Ok, some of you might know that lately I've been working on a LCD display so I can be easily notified when someone is trying to get a hold of me and I cannot see the item on the screen. One thing I am doing that is a bit different than some of the other methods for controlling a HD44780 based LCD is I am hooking it up directly to a centronix 36pin female connector, so that way, I can use any printer cable to connect it, or a Belkin F5U002 USB adapter, where as most people, just hook up the standard Dsub 25pin male connector directly to the LCD.
For the most part, it is no more difficult to use a Centronix connector than hooking directly up to the 25 pin connector. Pins 1 through 14 on the centronix are treated the same as Pins 1-14 on the 25pin. The changes come in after that. Pin 15, on what would be the 25pin connector, is pin 32 on the centronix adapter, pin 16 goes to pin 31 on the centronix, and pin 17 goes to pin 36 on the centronix. Pins 18-15 on the 25 pin connector are for ground, and on the centronix, the grounds are 19 through 30. Knowing that, its drop dead easy to wire up the Centronix adapter instead, and in my opinion, you end up with a nicer, more professional setup.
