Nokia 3310 LCD is still very popular among small embedded projects. It is low power (can run from a single CR2032 motherboard battery) and easy controlled Graphical LCD with 84×48 pixel resolution.
The other well known project based on Nokia 3310 LCD is the Nokia thermometer. It seems that hobbyist’s like this LCD and we should see some other project developed in the future.
I personally like more the Nokia 6100 Color LCD which is more complicated to control. So far I’ve only seen one application with that LCD: it was just showing an RGB picture generated from an AVR.
There are tons of well documented projects about controlling a normal lcd display, but people want more and more. PyroElectro has this cool project based on ATmega microcontroller and a nokia 6100 display. Until now the project was only developed to display a colored square on the LCD, but the possibilities are endless, it just needs someone to develop the code a little more.
I found this project on Kifo’s electronic website and I consider it very accessible to beginners. Although it’s really easy to build, it can be impressive to you and to your friends. Nokia 3310 has a LCD with 84*84 dots, that isn’t that hard to get and can be very useful in DIY (do it yourself) electronics. The LCD supports two modes of operation (normal and inverse); the jumper placed on the back of the device is used for changing modes.Negative temperatures are given a “minus”, the bar shows temperatures normally but with an added minus.
The first thing you need to do is to get yourself a Nokia 3310 and start extracting the LCD. You should be very careful and patient during this process, because as you know the display is just a thin piece of glass that is very sensitive. There is an 8 pin connector on the back of the display, in our case it’s glued to the glass (Nokia 3210 has “rubber” connectors so this one is much easier to use). This is a Phillips PCD8544 display, it can be easily found on the net if you want more information about it.
The next step is making the board which is small and easy to build. You should place some plastic edges on the board so the display rests on them and not on the solder points.
Next step is to assemble the board, and it should look like in this picture. Notice the sensor is in a socket, it is also possible to connect it at distance by wire.For more detailed instructions and downloads of needed files go to Kifo electronic.
