Products	Support	Sales	Company
Find by:   Product   Site Area   Part#   =Deactivated== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select==== ====Select====

Serial Displays

Using the serial port of your computer or microcontroller to drive a text or graphics display makes good sense. It saves 6 to 16 I/O lines and a lot of tedious programming. We pioneered this idea six years ago with our original LCD Serial Backpack®, and we're continuing its evolution with new displays targeting your application.

Our quick-selection guide appears below. For more information on any unit, click the links in the righthand column of the table. Additional information is available through the following links:

Serial Display Selection Guide

All of our displays are available for immediate delivery from stock.

Product	Features	Photo	Info Links
BPK-000 LCD Serial Backpack® Serial Interface for Alphanumeric LCDs	• Fits any LCD up to 80 characters • 2400/9600 bps • < 1mA current draw • LCD-based protocol	size 71 x 36mm (2.8 x 1.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
BPI-216 Supertwist 2x16 LCDs with Backpack-Protocol Serial Interface	• LCD w/serial interface • 2400/9600 bps • Lowest current draw • LCD-based protocol	size 80 x 36mm (3.2 x 1.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
ILM-216L Advanced 2x16 Serial LCD with EEPROM, switch inputs	• One-piece design • 1200-9600 bps • Terminal-style protocol • 4 switch inputs • Software-controlled LED backlight • Custom screen, settings in EEPROM • Right alignment feature • Lowest OEM pricing	size 80 x 50mm (3.2 x 2.0 in.)	More Info Pricing Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
BPP-420L 4x20 Serial LCD with backlight, terminal protocol	• 2400/9600 bps • Big-character mode (0-9, A-Z) • Terminal-style protocol • Right alignment feature • Software-controlled LED backlight	size 98 x 60mm (3.9 x 2.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
BPP-420VY 4x20 Serial LCD inverse mode, yellow backlight	• Same specs as BPP-420L above • Inverse mode (light-on-dark) LCD • Always-on backlight • Software-controlled bright mode	size 98 x 60mm (3.9 x 2.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
BPP-420VR 4x20 Serial LCD inverse mode, red backlight	• Same specs as BPP-420L above • Inverse mode (light-on-dark) LCD • Always-on backlight • Software-controlled bright mode	size 98 x 60mm (3.9 x 2.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
TRM-425L 4x20 Serial LCD Terminal backlight, keypad input, EEPROM	• 1200-9600 bps • All features of BPP-420L.. • ..plus 16-key matrix keypad input • 95-screen EEPROM memory • Compact 4x20 LCD	size 77 x 47mm (3.0 x 1.9 in.)	More Info Pricing Manual (html)
VFD-420 4x20 Serial VFD vacuum fluorescent with terminal protocol	• 2400/9600 bps • Big-character mode (0-9, A-Z) • Terminal-style protocol • Software-controlled brightness • Right alignment feature • VFD version of BPP-420L	size 98 x 60mm (3.9 x 2.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (html)
VFD-220 2x20 Serial VFD	• 2400/9600 bps • Terminal-style protocol • Software-controlled brightness • Right alignment feature		More Info Pricing Manual (html)
BPP-440 4x40 Serial LCD with backlight, terminal protocol	• 1200-9600 bps • Big-character mode (0-9, A-Z) • Terminal-style protocol • Software-controlled LED backlight • Right alignment feature	size 190 x 55mm (7.5 x 2.2 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (pdf)
SGX-120L G12032 Serial Graphics LCD with scalable font	• 2400/9600 bps • 120x32-pixel graphics • Terminal-style protocol • Software-controlled LED backlight • EEPROM storage of 6 screens • Editable font: 6x8-pixel characters • Font scalable to four sizes	size 80 x 36mm (3.2 x 1.4 in.)	More Info Pricing Wiring Specs (pdf) Manual (html)

Overview of Serial Display Capabilities by Series

BPK-, BPI- Series (text)

Our original serial interface for LCDs, the LCD Serial Backpack^® (BPK-, BPI- series), initializes the LCD, converts serial data to the LCD's parallel format, and provides a simple mechanism for passing instructions to the LCD. This elegant simplicity pays off in low current draw (< 1 mA) and versatility.
 

ILM-, BPP-, VFD-, and TRM Series (text)

Our advanced text-mode interfaces work like serial-receive terminals. Linefeeds, tabs, carriage returns and other common control characters work just as you expect. Other control characters handle display-specific jobs like positioning the cursor, controlling the backlight, right-aligning text for spreadsheet-style formatting, etc. The TRM- series has all these features, plus matrix-keypad input, EEPROM storage of full screens of text (95 screens in TRM-425L), and temperature-compensated contrast.
 

SGX- Series (text + graphics)

Some applications require graphics. There are tricks you can do with alphanumeric displays to simulate graphics, but they run out of steam pretty quickly. Our SGX- series displays take the easy-to-use terminal protocol of our BPP- series displays and add graphics. You can plot points, draw lines, and store full-screen graphic images in non-volatile memory for instant display. Create screens and fonts in a Paint program and download them to the display.