Hi everyone. I recently got a sample LCD from Purdy Electronics
http://www.purdyelectronics.com/products/displays/intchar.cfm (please use wisely
) and have been trying to connect it to the $50 robot.
My problem is that I need to use 4 consecutive ports ie. PB0 - PB3. This is a requirement of the library I'm using which can be found here
http://extremeelectronics.co.in/avr-tutorials/using-lcd-module-with-avrs/. I could use the C port but I would have to sacrifice most of my ADC ports then.
So this is the question: can I use ports PB0 - PB3 which are currently being used to connect the hardware programmer? I know I'm not going to use the programmer while using the LCD, but I would have to configure port PB3 as output since PB0 - PB2 are currently not being used. So, changing PB3 to output would interfere with the programmer?
I forgot to mention, I'm using an ATmega8. I'm also open to new ways to achieve this. If you know of another library or a better way of doing this, please shout out!
BTW, the LCD is huge!!! It's almost an inch wider than my bot. It measures 4 1/2" by 1 3/4" by 3/5". But as we used to say in Cuba: "a caballo regalao' no se le mira el colmillo" ("Don't look a gift horse in the mouth")
Thanks.