So I picked this up from a local electronics store, it was on sale for 10 bucks less than retail and it was the last 2 they had, and I liked the backlight color so I took it.
Problem now is that I can't get it to properly interface with the Arduino kit I have. Below are 2 links, the first is the back of my LCD module, the second is of one I saw online and noticed some differences even though it's the same manufacture model. Mine seems to be missing some headers at the top right corner, seems to have a 16 MHz crystal not seen on the online one, and other random resistors and capacitor placements that one has and the other doesn't... (I don't know if any of this matters, just not trying to leave anything out)
I read somewhere on the boards here that I need to use I2C or RS232 to interface with the LCD properly but either I did something wrong or I just don't know what I'm doing because when I connect the +5V, GND, TX and RX the LCD module starts typing random gibberish on the display, regardless of if I upload something to it through the Arduino. I also noticed with the TX and RX plugged into the Arduino and LCD module, the brightness decreases significantly to the point where it's hard to see anything on it. With just the +5V and GND plugged in, it looks just fine and doesn't type random gibberish. Any help or guides that can be thrown my way would be helpful. I'm still new to this whole Arduino and LCD Display scene so sorry if i sound like a complete noob, but it's been years since I took an electronics class and I'm trying to remember what I can but yea...
Thanks in advance to any replies