September 24, 2019 by Reginald Watson
Learn how to interface the STM32 Blue Pill with a 16x2 character LCD module using Arduino IDE.
The STM32F103C8T6 module, also known as the Blue Pill module, is a very pocket-friendly alternative to the Arduino. In projects where you want to use a lot of cheap boards, these boards come in handy.
I previously covered the basics of getting started with the Blue Pill module, which showed you how to integrate the board into Arduino IDE. Check out that article before proceeding to this tutorial.
In this tutorial, I will show you to set up the Blue Pill with a 16x2 character LCD, which can be used in a variety of your projects.
LCDs are probably the most popular visual feedback devices used in projects. Whether you’re building an MP3 player project and want to show the name of the track being played or creating a quadcopter console that displays flight telemetry, this tutorial will come in handy for working with the Blue Pill.
The LCD module used in this tutorial.
In addition to 16x2, you can find 20x4 character displays (four lines of 20 characters each). Green-black and blue-white are the most popular colors for these displays. There are also other variants that have a graphic display with a resolution of 128x64 pixels.
An example of a 128x64 pixel LCD graphic display.
This character 16X2 LCD has 16 pins, shown in the diagram and table below.
LCD module pinout
Pin | Name | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vss | Power | GND |
2 | Vdd | Power | + 5V |
3 | Vee | Contrast Adj. | (-2) 0-5V |
4 | RS | Command | Register Select |
5 | R/W | Command | Read/Write |
6 | E | Command | Enable (strobe) |
7 | D0 | I/O | Data LSB |
8 | D1 | I/O | Data |
9 | D2 | I/O | Data |
10 | D3 | I/O | Data |
11 | D4 | I/O | Data |
12 | D5 | I/O | Data |
13 | D6 | I/O | Data |
14 | D7 | I/O | Data MSB |
We will only be using 10 pins from this set to interface with our Blue Pill board. if you want to explore more about these LCD displays, check out How to Connect an LCD Display to Your Arduino.
FTDI programmer
STM32 "Blue Pill"
Wire up the hardware as shown in the diagram below.
Connecting the STM32 to the FTDI programmer.
Connecting the LCD module to the STM32.
Use the connections table below to help guide you along with the Fritzing diagrams above.
LCD Pin Number | LCD Pin Name | STM32 Pin Name |
|---|---|---|
1 | GND | Ground (G) |
2 | Vcc | 5V |
3 | Vee | Ground (G) |
4 | Register Select (RS) | PB11 |
5 | Read/Write (R/W) | Ground (G) |
6 | Enable (EN) | PB10 |
7 | DB0 | No Connection |
8 | DB1 | No Connection |
9 | DB2 | No Connection |
10 | DB3 | No Connection |
11 | DB4 | PB0 |
12 | DB5 | PB1 |
13 | DB6 | PC13 |
14 | DB7 | PC14 |
15 | LED Positive | 5V |
16 | LED Negative | Ground (G) |
The hardware all connected.
You will need a USB to UART converter for connecting this board to the Arduino. Again, the steps for hooking that up can be found in detail in Getting Started With the Blue Pill.
Copy the code found in a Zip file at the end of the article into Arduino IDE and, before uploading the program, make sure that the boot 0 jumper is set to 1 as shown in the image below. Then press the reset button.
I love challenging myself by creating new projects using different microcontrollers to see what I can come up with.
July 20, 2023 by Mark Tacatani
August 06, 2022 by Mirko Pavleski
July 31, 2022 by Ajanth Badiger
July 30, 2022 by Mirko Pavleski
July 26, 2022 by Alex Miller
July 20, 2023 by Mark Tacatani
August 06, 2022 by Mirko Pavleski
July 31, 2022 by Ajanth Badiger
July 30, 2022 by Mirko Pavleski
July 26, 2022 by Alex Miller
