> **Source:** Core Electronics is an Australian maker-electronics retailer and manufacturer based in Newcastle, NSW, run by a team of makers and educators. We design and manufacture our own product lines (PiicoDev, CE originals) and are official retailers for iconic maker and industrial brands including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Adafruit, SparkFun and DFRobot. Orders ship Australia-wide from our Newcastle warehouse. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Pricing, stock and dispatch on this page are generated from the store's live catalog. Full machine-readable index: https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt

# 16x2 Character LCD (Parallel Interface)

**Type:** Product page · **SKU:** POLOLU-773 · **Brand:** [Pololu](https://core-electronics.com.au/brands/pololu-australia)
**Page:** https://core-electronics.com.au/16x2-character-lcd-parallel-interface.html ([markdown](https://core-electronics.com.au/16x2-character-lcd-parallel-interface.html.md))

## Retired product

This product is retired and no longer available for purchase. Search the catalogue for an alternative.

## How to buy

- **Search the catalogue:** `https://core-electronics.com.au/search/{query}.md` (URL-encode the query; pages 2-3 at `search/{query}/{page}.md`; `search.md?q=` also works)
- **Payment methods, purchase orders, policies and contact details:** https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt
## Description

| [![](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/remote_images/0J1073.300_uPehwH.jpg%3F85ec66e42ef8e8ad4d29328b79e5568b)![](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/remote_images/zoom-d0cfc0fffa825c4654893ef42b77cee3_8k3yIx.png)](https://core-electronics.com.au/#) |
|---|

## Overview

This 16-character, 2-line parallel liquid crystal display achieves a large viewing area in a compact package. It uses the common HD44780 interface (330k pdf), so sample interface code is widely available for a variety of microcontrollers. This LCD is also available [with a backlight](https://core-electronics.com.au/16x2-character-lcd-with-led-backlight-parallel-interface-black-on-green.html).

The DDRAM address 0x00 corresponds to the first character of the top line, address 0x0F corresponds to the last character of the top line, address 0x40 corresponds to the first character of the second line, and address 0x4F corresponds to the last character of the second line.

You can find sample HD44780 LCD interface code written for a variety of AVR microcontrollers as part of the Pololu AVR library.

| [![](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/remote_images/0J1080.250_ypbS0J.jpg%3Fcdbcf3f2f84c0a4ed57f667c98ab2823)![](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/remote_images/zoom-d0cfc0fffa825c4654893ef42b77cee3_8k3yIx.png)](https://core-electronics.com.au/#) |
|---|

## Pinout

 | Pin | Symbol | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vss | ground (0 V) |
| 2 | Vdd | 5 V logic supply voltage |
| 3 | Vo | contrast adjustment |
| 4 | RS | H/L register select signal |
| 5 | R/W | H/L read/write signal |
| 6 | E | H/L enable signal |
| 7-14 | DB0 – DB7 | H/L data bus for 4- or 8-bit mode |

**Note:** No cables or connectors are included with this product, but a [40×2-pin 0.100" male header strip](https://core-electronics.com.au/0-100-2-54-mm-breakaway-male-header-2x40-pin-straight.html) and 20", [16-conductor ribbon cable](https://core-electronics.com.au/16-conductor-ribbon-cable-with-idc-connectors-20.html) can be purchased separately. You can break a 7×2 segment from the header strip and solder it to the 14 through-holes on the left side of the LCD PCB; the ribbon cable will then plug into the header pins (leaving two holes empty). The header pins won’t enforce proper orientation of the cable, so you will need to take care to plug it into the correct pins. The [8×2 shrouded box header](https://core-electronics.com.au/shrouded-box-header-2x8-pin-0-100-2-54-mm-male.html) can be used with this LCD if you use pliers to pull out connector pins 15 and 16, effectively turning it into a 7×2 keyed receptacle for a 16-conductor ribbon cable.

## Images

- [Product image 1](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/1/6/16x2_character_lcd__parallel_interface___pololu_773__00.jpg)