SparkFun
SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Kit
We are quite familiar with seven-segment displays. We see them on our alarm clocks, ovens, and microwaves. By adding more segments to each digit you can disp...
We are quite familiar with seven-segment displays. We see them on our alarm clocks, ovens, and microwaves. By adding more segments to each digit you can display more than just numbers! These fourteen-segment digits allow you to display all sorts of numbers, characters, and symbols. With Qwiic, simply plug it in and go. No soldering, no figuring out which is SDA or SCL, and no voltage regulation or translation required!
The SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Kit comes with two displays, one red and one white. Also included in this kit are 10 standoffs and screws for mounting as well as two Qwiic cables to get up and running as fast as possible. With a wide variety of Qwiic enabled microcontroller boards available we decided not to include one so you could choose the one that fits best with your current project needs. This is the only part you need to supply yourself, so be sure to check the Hookup Accessories below for some suggestions!
The SparkFun Alphanumeric Display Arduino library makes printing strings to the display as easy as calling the print() function. With this library, you'll be able to send I2C commands to the VK16K33 LED driver chip to light up segments (including the decimal point or colon) and even scroll your string across the display. You can download the library through the Arduino library manager by searching 'SparkFun Alphanumeric Display' or you can get the GitHub repo as a .zip file and install the library from there.
The VK16K33 also supports I2C address configuration. Simply close a combination of the address jumpers on the back and you can communicate with up to four displays on the same bus. Our slim board design also features detachable standoff holes, vertical Qwiic connectors, and internal mounting holes.
The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.
Includes:
- 1x Qwiic Alphanumeric Display - White
- 1x Qwiic Alphanumeric Display - Red
- 1x 100mm Qwiic cable
- 1x 50mm Qwiic cable
- 1x Standoff - Nylon (4-40; 3/8"; 10 pack)
- 1x Screw - Phillips Head (1/4", 4-40, 10 pack)
Features:
SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display Features
- Operating Voltage: 3.3V
- Integrated RC oscillator
- Maximum display segment numbers: 128 patterns
- 13×3 matrix key scan circuit
- 16-step dimming circuit
- I2C Addresses: 0x70 (0x71, 0x72, 0x73)
- 2x Qwiic connectors
- 2x Wall Mounting Points
Documents:
- Schematic
- Eagle Files
- Board Dimensions
- Hookup Guide
- Datasheet (VK16K33)
- Qwiic Info Page
- Arduino Library
- GitHub Hardware Repo
Videos
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- Address jumpers
- Address jumpers are small solder pads or links used to change a device’s bus address. They matter when you want to connect multiple identical displays to the same controller without their addresses conflicting.
- LED driver
- An LED driver is a control chip or circuit that supplies and switches power to LEDs. For a display board, it reduces the number of microcontroller pins needed and handles tasks like lighting the right segments and adjusting brightness.
- Matrix key scan
- Matrix key scanning is a way to read many buttons arranged in rows and columns using fewer pins. If a display driver includes this feature, it can potentially handle a small keypad as well as the display, depending on how the board exposes it.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- 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.
- Qwiic
- Qwiic is a plug-in connector system for I2C devices that uses small 4-pin cables, so you can connect compatible sensors without soldering. It matters because your controller or adapter also needs Qwiic, or you will need a cable or breakout to wire it up.
- RC oscillator
- An RC oscillator is a simple timing circuit made from a resistor and capacitor. In a display driver, it provides an internal clock so the chip can refresh the display without needing a separate timing signal from your microcontroller.
- VK16K33
- A chip used to drive LED segment displays and scan simple key matrices. Its presence means the microcontroller does not have to control every LED segment directly, and you communicate with the display using commands instead of many separate wires.
Find this product in
Displays & Screens
STEM & Education
Qwiic Alphanumeric Display Schematic
Schematic · 146.4 KB · Click any page to view full size
VK16K33 Datasheet
Datasheet · 1.2 MB · Click any page to view full size
Supplier page — sparkfun.com
Supplier Description · 531.0 KB · Click any page to view full size
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