Arduino UNO with TFT Display and free pins.  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Athanasis
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 09:28:00 am
content: Hi guys. I was looking for a way to connect a TFT display to my Arduino and still have free analogue PINS to control in and out. From what I see all such displays come with a shield and they close all the arduino UNO pins.Any solutions out there?Thanks !

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 11:06:48 am
content: Get a Mega.

author: Athanasis
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 11:30:44 am
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on May 25, 2016, 11:06:48 amIsn't there any solution with the arduino UNO? In which way does a TFT display make use of analogue ins / outs anyway?

author: Athanasis
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 11:52:29 am
content: What about this shit guys. Please throw some light. I am sure I can do fucking something with it !+ They call it "Nokia 5110 LCD Module with White Backlight " in ebay... Something with bigger size and resolution would be ok ! Any ideas?

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 12:13:27 pm
content: Quote from: Athanasis on May 25, 2016, 11:52:29 amLanguage!The LCD shield not necessarily uses all the pins, but it has it connected on the shield, because that is how a connector work.You need to post the LCD you want to use. And learn to express yourself nicely.

author: FreddyVictor
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 12:52:03 pm
content: go for one of the cheap TFT LCD screens:128x128or128 x 160they use SPI and only need 5 pins for Write-only (+1 for Read)lots of code available on the weblater you can move on up to the biggeroneswith minimal changes to your code

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 01:10:18 pm
content: Touchscreen display shields tend to use analog pins for the touchscreen, A typical resistive touchscreen needs four I/Os capable of digital output and analog input.You also get idiots who bundle stuff like micro-SD card readers on their display shields without providing an easy way to disable them to regain the pins they use.

author: dferyance
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 03:45:36 pm
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on May 25, 2016, 12:13:27 pmI've used a bunch of LCD shields and I don't know of any that used all the pins. Yeah, many connect them all but that is just for stacking. I like thehttps://www.adafruit.com/products/1651screen but of course it depends on what you want to do with it. If you get something SPI like this, it doesn't use too many pins. This one has a touchscreen controller so you don't need to use any analog pins. I even did some hardware modifications on mine - cutting traces, adding wires - to re-map pins for better use on the Intel Galileo. So if you don't like the connections it makes, you might be able to re-route some of them.

author: Athanasis
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 04:31:17 pm
content: Wowwww. I didn't expect that much help ! Thank you people. Lots of suggestions given. I really appreciate it.Quote from: Ian.M on May 25, 2016, 01:10:18 pmRight. I really don't need the micro-SD card reader at this point. An average screen for some lines and circles is enough for me. I don't even need the "touch" part.Also the adafruit suggestion by dferyance above is a bit expensive. Its not the price, but if you plan to resell your final project you need something really really cheap like the suggestions given by FreddyVictor. Thanks Ian for the info which is good news for me. Come on NANDBlog aboiut the language. We are not kids. Give 1-2 fucks wouldn't harm anyone !!! These forums are liberal enough I think.Thank you friends again !

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 04:43:29 pm
content: QuoteCan you be more specific about which displays you are looking at, and what "close" means?Most displays are designed to be "on top" of a stack of shields, so they don't use stacking connectors, but that doesn't mean that they are actually using all of the pins. You have to connect your other signals to some shield "underneath" the display, and no longer have the luxury of just sticking wires into the connectors. I mean, it's a DISPLAY and it's supposed to look nice! For example, theAdafruit TFT displayspecifically says:Quote

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 07:26:47 pm
content: Quote from: Athanasis on May 25, 2016, 09:28:00 amget SPI tft instead of parallel...http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/2-2-inch-2-2-SPI-TFT-LCD-Display-module-240x320-ILI9341-51-AVR-STM32-ARM-PIC-/311569442127?hash=item488afc654f:g:B2oAAOSwT5tWPHt7

author: Athanasis
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2016, 07:41:05 pm
content: Like said I prefer cheaper generic $3 staff rather than adafruit.