I bought an Adafruit LCD kit about a year ago, and I just got around to putting it together. Unfortunately, they use a traditional Arduino Uno in the instructions, and I only own a few SMD editions, on which the header layout is a bit different. I put the kit together, ran some code through it, and all I'm getting is a row of black blocks. Is this a result of differences in layout between the traditional Uno and the SMD edition, or is there an issue with my soldering? Any ideas would be awesome. Thanks!
What happens when you turn the contrast down?
What kit?
It's this one, I'm quite sure
When I turn the contrast down, the blocks just fade.
It's a shield, by the way. Forgot to mention that. That's why I'm wondering about the layout.
What sketch are you using?
You are using I2C address of 0x20 in your sketch?
Show us a picture of you wiring.
... and all I'm getting is a row of black blocks. Is this a result of differences in layout between the traditional Uno and the SMD edition, or is there an issue with my soldering?
The row of black blocks is an indication that the LCD controller is not being initialized properly. The fact that you are using an SMD UNO should not be an issue but your soldering could.
Can you post well lit, in-focus pictures of both sides of your PC board?
Setting the I2C address of 0x20 is handled in the .h file if you are using the Adafruit library so that is not an issue either.
Don