Adafruit
RGB backlight positive LCD 20x4 + extras [black on RGB]
This 20×4 character LCD features black text on a full-colour RGB backlight that you can set to any colour — red, green, blue, purple, teal, white, and everyt...
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This 20×4 character LCD features black text on a full-colour RGB backlight that you can set to any colour — red, green, blue, purple, teal, white, and everything in between. It's the most daylight-readable character LCD available and looks strikingly good at any colour or brightness level.
A drop-in upgrade for existing 20×4 LCD projects — the standard pinout works as-is (appearing black-on-red), with two additional pins (17 and 18) for green and blue LED control. On-board resistors allow direct 5 V logic drive at approximately 40 mA per LED (two LEDs at 20 mA each).
Key Features
- Full RGB Backlight – Mix any background colour by driving red, green, and blue LEDs independently
- 20×4 Character Display – 80 characters across 4 rows
- Excellent Daylight Readability – Black characters on bright, positive-mode background
- Drop-In Compatible – Standard HD44780 pinout works with existing LCD projects
- On-Board Resistors – Drive directly with 5 V logic, no external resistors needed
Specifications
- Display – 20×4 characters, black on RGB
- Backlight – RGB LED (pins 16, 17, 18)
- LED Current – ~40 mA per colour (2× 20 mA LEDs per colour)
- Logic Level – 5 V
- Interface – Parallel (HD44780 compatible)
Ideal For
- Arduino and CircuitPython display projects
- Upgrading existing character LCD setups with colour
- Status displays with colour-coded alerts
- Interactive projects with dynamic backlight effects
Package Contents
- 1× 20×4 RGB Backlight LCD
- 1× 10 kΩ contrast potentiometer
- 1× Header strip
Resources
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- CircuitPython
- A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
- 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.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode (LED) is a small electronic component that emits light when current flows through it in the correct direction. Because it only conducts one way, its polarity matters, and a through-hole LED must be soldered the correct way around to light up.
- potentiometer
- A variable resistor usually turned with a knob or shaft to create an adjustable electrical signal. It is often used for inputs such as volume, brightness or position, so it helps beginners learn how a microcontroller reads changing values.
- RGB
- Short for red, green and blue, the three primary colours of light that are mixed in varying amounts to make a wide range of colours. In electronics RGB can refer to an LED or pixel that blends these three colours, or to a colour signal or interface that carries separate red, green and blue channels.
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