I have a Super Starter Kit from Elegoo with an LCD1602 module. I tried inserting its pins directly into the breadboard as mentioned in several tutorials, but the pins just won't fit. However, Dupont jumper cables do seem to fit in the breadboard, although somewhat loosely. I have managed to make this work for now using female-female square jumper cables connected to male-male Dupont cables (I only have male-male Dupont cables), but it has become very messy. Is there any way to make the LCD module fit directly in the breadboard? Would it be safe to force it?
Post closu-up, well lit and focussed pictures of the lcd's pins and your breadboard.
My lcd have standard 0.1" spaced header pins soldered to them, with the long part of the pins pointing down/behind the screen. They fit into my breadboards no problem. But I think my breadboards are pretty good quality, made by K&H.
I use LCDs with 0.1" pin headers in breadboards quite often with no trouble. It does take a bit of force to insert them, though.
For whatever reason, I cannot add attachments here - it keeps telling me an error has occurred when I try to save it. However, this Amazon page should show what the breadboard and display look like.
OK, so some detail needed.
Are the pins already soldered to the display?
If so, they are likely more-or-less the right size. If they fit into your female fittings (and what exactly are these "square jumper cables" that you describe and are not "Dupont") then they almost certainly will fit into the breadboard, but you will require considerable force to insert them as there are 16 of them simultaneously. Do not touch the LCD display itself as you press the board down.
And it is the case that a for cheap breadboard as you have, the positions into which you insert them may be a trifle loose in future when you insert something other than the same sort of header pins,
ysthakur:
For whatever reason, I cannot add attachments here - it keeps telling me an error has occurred when I try to save it.
You may be attempting to attach a photograph that is too large, or an inappropriate image format. Should be ".png" or ".jpg".
If that is the kit you purchased, then the pins should already be soldered to the lcd. I see the kit also comes with a smaller breadboard intended to be stuck onto a proto-shield, in addition to a larger breadboard. Which breadboard are you attempting to insert the lcd to?
Attaching pictures: in addition to Paul__B's points, I have also noticed that the forum will refuse ".JPG" (capital letters) and ".JPEG" / ".jpeg". If your pictures have names like that, just rename them.
Components with pcb header pins, especially a large number of pcb header pins, like an Arduino Nano or lcd, can require quite some force to insert them into a breadboard, especially a brand new breadboard. Breadboards do become "looser" with use. (Eventually, with excessive use or abuse, they can become so loose that they no longer make good contact with component legs.) So you can carefully try using a little more force. But by hand only, do not use any tools.
PaulRB:
But by hand only, do not use any tools.
Not even the vice?
Actually, the advantage of using the vice is that you have fine progressive control of the insertion and it holds the two parts exactly parallel. You can have the jaw bearing only on the soldered part of the header pins without stress on the PCB.
Paul__B:
the advantage of using the vice is that you have fine progressive control of the insertion
True, but also makes it very easy to exert far more pressure than with fingers, so i would say only try that if all else fails. First we need pictures of your components indicating how you have tried to insert them, just in case you are trying to do something "dumb" or there is some fault with the components that we can spot.
Have you tried pushing a male dupont pin into each of the holes you were trying to insert the lcd? Do they all feel OK? You should need to apply slightly more pressure to begin, as the spring contacts open, but then less pressure as the pin smoothly slides fully in. If any holes do not feel like that, maybe the contacts behind them are bent or damaged.
I think the problem is most likely the moulding of the plastic around the holes, making them a little too small. Once the pcb header pins have been pushed in for the first time, the holes will widen a little and make it easier to insert into those holes in future. Pcb header pins have a square cross-section, making them wider than round male dupont pins.
I apologize for not coming back to this question earlier, and for mixing up terminology - I was referring to the Dupont wires as square jumper cables, and to breadboard jumper wires (with roundish plastic parts near the ends) as Dupont wires, and only realized after looking at the parts list more closely.
I have tried inserting Dupont wires into the breadboard, and they did not fit after I exerted as much force as I safely could. However, they do fit into the two rows on both ends for VCC and ground., whereas the breadboard jumper wires fit loosely there. It's starting to seem as if the breadboard was specifically designed for those roundish wires, as they seem to be smaller than the Dupont ones and fit properly in the breadboard, even though they don't go all the way in.
Thanks to PaulRB's and Paul__B's comments, I've attached a photo of the round breadboard wires (which I was mistakenly calling Dupont wires).
the round breadboard wires (which I was mistakenly calling Dupont wires).
Those aren't Dupont wires? Excuse my ignorance, I don't use them much, except for connecting components that can't be plugged directly into the breadboard, and I avoid buying those where I can.
Your first picture is not showing for me. The second shows wires that won't plug into the breadboard in the third picture? The breadboard looks OK, but I'm beginning to suspect it has a manufacturing fault.
If you're wondering, I prefer to buy components, and versions of modules, which will plug into breadboards directly, and use solid core wire to connect them, cut to length and laid flat to the breadboard.
Okay, it appears I am still misunderstanding what Dupont wires are. I'm probably the ignorant one here, so I've added another attachment to my first post that should describe the wires better than I can.
The round ones on the left are the ones that do fit in the breadboard and were labelled "Breadboard Jumper Wire" in the box I got. The square ones on the right don't fit in the middle of the breadboard, and were labelled "Female-to-Male Dupont Wire" in the box I got. However, the square wires (and the pins of my power supply module) fit perfectly in the VCC and ground rows at both ends, which is odd.
Your idea of cutting solid core wire sounds promising - I will try that if I can get my hands on some wire.
And sorry for the top two images - those are attachments that I unchecked, but I am still trying to find out how to get rid of them.
The round ones are indeed, not "Dupont" wires and while useful, are more prone to faulty manufacture and not working in my (limited) experience. You need to test them by zig-zagging them back and forth across a breadboard to different columns (5 point groups) so they are in a series chain and connecting to a resistor and LED in series (or the backlight of your display) from the supply. They are mostly sold in bundles of 65 as I cited in another thread.
The Dupont wires in the square housing absolutely should fit in a breadboard, but note that the "bus" rows along the top and bottom of the breadboard have the clips turned 90° to the columns. The Dupont pins will likely fit easily if you turn them a quarter turn to insert. Nevertheless they and indeed the header pins to the LCD should fit in the breadboard.
The solid core wire in question is most readily available as discarded street telephone cable if you see the technicians working somewhere.
Thank you for clarifying that the round wires are not Dupont wires. You were also right about turning the wires before inserting - all I had to do to fit the square head wires was turn them and then add a bit of force (although that's probably just because the breadboard is new). I must have been trying the wrong angle all this time, even though I had a 25% chance of getting it right.
I've managed to get a power supply module (which is very small, with four pins on each side) to fit in the middle of the board after moving it to the right side. However, the LCD module, which has too many pins for me to place perpendicular to the breadboard, still doesn't fit because I can't turn it to the right positions (which is likely one of the 2 positions perpendicular to the breadboard). I suppose I'll just have to suck it up and use Dupont wires from the controller to the breadboard and from the breadboard to the display.
And thanks for the tip on obtaining solid core wire.
Unlike the Dupont pins, the PCB headers on the LCD are square in cross-section and it should make no difference, to the required force, which orientation they are pushed in. I suspect it is because there are 20 of them that is making it more difficult.
Here is how I built a circuit with an LCD plugged into a breadboard:
Yes. Single-core coloured wires.
Yes. Wires in straight lines.
Yes. Neatly arranged.
I would prefer long single-core wires that are neatly bent at right angles instead of multiple "short jumps". e.g. LCD_DB0 is routed with four jumps. LCD_EN is routed with three jumps.
Yes. You get some crossovers but right angle lines work well in schematics. A yellow wire crossed over with a green wire is unambiguous.
I am guessing that you have a KS0108 128x64 connected to Wemos board via two SPI shift registers.
Which shows just how complicated a parallel LCD is compared to an SPI ST7920.
David.
Correct David. I did not intend to hijack the OP's topic by discussing a circuit of my own, just wanted to show the OP another way of working with breadboards. But, yes, ks0108 lcd are a pain, especially with an MCU with limited pins. Having proved to myself it could be done with 2 x 74hc595, and later 2 x pcf8574, finally I just purchased a backpack containing an mcp23017!
I think it is an excellent example of a neat breadboard.
i.e. single-core wires in straight lines.
Regarding KS0108 and ST7920 I would be interested in your views --- but in a new thread.
David.
For whatever reason, the pins only go in when at 1 specific angle, and since my breadboard is thin (two 5-row columns), I cannot try two of those angles, because the LCD pins wouldn't fit. I'm attaching a photo of the LCD display with the breadboard. The power supply module is also on the breadboard, and fits properly on that side. The slots on the breadboard seem to align properly with the LCD's pins too, so that doesn't seem to be the problem (I tried shifting it around, tried a bunch of different places on the board, but got the same results).
Okay, right after that last reply, I turned the power supply module around and realized that it worked that way too. I tried a several other spots, and it didn't fit both ways everywhere, but it did in many places. I suspect the places where it did fit were where I'd tried putting in stuff more often in the last week or so.
After this, I also moved the LCD around and put lot more force than I had before (hopefully, I haven't broken anything), and it finally fit in the breadboard! It only works in the first row after the buses for now, but that's probably just because it's the one with the most wear. It's also rather tight and nearly impossible to get out, but that'll probably get better later.
Thank you, PaulRB and Paul__B for all your help! I'm sorry to have wasted your time instead of just waiting a few days and forcing the LCD in.