LCD2USB is an open source and open hardware initiative.
LCD2USB is an open source project that was designed to be accessible and affordable. The main goal was to use easily available parts so that anyone could build it without having to source expensive or difficult to obtain components. This is achieved with the use of the Atmel AVR Mega8 CPU that eliminates the need for separate USB controllers or similar equipment. The cost of building this device is only between 5 and 10 Euros, excluding the display and PCB.
The LCD2USB is versatile as it comes with a simple demo application that can work under different platforms including Linux, MacOS X, and Windows. If you are interested in building your own board, the project creator has several spare PCBs which can be requested via email.
To achieve its cost-effective features, the LCD2USB interface leverages several other open source projects, including LCD4LINUX, AVR-USB, USBtiny, and Peter Fleurys LCD routines for the AVR. These projects enable small LCDs to be used with Linux, provide a pure software implementation of USB for the AVR platform, and offer software USB implementation for the AVR, respectively.
The hardware of the LCD2USB is simple and includes an Atmel AVR Mega8 CPU, with 8 KBytes flash and 2 KBytes RAM. The surrounding components are mostly connectors that interface with the PC and the LCD, as well as a power LED indicator that shows when the system is powered via USB. The system clock is derived from a 12Mhz crystal, which is necessary for precise timing when using the software USB implementation.
The latest version of LCD2USB has some improvements, including an added usbtiny based version as per user request, and updates to AVR-USB version 1.07 and USBtiny version 2.07. Overall, LCD2USB is a great project for anyone seeking an affordable and accessible way to build an interface that can work with different platforms.
The LCD2USB is versatile as it comes with a simple demo application that can work under different platforms including Linux, MacOS X, and Windows. If you are interested in building your own board, the project creator has several spare PCBs which can be requested via email.
To achieve its cost-effective features, the LCD2USB interface leverages several other open source projects, including LCD4LINUX, AVR-USB, USBtiny, and Peter Fleurys LCD routines for the AVR. These projects enable small LCDs to be used with Linux, provide a pure software implementation of USB for the AVR platform, and offer software USB implementation for the AVR, respectively.
The hardware of the LCD2USB is simple and includes an Atmel AVR Mega8 CPU, with 8 KBytes flash and 2 KBytes RAM. The surrounding components are mostly connectors that interface with the PC and the LCD, as well as a power LED indicator that shows when the system is powered via USB. The system clock is derived from a 12Mhz crystal, which is necessary for precise timing when using the software USB implementation.
The latest version of LCD2USB has some improvements, including an added usbtiny based version as per user request, and updates to AVR-USB version 1.07 and USBtiny version 2.07. Overall, LCD2USB is a great project for anyone seeking an affordable and accessible way to build an interface that can work with different platforms.
What's New
Version 1.07: N/A