Normally driving an LCD requires seven connections to pins on the display, but by using a shift register, [Phillip Warner] at Arduino Playground was able to drive an LCD using only 3 wires. The method ...

This hack is a bit older, but one aspect of the setup makes it worth sharing. Shift registers are a common component to include in a project when you need to increase the number of I/O pins available.

The ubiquitous LCD (and VFD) modules based on the HD44780 controller IC can require up to 12 lines from the host. This hardware interface Design Idea reduces the connection to just one wire, allowing ...