Adafruit
Adafruit I2C Controlled + Keypad Shield Kit for 16x2 LCD
The Adafruit I²C Controlled + Keypad Shield Kit lets you drive a 16×2 character LCD and read 5 navigation buttons using only two I²C pins on your Arduino. Th...
The Adafruit I²C Controlled + Keypad Shield Kit lets you drive a 16×2 character LCD and read 5 navigation buttons using only two I²C pins on your Arduino. This frees up the 9+ digital pins that a standard LCD connection would require, while still allowing other I²C devices to share the bus.
The shield includes 4 directional buttons plus a select button, making it ideal for standalone projects with their own user interface. It supports standard blue/white LCDs as well as RGB backlight LCDs, with the ability to switch between 8 backlight colours (red, yellow, green, teal, blue, violet, white, and off).
Key Features
- I²C Control – Drive the LCD and read buttons using only 2 pins, leaving other pins free
- 5 Navigation Buttons – 4 directional plus select, queryable through the Arduino library
- RGB Backlight Support – Control RGB backlight LEDs for 8 colour options
- Shared I²C Bus – Connect additional I²C sensors, RTCs, and other devices alongside the shield
- LiquidCrystal Compatible Library – Drop-in replacement for the built-in Arduino LCD library
- USA-Made PCB – High-quality shield with all components included
Ideal For
- Standalone Arduino projects with user interface controls
- Menu-driven embedded systems
- Sensor readout displays with navigation
- Learning I²C communication and LCD interfacing
Package Contents
- 1× I²C LCD Shield PCB
- 5× Navigation buttons
- Header pins and all required components
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- LCD
- LCD stands for liquid crystal display, a screen technology that uses a backlight and liquid crystals to show images or text. It matters because LCD modules usually need a display driver and enough controller pins or a bus interface to send image data.
- PCB
- A printed circuit board is a rigid board with copper tracks that connect electronic parts without loose wires. For this kit, the PCBs also form the airplane shape, so they are both the circuit base and part of the finished model.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- RGB
- Short for red, green and blue, usually referring to an LED that can mix those three colours. It matters because controlling an RGB LED teaches how separate outputs combine to create different colours.
- Shield
- An add-on board that plugs into a main controller board to give it extra features such as sensing, motor control or communication. Knowing a product supports shields helps you judge whether it can connect neatly into an existing maker-board setup.
Find this product in
Arduino
Brands
Displays & Screens
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
