Nokia 5110 LCD

Introduction

This page is all about how to use the Nokia 5110 LCD, a small graphical LCD display.

There are a handful of different breakout boards for these LCDs available, from Sparkfun and Seeedstudio as well as others. They tend to made with recycled screens (they don't make the old phones any more) so are not as shiny as some products. However, the display updates reasonably quickly and only a small number of digital pins is required to run the display.

You Will Need

  • Nokia 5110 LCD Breakout
  • Jumper Wires

Making The Circuit

Be careful here. The connections shown in this diagram are not identical to the ones on my breakout board - the different companies break out the LCD pins in a slightly different order. The list of connections in the table match the Seeedstudio breakout.

The most important thing is that the backlight should not be powered at more than 3V. The other pins seem to be 5V safe.

Arduino Circuit

The LCD works well without the backlight. I tend not to bother with the connection.

Programming The Arduino - Displaying A Bitmap

This looks like a lot of code - most of it is the definition of the bitmap being displayed.

This is a trimmed down, adapted version of code from the Arduino Playground.

// Define digital pins

#define PIN_SCE   7
#define PIN_RESET 6
#define PIN_DC    5
#define PIN_SDIN  4
#define PIN_SCLK  3

#define LCD_C     LOW
#define LCD_D     HIGH

// Bounds of the display

#define LCD_X     84
#define LCD_Y     48

// Bitmap definition

char tux[] = {
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00,0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xC0, 0xE0, 
  0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xE0, 
  0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xB1, 0x5D, 0x89, 0x8F, 0x89, 
  0x5D, 0x11, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xF8, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0x78, 0x3E, 0x03, 0x01, 
  0x01, 0x02, 0x02, 0x02, 0x02, 0x02, 0x01, 0x01, 
  0x03, 0x1F, 0x7F, 0xFF, 0xFE, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xC0, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xC0, 0x3C, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0xC3, 
  0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0x40, 0x7F, 
  0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x26, 0x59, 0x41, 0x41, 0x80, 
  0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x00, 0x03, 0x07, 0x9E, 0xE4, 
  0xE0, 0xE0, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x60, 0x70, 
  0x78, 0x7B, 0xFC, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 
  0x80, 0x47, 0x48, 0x28, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 
  0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 
  0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 
  0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, };
  
// LCD Procedures  

void LcdClear(void)
{
  for (int index = 0; index < LCD_X * LCD_Y / 8; index++)
  {
    LcdWrite(LCD_D, 0x00);
  }
}

void LcdInitialise(void)
{
  pinMode(PIN_SCE, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_RESET, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_DC, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_SDIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_SCLK, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(PIN_RESET, LOW);
  digitalWrite(PIN_RESET, HIGH);
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x21 );  // LCD Extended Commands.
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0xB1 );  // Set LCD Vop (Contrast).
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x04 );  // Set Temp coefficent. //0x04
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x14 );  // LCD bias mode 1:48. //0x13
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x0C );  // LCD in normal mode.
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x20 );
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x0C );
}

void gotoXY(int x, int y)
{
  LcdWrite( 0, 0x80 | x);  // Column.
  LcdWrite( 0, 0x40 | y);  // Row.

}
void LcdWrite(byte dc, byte data)
{
  digitalWrite(PIN_DC, dc);
  digitalWrite(PIN_SCE, LOW);
  shiftOut(PIN_SDIN, PIN_SCLK, MSBFIRST, data);
  digitalWrite(PIN_SCE, HIGH);
}

void LcdBitmap(char my_array[]){
  for (int index = 0 ; index < (LCD_X * LCD_Y / 8) ; index++)
    LcdWrite(LCD_D, my_array[index]);
}

void setup(void)
{
  LcdInitialise();
  LcdClear();
  gotoXY(0,0);
}

void loop(void)
{
  LcdBitmap(tux);
  while (true)
  {
  }
}

The main loop of the program contains a while structure to prevent the image from refreshing (since there's only one in the program).

You can replace the definition of the bitmap with one of the following. Alternatively, define all 4 bitmaps in the program code and some components to the circuit (like buttons) to allow you to select each one.

Arduino Logo

char bmp1[] = {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x82, 0x0E, 0x02, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x02, 0x04, 0x02, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xF0, 0xFE, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x03, 0x01, 0x01, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x81, 0x01, 0x03, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x03, 0x01, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x01, 0x01, 0x03, 0x0F, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC, 0xF0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xF0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x7F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xF0, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x1F, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x03, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, };

Carrot

char bmp2[] = {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x82, 0x0E, 0x02, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x02, 0x04, 0x02, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xF0, 0xFE, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x03, 0x01, 0x01, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x81, 0x01, 0x03, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x03, 0x01, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x01, 0x01, 0x03, 0x0F, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC, 0xF0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xF0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x7F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xF0, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x1F, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x03, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, };

Winking Face

char bmp3[] = {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0x7E, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xF8, 0xF0, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x82, 0x0E, 0x02, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x02, 0x04, 0x02, 0x0E, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xF0, 0xFE, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x03, 0x01, 0x01, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x81, 0x01, 0x03, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x03, 0x01, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0xF0, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x80, 0x01, 0x01, 0x03, 0x0F, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC, 0xF0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xF0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xE0, 0xF8, 0xFC, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x7F, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFC, 0xF8, 0xE0, 0xC0, 0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x07, 0x07, 0x07, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0x80, 0xC0, 0xF0, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0xFF, 0x1F, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x03, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0x07, 0x0F, 0x0F, 0x1F, 0x3F, 0x3F, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFC, 0xFE, 0xFE, 0x7F, 0x7F, 0x3F, 0x1F, 0x1F, 0x0F, 0x07, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, };

Making The Bitmaps

In order to make your own bitmap, you need to know how these large arrays of hexadecimal values relate to the pixels on the screen. I wrote and used a program to produce the images that are shown on the page. Here is a screenshot of the program when first launched,

MHA Program Screenshot

The large grid is the drawing area and has the same number of squares laid out in the same arrangement as the pixels on the LCD. If I fill in a few of the squares and choose the option to produce the hexadecimal representation of the image, I see the following,

MHA Program Screenshot

At the top left of the image, I have drawn a line of 8 pixels. On the 4th column of the image, I coloured in the topmost pixel. When the hex is produced, the first code is FF. In denary, this is 255, in binary 11111111. The 4th element of the hex array is 01, or 1 in denary, or 00000001 in binary.

Binary Pattern Layout

So the pattern is described in bytes, starting from the top left of the display. The first byte represents the state of the 8 pixels in the top left of the screen, with the place values arranged from bottom upwards. The next byte represents the 8 pixels one space to the right of the first byte and so on. After 84 bytes have been described, you start again at the left of the display with another upside down byte and carry on until you have the whole display.

Programming The Arduino - Writing Text

Bitmaps are all well and good, but writing some text on the screen is likely to be more useful. In order to do this, the bitmap patterns of all of the characters need to be defined. Thanks to the contributors of the Arduino Playground, there is a font described.

#define PIN_SCE   7
#define PIN_RESET 6
#define PIN_DC    5
#define PIN_SDIN  4
#define PIN_SCLK  3

#define LCD_C     LOW
#define LCD_D     HIGH

#define LCD_X     84
#define LCD_Y     48

static const byte ASCII[][5] =
{
 {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00} // 20
,{0x00, 0x00, 0x5f, 0x00, 0x00} // 21 !
,{0x00, 0x07, 0x00, 0x07, 0x00} // 22 "
,{0x14, 0x7f, 0x14, 0x7f, 0x14} // 23 #
,{0x24, 0x2a, 0x7f, 0x2a, 0x12} // 24 $
,{0x23, 0x13, 0x08, 0x64, 0x62} // 25 %
,{0x36, 0x49, 0x55, 0x22, 0x50} // 26 &
,{0x00, 0x05, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00} // 27 '
,{0x00, 0x1c, 0x22, 0x41, 0x00} // 28 (
,{0x00, 0x41, 0x22, 0x1c, 0x00} // 29 )
,{0x14, 0x08, 0x3e, 0x08, 0x14} // 2a *
,{0x08, 0x08, 0x3e, 0x08, 0x08} // 2b +
,{0x00, 0x50, 0x30, 0x00, 0x00} // 2c ,
,{0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08} // 2d -
,{0x00, 0x60, 0x60, 0x00, 0x00} // 2e .
,{0x20, 0x10, 0x08, 0x04, 0x02} // 2f /
,{0x3e, 0x51, 0x49, 0x45, 0x3e} // 30 0
,{0x00, 0x42, 0x7f, 0x40, 0x00} // 31 1
,{0x42, 0x61, 0x51, 0x49, 0x46} // 32 2
,{0x21, 0x41, 0x45, 0x4b, 0x31} // 33 3
,{0x18, 0x14, 0x12, 0x7f, 0x10} // 34 4
,{0x27, 0x45, 0x45, 0x45, 0x39} // 35 5
,{0x3c, 0x4a, 0x49, 0x49, 0x30} // 36 6
,{0x01, 0x71, 0x09, 0x05, 0x03} // 37 7
,{0x36, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x36} // 38 8
,{0x06, 0x49, 0x49, 0x29, 0x1e} // 39 9
,{0x00, 0x36, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00} // 3a :
,{0x00, 0x56, 0x36, 0x00, 0x00} // 3b ;
,{0x08, 0x14, 0x22, 0x41, 0x00} // 3c <
,{0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14} // 3d =
,{0x00, 0x41, 0x22, 0x14, 0x08} // 3e >
,{0x02, 0x01, 0x51, 0x09, 0x06} // 3f ?
,{0x32, 0x49, 0x79, 0x41, 0x3e} // 40 @
,{0x7e, 0x11, 0x11, 0x11, 0x7e} // 41 A
,{0x7f, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x36} // 42 B
,{0x3e, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x22} // 43 C
,{0x7f, 0x41, 0x41, 0x22, 0x1c} // 44 D
,{0x7f, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x41} // 45 E
,{0x7f, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x01} // 46 F
,{0x3e, 0x41, 0x49, 0x49, 0x7a} // 47 G
,{0x7f, 0x08, 0x08, 0x08, 0x7f} // 48 H
,{0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x41, 0x00} // 49 I
,{0x20, 0x40, 0x41, 0x3f, 0x01} // 4a J
,{0x7f, 0x08, 0x14, 0x22, 0x41} // 4b K
,{0x7f, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40} // 4c L
,{0x7f, 0x02, 0x0c, 0x02, 0x7f} // 4d M
,{0x7f, 0x04, 0x08, 0x10, 0x7f} // 4e N
,{0x3e, 0x41, 0x41, 0x41, 0x3e} // 4f O
,{0x7f, 0x09, 0x09, 0x09, 0x06} // 50 P
,{0x3e, 0x41, 0x51, 0x21, 0x5e} // 51 Q
,{0x7f, 0x09, 0x19, 0x29, 0x46} // 52 R
,{0x46, 0x49, 0x49, 0x49, 0x31} // 53 S
,{0x01, 0x01, 0x7f, 0x01, 0x01} // 54 T
,{0x3f, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x3f} // 55 U
,{0x1f, 0x20, 0x40, 0x20, 0x1f} // 56 V
,{0x3f, 0x40, 0x38, 0x40, 0x3f} // 57 W
,{0x63, 0x14, 0x08, 0x14, 0x63} // 58 X
,{0x07, 0x08, 0x70, 0x08, 0x07} // 59 Y
,{0x61, 0x51, 0x49, 0x45, 0x43} // 5a Z
,{0x00, 0x7f, 0x41, 0x41, 0x00} // 5b [
,{0x02, 0x04, 0x08, 0x10, 0x20} // 5c ¥
,{0x00, 0x41, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x00} // 5d ]
,{0x04, 0x02, 0x01, 0x02, 0x04} // 5e ^
,{0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40, 0x40} // 5f _
,{0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x04, 0x00} // 60 `
,{0x20, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x78} // 61 a
,{0x7f, 0x48, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38} // 62 b
,{0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x44, 0x20} // 63 c
,{0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x48, 0x7f} // 64 d
,{0x38, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x18} // 65 e
,{0x08, 0x7e, 0x09, 0x01, 0x02} // 66 f
,{0x0c, 0x52, 0x52, 0x52, 0x3e} // 67 g
,{0x7f, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x78} // 68 h
,{0x00, 0x44, 0x7d, 0x40, 0x00} // 69 i
,{0x20, 0x40, 0x44, 0x3d, 0x00} // 6a j
,{0x7f, 0x10, 0x28, 0x44, 0x00} // 6b k
,{0x00, 0x41, 0x7f, 0x40, 0x00} // 6c l
,{0x7c, 0x04, 0x18, 0x04, 0x78} // 6d m
,{0x7c, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x78} // 6e n
,{0x38, 0x44, 0x44, 0x44, 0x38} // 6f o
,{0x7c, 0x14, 0x14, 0x14, 0x08} // 70 p
,{0x08, 0x14, 0x14, 0x18, 0x7c} // 71 q
,{0x7c, 0x08, 0x04, 0x04, 0x08} // 72 r
,{0x48, 0x54, 0x54, 0x54, 0x20} // 73 s
,{0x04, 0x3f, 0x44, 0x40, 0x20} // 74 t
,{0x3c, 0x40, 0x40, 0x20, 0x7c} // 75 u
,{0x1c, 0x20, 0x40, 0x20, 0x1c} // 76 v
,{0x3c, 0x40, 0x30, 0x40, 0x3c} // 77 w
,{0x44, 0x28, 0x10, 0x28, 0x44} // 78 x
,{0x0c, 0x50, 0x50, 0x50, 0x3c} // 79 y
,{0x44, 0x64, 0x54, 0x4c, 0x44} // 7a z
,{0x00, 0x08, 0x36, 0x41, 0x00} // 7b {
,{0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0x00, 0x00} // 7c |
,{0x00, 0x41, 0x36, 0x08, 0x00} // 7d }
,{0x10, 0x08, 0x08, 0x10, 0x08} // 7e ←
,{0x78, 0x46, 0x41, 0x46, 0x78} // 7f →
};


void LcdCharacter(char character)
{
  LcdWrite(LCD_D, 0x00);
  for (int index = 0; index < 5; index++)
  {
    LcdWrite(LCD_D, ASCII[character - 0x20][index]);
  }
  LcdWrite(LCD_D, 0x00);
}

void LcdClear(void)
{
  for (int index = 0; index < LCD_X * LCD_Y / 8; index++)
  {
    LcdWrite(LCD_D, 0x00);
  }
}

void LcdInitialise(void)
{
  pinMode(PIN_SCE, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_RESET, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_DC, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_SDIN, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(PIN_SCLK, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(PIN_RESET, LOW);
  digitalWrite(PIN_RESET, HIGH);
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x21 );  // LCD Extended Commands.
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0xB1 );  // Set LCD Vop (Contrast).
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x04 );  // Set Temp coefficent. //0x04
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x14 );  // LCD bias mode 1:48. //0x13
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x0C );  // LCD in normal mode.
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x20 );
  LcdWrite(LCD_C, 0x0C );
}

void LcdString(char *characters)
{
  while (*characters)
  {
    LcdCharacter(*characters++);
  }
}
void gotoXY(int x, int y)
{
  LcdWrite( 0, 0x80 | x);  // Column.
  LcdWrite( 0, 0x40 | y);  // Row.

}
void LcdWrite(byte dc, byte data)
{
  digitalWrite(PIN_DC, dc);
  digitalWrite(PIN_SCE, LOW);
  shiftOut(PIN_SDIN, PIN_SCLK, MSBFIRST, data);
  digitalWrite(PIN_SCE, HIGH);
}

void LcdBitmap(char my_array[]){
  for (int index = 0 ; index < (LCD_X * LCD_Y / 8) ; index++)
    LcdWrite(LCD_D, my_array[index]);
}

void setup(void)
{
  LcdInitialise();
  LcdClear();
  gotoXY(0,0);
}

void loop(void)
{
  LcdString("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz");
  while (true)
  {
  }
}

The array that is used to define the font is purposely designed to mirror the ASCII codes for the characters. The first 32 ASCII characters are non-printing, so the array starts after them. Each time a character is converted to its pixel representation, a subtraction is used to account for this offset.

You can display a lot of text on the screen. You get 6 rows of characters and 12 columns. Careful with writing more text than will fit, the program is not adapted for that. Best to think carefully about what is on screen at any time and make sure it doesn't overflow.

Challenges

There is a lot that you can do with a little display like this, particularly given the number of Arduino pins you have left to use.

Making Fonts, Bitmaps & Tools

Making bitmaps and defining fonts are time-consuming activities. Any tools that can simplify the process are useful. You could write a program like I did to make the hexadecimal code for the bitmaps. You could also achieve a similar effect with a spreadsheet. Alternatively, you could always work out the bitmap by hand.

Displaying Data From A Project

The display gives you some nice options for output from an existing project. A clock or stopwatch would work nicely. You could also add temperature or other sensor readings.

Menu System

You could make a nice menu system with the display. Either use a range of pushbuttons (one for each option) or use a rotary encoder and pushbutton combo for the user interface. The rotary encoder option is the most interesting - it involves selecting an option and then pressing a button. That requires more changes to the display to make the menu work but is a nice approximation of an old ipod wheel. Perhaps you could play some different tunes with a buzzer as the outcome of the menu selections.