How to display 5×8 and 5×10 size font characters on 16×2 lcd with 8-bit microcontrollers

Character lcds can display character of font size 5x8 and 5x10. In 5xn, 5 represents number of coulombs and N represents number of rows. Character lcd's especially which are controlled by Hitachi HD44780 controller can display 5x8 and 5x10 size font character. Some lcd's can only display character in 5x8 font. In this project i am going to teach you how to display characters of font size 5x8 and 5x10 on character lcd?

If you are newbie and don't know about internal structure of character lcd and how to interface it with microcontrollers? Than i suggest you you first take the getting started with lcd tutorial.

• ​Getting started with 16x2 lcd.
• How to display text on 16x2 lcd?

As you know first we have to initialize the lcd that we are using (8x1, 8x2, 8x4, 16x1, 16x2, 16x4, 20x1, 20x2, 20x4, 24x1, 24x2, 24x4, 32x1, 32x2, 40x1, 40x2, 40x4). By initialization I mean 

• Should the cursor appears on lcd or not? If appearing, whether it should be blinking or normal?
• What should be the size of character-font appearing on lcd (5x8, 5x10)?

To learn about lcd initialization standard commands go through the simple tutorial below. 

• Commands for lcd initialization- Simple tutorial.

We are going to discuss only commands that are related to character size Font-matrix in this tutorial. To initialize character lcd we have to send commands to command-register of lcd. All the commands are 8-bit in nature. For Initializing character font size, 8-bit commands individual bits represents.

• DL selects lcd mode. 8-bit or 4-bit. Don't know Go through the tutorial(Lcd in 4-bit and 8-bit mode)
• N selects if lcd contains 2 rows or 1.
• F selects character font size. (5x8 or 5x10)

Now if I have a 16x2 lcd and i want to initialize its Character font to be 5x10 my command will be.

Standard Lcd Commands for 5x10 Display

Now i am going to display characters on lcd in 5x8 and 5x10 font. I am going to print it on lcd using two different microcontrollers. Microchip pic16f877 and 8051(89c51,89c52) microcontroller. 

• You can display 208 characters in 5x8 font and 32 characters in 5x10 font. Total ASCII characters present in HD44780 lcd controller are 240. In which 208 are in 5x8 font and 32 are in 5x10 font. 
• In CG-RAM you can create 8 custom characters at a time in 5x8 font and 4 custom characters in 5x10 font. Don't know about CG-RAM and custom characters? Go through(CG-RAM & custom characters generation and display)

See the difference in the same characters in same row, marked against red and green star. red star represents 5x8 font size character and green represents same character with 5x10 size font. Picture taken from hd44780 controller data sheet.

Displaying 5x10, 5x8 font size Characters on character lcd Using PIC16f877 Microcontroller.

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Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough...