SK40C + LCD help!!

[chaos64]

Hi, I have a SK40C with a PIC18F4520. I have soldered the LCD onto the board and am using the UIC00B to program the pic. I downloaded the sample LCD code from the cytron website but only the LED's are working correctly. The LCD shows nothing when I burn the hex using the PICKit 2 software. The configuration bits are correctly set in code and are the same in the PICKit 2 application. The solder job is fine, my partners made sure not to damage the board. We used a female header on the board, and the male header on the LCD and simply plug in the 16 pins. I need help as soon as possible so I can continue working on my senior project. The only thing I can think of is if the solder job was lousy, although the backlight works fine. Any help is appreciated.

-Mike

[Idris]

It is better if you can post the picture of your hardware and your problem. At least we are not wrong to imagine your problem.
Sample LCD code from Cytron using PIC18F4520?

[chaos64]

Yes I am using the same sample LCD code for the PIC18F4520.

Here are some pictures of my set up:


The jumper is for the backlight..

We soldered the female header to the board so we can plug the LCD into it easily instead of soldering it directly to the board.

[ABSF]

Did you try to check the solder joints on the LCD with an ohm meter? May be 2 adjacent joints are shorted as your joints have too much solder.

BTW where did you buy the Radio Shack breadboard?

Allen

[chaos64]

I could take closer pictures, but from looking at it, the solder job looks fine. What should I expect to see on an ohm meter if I hook it up to the LCD?

Obviously the Radioshack breadboard is from Radioshack.

[ABSF]

Did you try to check the solder joints on the LCD with an ohm meter? May be 2 adjacent joints are shorted as your joints have too much solder.

Eyes can be deceiving sometimes. Remove power for SK40C. With the LCD plugged in, set the ohmmeter to X1 range (analog) or buzzer mode (digital). Measure pin 1 against pin 2 then pin2 against pin3 and so on .... until pin 16. If you see the meter swing to zero or the buzzer buzzes, then you'll know what I mean.

Allen

[chaos64]

Eyes can be deceiving sometimes. Remove power for SK40C. With the LCD plugged in, set the ohmmeter to X1 range (analog) or buzzer mode (digital). Measure pin 1 against pin 2 then pin2 against pin3 and so on .... until pin 16. If you see the meter swing to zero or the buzzer buzzes, then you'll know what I mean.

Allen

If the LCD is plugged in, where am I taking the measurement from? The only exposed metal is the solder.

[Idris]

Like Allen said, just measure between pin1<>pin2, pin2<>pin3, pin3<>pin4, ..... , pin15<>pin16. If the buzzer turn ON, then there have a short circuit.

[chaos64]

Like Allen said, just measure between pin1<>pin2, pin2<>pin3, pin3<>pin4, ..... , pin15<>pin16. If the buzzer turn ON, then there have a short circuit.

Take the measurements from placing the probes on the solder?? If I unplug the LCD there are exposed pins from the male header that is soldered to the LCD, but when it's plugged into the female header that is soldered to the board, there are no places to take measurements from...

[ABSF]

Take the measurements from placing the probes on the solder?? If I unplug the LCD there are exposed pins from the male header that is soldered to the LCD, but when it's plugged into the female header that is soldered to the board, there are no places to take measurements from...

OK, then unplug the LCD. Measure all the LCD male pins then measure all the female pins on the soldering side.
Or you can read the schematics of SK40C to find out which are the pins on the turned-pin socket that correspond to the lcd pins. I'm too lazy to open the schematics for you.

Allen