..... said dmitri" When you connect pin 3 of the LCD to the ground you set LCD contrast to the maximum and black boxes in the top raw should stand out straight away. If they don't, your LCD is faulty. If they do, your Atmega is not working properly."
so this means... if you do see black boxes on the top row, the atmega is not working properly? Is it possible that the atmega's data lines are faulty? is there any way to check this (ignore other possibilities for now i.e. short circuits and all)
other thing i noticed.... i was just testing the continuity between the pins 4, 6, 11, 12 , 13 , 14 (data lines), there is actually very little continuity. i am guessing, there gates inside the atmega chip is linked resulting in some connection.
Finally here is my problem... i am using synthex's 2.8v schematic with the trimmer pot... i am able to see black boxes on top row, no VU meter though. I thought the lcd was faulty so i replaced it with a new one, still no change. The atmega is programmed. I got a PCB etheched so i guess the connections are correct. I hope i provided with enough info.