Hello everyone,
I simply need 12 LCDs that can be controlled with LabVIEW. I have concluded that I2C will be the best method for this communication. This is my first exposure to I2C and even programming LCD's, so please bear with me. These LCDs will not have bi-directional or complicated communication. They are simply used for changing labels for buttons on a control panel, so there will be only writing to the LCDs. All I have to do is simply have the user type in a label in a string control, such as "continue" and send that string to the LCD for display. Since my communication is simply writing strings to displays, I believe there should be no I2C scripting and only I2C basic should be used. I haven't ordered, but have settled on the USB-8451. My LCDs that I plan on using are found here https://www.newhavendisplay.com/nhd0216k3zfsrgbfbwv3-p-5736.html?number_of_uploads=0. This LCD has a built on controller which can be found here https://www.newhavendisplay.com/app_notes/PIC16F690.pdf. I chose this LCD because I need red, yellow, and green backlit displays and a 16x2 size. The issue with this display is that it does not support 10 bit addressing, which if I have understand correctly. Will provide issues knowing that there are only 3 chip select bits in a 7 bit address, allowing for only 8 devices on a single I2C bus. I have seen solutions such as using the DIO ports to give additional addressing for devices. I could use help in the execution of that idea or I would love recommendations on other ways to solve this addressing issue. I am also unaware of how to translate the basic I2C write VI found in the examples to multiple displays. In the attached VI below I have my sorry attempt. From my understanding having one property node to define the NI hardware and then having a configuration property node for each display would then allow you to define unique addresses and send unique information. If I2C is not the best method for this kind of communication then please make me aware of better methods.
Thank you in advance for the answers and the time, I can really use the help
