3 ms·

Displays We Love Hacking: SPI and I2C

64 points by rcarmo 3y ago

userbinator 3y ago
This means that you will hardly ever see a color display with an I2C interface Statements like this make me assume the author of this article may be very young, as in the early 2000s tons of mobile phones and media players had colour LCDs with I2C interfaces, including famous Nokia models such as the 6100. 128x128, 132x132, 176x128, and similar sizes with 4k and later 64k colours was very very common. Some devices could play video on them too. Edit: there is a somewhat de-facto standard for these small graphic displays and their instruction sets, split between "Philips clones" and "Epson clones", much like the HD44780 did for character displays: https://web.archive.org/web/20150912171758/http://wiki.s1mp3.org/LCMControllers https://web.archive.org/web/20150912171758/http://wiki.s1mp3...
- the__alchemist 3y ago
  The modern Chinese maker stuff is color too.
  - engineer_22 3y ago
    Can you provide example?
    - the__alchemist 3y ago
      ssd1331
- TD-Linux 3y ago
  Those were all SPI-alike, or at least run in their SPI mode, including the ones linked. (I also used a Nokia 6100 LCD back in the day, and it was SPI, though with a wider interface option).
- pc486 3y ago
  To be fair, I believe the author is addressing a beginner audience for inexpensive displays commonly found today. These modern small displays have about 7 times more pixels than those older Nokia ones, which means the bandwidth to drive them in monochrome is the same as driving the color Nokia displays. The advice of "if color, start with SPI" is simple and mostly correct. Good enough for a target audience of engineers just starting with hardware.
demondemidi 3y ago
Following the instructions isn’t really “hacking”. I was hoping for an explanation how to get better performance out of these displays by bypassing the spi/i2c because the parallel interfaces are horribly documented.
- benj111 3y ago
  Every hacker has to start somewhere. No doubt they will report it when someone does all this stuff.
- ProllyInfamous 3y ago
  In 2009, I created a bespoke SSD adapter by combining three pre-existing products. An article in hackaday bestowed the title "Hacker" to me, and I readily accepted it... but at the end of the day it was "just building with Legos," in my head. However, such tinkering/MacGuyverism helped me to develop professionally, crafting several genuine "hacks," a few of which I'm (not?) ashamed to admit are still in-use. [1] Life is about attitude, and fostering creativity/"hacking" should never be poo-poo'd. ¢¢ [1] Just as stupid construction example: I renovated a historic home in Hayward, Calif... when we couldn't find a time-appropriate doorlatch, I repaired the 100+ year old [damaged] unit using a shortened piece of reciprocating saw blade as the new spring. This door still operates as re-installed, over fifteen years later.

64 points by rcarmo 3y ago

This means that you will hardly ever see a color display with an I2C interface Statements like this make me assume the author of this article may be very young, as in the early 2000s tons of mobile phones and media players had colour LCDs with I2C interfaces, including famous Nokia models such as the 6100. 128x128, 132x132, 176x128, and similar sizes with 4k and later 64k colours was very very common. Some devices could play video on them too. Edit: there is a somewhat de-facto standard for these small graphic displays and their instruction sets, split between "Philips clones" and "Epson clones", much like the HD44780 did for character displays: https://web.archive.org/web/20150912171758/http://wiki.s1mp3.org/LCMControllers https://web.archive.org/web/20150912171758/http://wiki.s1mp3...

the__alchemist 3y ago
The modern Chinese maker stuff is color too.
- engineer_22 3y ago
  Can you provide example?
  - the__alchemist 3y ago
    ssd1331
TD-Linux 3y ago
Those were all SPI-alike, or at least run in their SPI mode, including the ones linked. (I also used a Nokia 6100 LCD back in the day, and it was SPI, though with a wider interface option).
pc486 3y ago
To be fair, I believe the author is addressing a beginner audience for inexpensive displays commonly found today. These modern small displays have about 7 times more pixels than those older Nokia ones, which means the bandwidth to drive them in monochrome is the same as driving the color Nokia displays. The advice of "if color, start with SPI" is simple and mostly correct. Good enough for a target audience of engineers just starting with hardware.

demondemidi 3y ago

Following the instructions isn’t really “hacking”. I was hoping for an explanation how to get better performance out of these displays by bypassing the spi/i2c because the parallel interfaces are horribly documented.

benj111 3y ago
Every hacker has to start somewhere. No doubt they will report it when someone does all this stuff.
ProllyInfamous 3y ago
In 2009, I created a bespoke SSD adapter by combining three pre-existing products. An article in hackaday bestowed the title "Hacker" to me, and I readily accepted it... but at the end of the day it was "just building with Legos," in my head. However, such tinkering/MacGuyverism helped me to develop professionally, crafting several genuine "hacks," a few of which I'm (not?) ashamed to admit are still in-use. [1] Life is about attitude, and fostering creativity/"hacking" should never be poo-poo'd. ¢¢ [1] Just as stupid construction example: I renovated a historic home in Hayward, Calif... when we couldn't find a time-appropriate doorlatch, I repaired the 100+ year old [damaged] unit using a shortened piece of reciprocating saw blade as the new spring. This door still operates as re-installed, over fifteen years later.