Ribbon Cable Adapters for LCD Modules
For readers of my series of introductory articles on the PICAXE-18X published in Nuts and Volts magazine, this page presents a step-by-step description of the construction of the Breadboard to ribbon cable adapter mentioned in Part Two of the series.
If you are not a Nuts and Volts reader, you can purchase the February 2007 issue (available around February 1, 2007 at bookstores and newsstands), which contains Part Two of the series. Better yet, subscribe to Nuts and Volts Magazine - it contains many interesting and informative articles on microcontrollers and related electronic topics.
(Portions of this page are presented with permission of Nuts and Volts.)
Click on any of the thumbnails below to see a larger photo
Parts List for an adapter for a 16-pin ribbon cable with 8x2 female IDC connectors:
(All of the following parts are available on this site - see the navigation links on the left.)
Stripboard: (Need a small piece with 8 traces of 4 holes each - can cut with a hacksaw)
40-pin breakaway male header: (Need two pieces of 8 pins each).
10-pin breakaway male headers: (Need two pieces of 8 pins each). These are the ones that are inserted through the stripboard from the top and into the breadboard. therefore, the pins must be at least 0.32 inches long because some length on the pins is used up in penetrating the stripboard.
This is the tricky step! What you need to do next is to sever each of the 8 traces in the middle, i.e., across each trace between the two middle holes of each. There are a few ways to do this:
a.) use a small triangular file and file through each trace
b.) use a small (sharp) exacto-type knife to cut out a thin slice in the middle of each trace
c.) use a dremel or other small rotary tool with a flat-bottomed router bit and (carefully!)
use the corner of the bit to slice through each trace. Warning, it's extremely easy
to destroy a stripboard this way (trust me - I know!) - practice first on scrap pieces.
d.) use the same small router bit with a "micro engraver" tool such as the
WeCheer WE248 available at
Texas Wood Carvers (part #1540115) and elsewhere.
These tools are less powerful (and therefore less error-prone) than rotary tools.
Again, practice first!
Break off two 8-pin pieces of the shorter male header
(S1012E-36-ND, 0.23 in. x 0.12 in.). Clean the trace side of the stripboard with a plastic "scrubbie" and insert the 0.23 in. ends of both 8-pin pieces into adjacent rows of a breadboard to hold them in place.
Place the small piece of stripboard (trace side up) on the protruding 0.12 in. of the pins so that the pins are inserted in the middle two holes of each trace. The cut you just made in the stripboard should run between the two rows of pins.
Solder the two headers to the stripboard and trim the excess pin lengths from the trace side of the board.
Break off two 8-pin pieces of the longer male header
(S1042E-36-ND, 0.23 in. x 0.42 in.).
Use a small screwdriver to remove the stripboard from the breadboard (pulling by hand can bend the pins) and insert the 0.42 in. ends of both 8-pin pieces through the remaining holes in the stripboard from the top side to the trace side. You may need to slightly file or sand the sides of the black plastic bar (which holds the pins together) in order for the four headers to all sit vertically. (Some headers require this - others don't.) The longer end of the pins should be pointing in the opposite direction of the previously soldered headers, i.e., they should protrude through to the trace side of the stripboard. (All four black bars should be on the non-trace side of the board.)
Reinsert the adapter into 4 adjacent rows on the breadboard so that the stripboard traces are on top, and the four black plastic bars are sandwiched between the stripboard and the breadboard. Solder the 16 pins to the stripboard.
Use a small screwdriver to again remove the adapter from the breadboard and trim the pins from the outside rows of the non-trace side of the stripboard. Snip the pins right where they emerge from the black plastic bar.
The adapter on the left of the photo has not yet had its pins snipped; the one on the right has been snipped.
This is a photo of a completed adpater with a short piece of 16-pin ribbon cable connected to an LCD with a 8x2 male header installed.
Notice that the two 8x2 female IDC connectors have been attached in opposite directions in this case.
Variations on the theme
Bottom: The adaptor we just constructed is shown inserted into the 16-pin ribbon cable that came attached to this LCD.
Top Right: This adaptor was constructed using an 8X2 female header in the center two rows of holes, so the 8x2 male header on the LCD is inserted directly without using a ribbon cable.
Top Left: Instead of an adapter, this LCD uses a short piece of 16-pin ribbon cable with a 16-pin DIP connector on one end and an 8x2 female IDC connector attached to the 8x2 male header on the LCD. This cable was constructed by purchasing a short ribbon cable with a DIP connector on each end (Digikey #C6PPT-1618G-ND, catalog p. 27; used to jumper between IC sockets), cutting it in half, and attaching an 8x2 female IDC connector to the cut end of each piece.