LCD Board

[DonFL]

Just got my IO-204 a few weeks ago and playing with some of the additional extras I purchased..still thinking about just what I might ultimately do with it.

One question re the LCD board, need to make sure I'm not over-simplfying.

If I read everything correctly, I should be able to plug the LCD board into a port, and drive it directly with one of the widgets...either the custom message message, or the fixed message widget, where I set the message.

Using an extension cable from IO port to LCD, I get the backlight to come up, but no message. When using the custom message widget, it will show "offline" in the box at times...I know I am online, as all my other widgets work.

I am sure I am missing something obvious..what is it?

[iobridge]

Things to check:

Does a number on the LED display flash when you send the serial data thru the widget?

Is it the same number as the channel that has the LCD?

[DonFL]

Yes to both. I have connectivity, it seems...the message is being sent from dashboard to my control module, as the port number shows whenever i send the message.

I assume the default coding on the widget takes care of any brightness settings? In other words, should be somewhat plug and play?

[jason]

Another thing to check is the contrast setting on the LCD itself.  Try sending some text at the LCD and then using a small screw driver to adjust the contrast until the text appears.

[DonFL]

First question is...could the contrast setting trimmer pot be any smaller?..

I have set it with a good contrast to ensure I am not just missing characters.

Have swapped extender cables, no change.

If I send a message, does the text stay on the display until cleared...or does it disappear?

And you are correct, I haven't had much time to go digging into the details on the LCD, which may answer some of my questions.

Main thing I want to eliminate is whether it is operator error, or a defective LCD.

[DonFL]

Found it.

Everything I had done prior to using the LCd board was I/O...so no need for me to mess with anything at the module level, since it defaults to I/O.

Once I changed the channel I was using for the LCD to "serial", everything worked.

Hopefully next weekend will have some time to dive deeper into the manual on this thing...it is amazing how much it has to offer..a little more than just toggling 5V on and off..