USB cable.

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note

If we don't have Grove Base Shield, We also can directly connect Grove-LCD RGB Backlight to Seeeduino as below.

Seeeduino	Grove-LCD RGB Backlight
5V	Red
GND	Black
SDA	White
SCL	Yellow

Software

Step 1. Download the Grove-LCD RGB Backlight Library from Github.
Step 2. Refer How to install library to install library for Arduino.
Step 3. Here are 12 examples in the library as below.
- Autoscroll
- Blink
- Cursor
- CustomCharacter
- Display
- fade
- HelloWorld
- Scroll
- SerialDisplay
- setColor
- setCursor
- TextDirection
Step 4. Please follow below picture to select example HelloWorld and upload the arduino. If you do not know how to upload the code, please check how to upload code.

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Here is the code of HelloWorld.ino.

#include <Wire.h>
#include "rgb_lcd.h"

rgb_lcd lcd;

const int colorR = 255;
const int colorG = 0;
const int colorB = 0;

void setup() 
{
    // set up the LCD's number of columns and rows:
    lcd.begin(16, 2);
    
    lcd.setRGB(colorR, colorG, colorB);
    
    // Print a message to the LCD.
    lcd.print("hello, world!");

    delay(1000);
}

void loop() 
{
    // set the cursor to column 0, line 1
    // (note: line 1 is the second row, since counting begins with 0):
    lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
    // print the number of seconds since reset:
    lcd.print(millis()/1000);

    delay(100);
}

Step 4. We will see the hello world on LCD.

Play with Codecraft

Hardware

Step 1. Using a Grove cable connect Grove - LCD RGB Backlight to Seeeduino's I2C port. If you are using Arduino, please take advantage of a Base Shield.

Step 2. Link Seeedino/Arduino to your PC via an USB cable.

Software

Step 1. Open Codecraft, add Arduino support, and drag a main procedure to working area.

note

If this is your first time using Codecraft, see also [Guide for Codecraft using Arduino](https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/Guide_for_Codecraft_using_Arduino/).

Step 2. Drag blocks as picture below or open the cdc file which can be downloaded at the end of this page.

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Upload the program to your Arduino/Seeeduino.

tip

When the code finishes uploaded, you will see "hello, world!" and system running time displayed in the LCD.

Play With Raspberry Pi

Hardware

Step 1. Prepare the below stuffs:

Raspberry pi	GrovePi_Plus	Grove-LCD RGB Backlight

Get One Now	Get One Now	Get One Now

Step 2. Plug the GrovePi_Plus into Raspberry.
Step 3. Connect Grove-LCD RGB Backlight to I2C port of GrovePi_Plus.
Step 4. Connect the Raspberry to PC through USB cable.

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Software

note

 If you are using **Raspberry Pi with Raspberrypi OS >= Bullseye**, you have to use this command line **only with Python3**.

Step 1. Follow Setting Software to configure the development environment.
Step 2. Git clone the Github repository.

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/DexterInd/GrovePi.git

Step 3. Excute below commands to use the Grove-LCD RGB Backlight to display.

cd ~/GrovePi/Software/Python/grove_rgb_lcd
python3 grove_rgb_lcd.py

Here is the grove_rgb_lcd.py code.

import time,sys

if sys.platform == 'uwp':
    import winrt_smbus as smbus
    bus = smbus.SMBus(1)
else:
    import smbus
    import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
    rev = GPIO.RPI_REVISION
    if rev == 2 or rev == 3:
        bus = smbus.SMBus(1)
    else:
        bus = smbus.SMBus(0)

# this device has two I2C addresses
DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR = 0x62
DISPLAY_TEXT_ADDR = 0x3e

# set backlight to (R,G,B) (values from 0..255 for each)
def setRGB(r,g,b):
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR,0,0)
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR,1,0)
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR,0x08,0xaa)
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR,4,r)
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR,3,g)
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_RGB_ADDR,2,b)

# send command to display (no need for external use)    
def textCommand(cmd):
    bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_TEXT_ADDR,0x80,cmd)

# set display text \n for second line(or auto wrap)     
def setText(text):
    textCommand(0x01) # clear display
    time.sleep(.05)
    textCommand(0x08 | 0x04) # display on, no cursor
    textCommand(0x28) # 2 lines
    time.sleep(.05)
    count = 0
    row = 0
    for c in text:
        if c == '\n' or count == 16:
            count = 0
            row += 1
            if row == 2:
                break
            textCommand(0xc0)
            if c == '\n':
                continue
        count += 1
        bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_TEXT_ADDR,0x40,ord(c))

#Update the display without erasing the display
def setText_norefresh(text):
    textCommand(0x02) # return home
    time.sleep(.05)
    textCommand(0x08 | 0x04) # display on, no cursor
    textCommand(0x28) # 2 lines
    time.sleep(.05)
    count = 0
    row = 0
    while len(text) < 32: #clears the rest of the screen
        text += ' '
    for c in text:
        if c == '\n' or count == 16:
            count = 0
            row += 1
            if row == 2:
                break
            textCommand(0xc0)
            if c == '\n':
                continue
        count += 1
        bus.write_byte_data(DISPLAY_TEXT_ADDR,0x40,ord(c))

# example code
if __name__=="__main__":
    setText("Hello world\nThis is an LCD test")
    setRGB(0,128,64)
    time.sleep(2)
    for c in range(0,255):
        setText_norefresh("Going to sleep in {}...".format(str(c)))
        setRGB(c,255-c,0)
        time.sleep(0.1)
    setRGB(0,255,0)
    setText("Bye bye, this should wrap onto next line")

Step 4. We will see the Grove-LCD RGB Backlight display as Going to sleep in 1...

FAQ

Q1: How to use multiple Grove-LCD RGB Backlight?
- A1: Please refer to Arduino Software I2C user guide.
Q2: How to use button to switch Grove RGB LCD to display different pages?
- A2: Here is the code.

#include <Wire.h>
#include "rgb_lcd.h"

rgb_lcd lcd;
const int switchPin = 2;
static int hits = 0;
int switchState = 0;
int prevSwitchState = 0;

void setup() {
    lcd.begin(16, 2);
    pinMode(switchPin,INPUT);
    Serial.begin(9600);
    lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
    lcd.print("Page 1");
}

void loop() {  
  switchState = digitalRead(switchPin);
  Serial.print("switchState:");Serial.println(switchState);
  if (switchState != prevSwitchState) {
    if (switchState == HIGH) {
          hits = hits + 1;
          delay(10);
    }
  }
 
  Serial.print("hits:");Serial.println(hits);
  if(hits==1)
  {
    Serial.println("Page 1");
    lcd.clear();
    lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
    lcd.print("Page 1");
  }else
  if(hits==2)
  {
   Serial.println("Page 2");
    lcd.clear();
    lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
    lcd.print("Page 2"); 
  }else

  if(hits==3)
  {
   Serial.println("Page 3");
    lcd.clear();
    lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
    lcd.print("Page 3"); 
  }else
  
  if ( hits>=4)
  {
     hits = 0;
     Serial.println("couter is reset");
     Serial.println("Page 1");
     lcd.clear();
     lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
     lcd.print("Page 1");
  }
delay(500);
}

Resources

[Library] Software Library
[Document] Github page for this document
[Codecraft] CDC File
[Datasheet] PCA9633
[Datasheet] JHD1313

Projects

Particle + Grove LCD RGB Backlight = Realtime Clock: Connect Grove LCD RGB Backlight to Particle using I2C to display time.

LCD RGB Grove module:

Tech Support

Please do not hesitate to submit the issue into our forum.

Version​

Features​

Specification​

Platforms Supported​

Application Ideas​

Getting Started​

Play With Arduino​

Play with Codecraft​

Hardware​

Software​

Play With Raspberry Pi​

FAQ​

Resources​

Projects​

Tech Support​

Version

Features

Specification

Platforms Supported

Application Ideas

Getting Started

Play With Arduino

Play with Codecraft

Hardware

Software

Play With Raspberry Pi

FAQ

Resources

Projects

Tech Support