Arduino Mega 2560 and 3.2 tft lcd sainsmart with shield blank screnn

thunderbear · February 18, 2016, 8:27pm

Hi noob here with arduino, tryng to run UTFT 320x240 demo on my 3.2 tft lcd screen with its shield. The program compiles and uploads just fine but the screen just remains blank and doesnt run demo. what should I do? I already changed the model parameter for my display module and the board and port are already set up.

bodmer · February 18, 2016, 9:46pm

Hi,

Post a link to the display so we can see what you have. There are a number of reasons why a display won't work:

Wrong Voltage and/or logic levels driving the display
Wrong driver library
Incorrect configuration of library (pins used, interface used (SPI/parallel 8/16 bit) driver, screen size etc)
Incorrect connections between Arduino and display
Backlight LEDs not powered
Display not reset correctly

When all these are right the displays work providing they have not been damaged in some way by badly connecting it up at some point in the past. So we need to know what your setup is because not many forum users are clairvoyant.

Sploddy · February 18, 2016, 11:19pm

The Sainsmart 320x240 TFT Screen with SD Card and Shield has probably caused more headaches than any other board. I regrettable bought one and eventually got the demo to work. However I had a hard drive fail and lost the Sketch I found that actually worked.
Sainsmart totally refuse to respond to questions asked about this board and sites who used carry support like Rinky-Dinke, have a panel in red telling customers not to contact them for support as Sainsmart has plagiarised their software etc. They have removed all support data.

According to the SS website there are a number of PDF files and the UTFT libraries, I have tried them all and none work. Unfortunately I had no back-up of the of the file I had that got it working and cannot remember where I got it. There are a number of YouTube posts showing it working, but no one tells you how and what is necessary to get it working. Even the "mods" in the SS page have no effect.

I understand that the screen requires 3.3V, however if you are directly connecting to the Mega with the SS Shield then the shield is configured to supply the correct voltage to the display.

The suggested UTFT library should be placed in *:/Arduino/libraries/ But there are a large number of UTFT files from differing manufacturers and each seems to have differing parameters according their own products.

As far as I can establish the SainSmart board and shield are "allegedly" ITDB32S compat or the designation SSD1289 can be used - Both these are included in the UTFT.cpp and UTFT.h file definitions. (These files can be opened with Notepad++ as can the UNO files) Other suggestions I have found have been ITDB02_3.2, etc

My issue is that the screen lights up with back light, the Sketches open and compile but when trying to load I get the following error. The files are there and as far as I can see in the right place. You will also note that Arduino IDE also writes temp files in the Application Data folder (Normally hidden)

This is final paragraph of the compile error file I am getting:-

Quote. Using previously compiled file: C:\Users\Dave\AppData\Local\Temp\build2dbd151c9ebd88b118f7d8bbf05f5f27.tmp\libraries\UTFT\DefaultFonts.c.o
Using library UTFT in folder: F:\Arduino\libraries\UTFT (legacy)
GetFileAttributesEx F:\Arduino\libraries\UTFT\UTFT.cpp F:\Arduino\libraries\UTFT\UTFT.h: The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
Error compiling. Unquote.

Any suggestions also appreciated. May this nut can be cracked and resolved as there are many people having these problems with the SS board. The answer seems to be a closely guarded secret.
I have also noted that some of the SS links to data pages have been suspended and now Error 404.

Cheers Dave

Sploddy · February 19, 2016, 1:30am

I decided I must be doing something (or not doing something) right/wrong and went back to square one.

I did a complete re-install of the Arduino IDE and did the following:

Placed a fresh downloaded UTFT.zip file and placed it on the Desktop
Opened Arduino IDE and the default Sketch tab and installed the UTFT.zip file (2nd row in list in include library)
I then checked that the UTFT library was in the list
I then ran the sketch that was displayed in the Arduino IDE panel. Verified then loaded to the Mega - OK no errors
5 The sketch for UTFT_Demo_320X240 then appeared on the screen, this was then verified and loaded - no errors
Viola. One Sainsmart TFT/SD/shield/Mega operational.
Make sure you have the correct Board installed in tools and that the port is selected
The text in the final panel can be edited in the INO file (Make backup first!)
I have tried to make this clear for Newbs (like me) and remember "If you don't succeed at first, Try and Try again"
As mentioned earlier the interface SS Shield supplies the correct 3.3V for this display. There is no need to modify anything.

//Here is the memory Shield. If you do not run this nothing works Just a back lit screen

#include <memorysaver.h>
#include <UTFT.h>

void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

}

//*****END

==================================

// UTFT_Demo_320x240
// Copyright (C)2015 Rinky-Dink Electronics, Henning Karlsen. All right reserved
// web: http://www.RinkyDinkElectronics.com/
//
// This program is a demo of how to use most of the functions
// of the library with a supported display modules.
//
// This demo was made for modules with a screen resolution
// of 320x240 pixels.
//
// This program requires the UTFT library.
//

#include <UTFT.h>

// Declare which fonts we will be using
extern uint8_t SmallFont[];

// Set the pins to the correct ones for your development shield
// ------------------------------------------------------------
// Arduino Uno / 2009:
// -------------------
// Standard Arduino Uno/2009 shield : ,A5,A4,A3,A2
// DisplayModule Arduino Uno TFT shield : ,A5,A4,A3,A2
//
// Arduino Mega:
// -------------------
// Standard Arduino Mega/Due shield : ,38,39,40,41
// CTE TFT LCD/SD Shield for Arduino Mega : ,38,39,40,41
//
// Remember to change the model parameter to suit your display module!
UTFT myGLCD(ITDB32S,38,39,40,41);

void setup()
{
randomSeed(analogRead(0));

// Setup the LCD
myGLCD.InitLCD();
myGLCD.setFont(SmallFont);
}

void loop()
{
int buf[318];
int x, x2;
int y, y2;
int r;

// Clear the screen and draw the frame
myGLCD.clrScr();

myGLCD.setColor(255, 0, 0);
myGLCD.fillRect(0, 0, 319, 13);
myGLCD.setColor(64, 64, 64);
myGLCD.fillRect(0, 226, 319, 239);
myGLCD.setColor(255, 255, 255);
myGLCD.setBackColor(255, 0, 0);
myGLCD.print("* Universal Color TFT Display Library *", CENTER, 1);
myGLCD.setBackColor(64, 64, 64);
myGLCD.setColor(255,255,0);
myGLCD.print("http://www.RinkyDinkElectronics.com/", CENTER, 227);

myGLCD.setColor(0, 0, 255);
myGLCD.drawRect(0, 14, 319, 225);

// Draw crosshairs
myGLCD.setColor(0, 0, 255);
myGLCD.setBackColor(0, 0, 0);
myGLCD.drawLine(159, 15, 159, 224);
myGLCD.drawLine(1, 119, 318, 119);
for (int i=9; i<310; i+=10)
myGLCD.drawLine(i, 117, i, 121);
for (int i=19; i<220; i+=10)
myGLCD.drawLine(157, i, 161, i);

// Draw sin-, cos- and tan-lines
myGLCD.setColor(0,255,255);
myGLCD.print("Sin", 5, 15);
for (int i=1; i<318; i++)
{
myGLCD.drawPixel(i,119+(sin(((i*1.13)*3.14)/180)*95));
}

myGLCD.setColor(255,0,0);
myGLCD.print("Cos", 5, 27);
for (int i=1; i<318; i++)
{
myGLCD.drawPixel(i,119+(cos(((i*1.13)*3.14)/180)*95));
}

myGLCD.setColor(255,255,0);
myGLCD.print("Tan", 5, 39);
for (int i=1; i<318; i++)
{
myGLCD.drawPixel(i,119+(tan(((i*1.13)*3.14)/180)));
}

delay(2000);

myGLCD.setColor(0,0,0);
myGLCD.fillRect(1,15,318,224);
myGLCD.setColor(0, 0, 255);
myGLCD.setBackColor(0, 0, 0);
myGLCD.drawLine(159, 15, 159, 224);
myGLCD.drawLine(1, 119, 318, 119);

// Draw a moving sinewave
x=1;
for (int i=1; i<(31820); i++)
{
x++;
if (x==319)
x=1;
if (i>319)
{
if ((x==159)||(buf[x-1]==119))
myGLCD.setColor(0,0,255);
else
myGLCD.setColor(0,0,0);
myGLCD.drawPixel(x,buf[x-1]);
}
myGLCD.setColor(0,255,255);
y=119+(sin(((i1.1)3.14)/180)(90-(i / 100)));
myGLCD.drawPixel(x,y);
buf[x-1]=y;
}

delay(2000);