NOKIA LCD MODULE FOR PROJECTS AND ARDUINO IN INDIA

2. Hardware The Nokia LCD Module uses a Philips PCD LCD driver, which is designed for mobile phones. Nokia LCD Module 84X48 with backlight 2.1. Operation at 3.3V Many devices that can be used with an Arduino, require a power supply of 3.3V. This is also the case with the Nokia . The best way to deal with 3.3V devices is to take an Arduino Pro, which can run on 3.3V.  Thanks to the internal clamp of the PCD we can use a very simple level shifter. Four current limiting resistors of 10kΩ can do the job. When an LCD control line is high, the current through the 10kΩ resistor is just 40uA, so this is harmless. Note that we can't read back from the LCD with this circuit. 2.2. Operation at 5V Because VDD max = 7V, the PCD controller can handle 5V, but the Nokia LCD works best at 3.3V. The four resistors of 10kΩ avoid streaks on the LCD display. Connecting Nokia LCD to Arduino with 3 wires Note that the Arduino SPI pins 11 and 13 are used to allow hardware SPI. 2.3. PCD supply current versus supply voltage PCD supply current versus supply voltage 2.4. Using the control lines The Nokia LCD has 5 control lines; the interface is of the type SPI. Mostly, when no other SPI devices are used, the chip select can be connected to the GND, so 4 control lines stay over. To save Arduino pins, there is an option to use only 3 control lines, while the Nokia reset pin is connected to the Arduino reset. This works only when the serial monitor is used, not with a standalone Arduino. 2.5. Auto reset circuit An option is to generate a reset pulse on power up automatically, with a RC combination, to save one control line to the Arduino. However, I found out that this solution is poorly reproducible; the proper functioning depends for instance on the capacitor across the 3.3V supply. Also the Arduino can't be used with the serial monitor anymore. 2.6. Nokia LCD with different connector wiring Not all Nokia LCDs are the same. Although they look identical, the connector wiring can be completely different. 3. Software 3.1. Improved PCD library Limor Fried from Adafruit has created a library which can be download at  github. I have changed the library a little bit, you can download it  here.  Changes: Solved problems with bad LCD contacts. Added clear() and init(), for compatibility with older library versions. Unzip the library and place it into the Arduino library folder like this: /libraries/Adafruit_PCD. For troubleshooting see  HERE. Also install the  Adafruit_GFX  library