DIY Aquarium Touchscreen Controller

[bigd603]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

Plugging in the code is the easy part; making it play nice with everything else is the hard part

Haha, yeah I bet. That's the fun part too. I will keep you posted on my struggles/progress.

Correction: I meant to say once I have a have a better grasp, not you. Seems like you got a real good handle on everything.

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[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by bigd603

Haha, yeah I bet. That's the fun part too. I will keep you posted on my struggles/progress.

Correction: I meant to say once I have a have a better grasp, not you. Seems like you got a real good handle on everything.

Not at all I just started coding last October.

I haven't touched that project for awhile since I'm working on another pet project

[Grimnokk]

ok. Question for you guys. I just bought this and plugged everything in and hooked it up to my computer. Upon plugging in the unit to the USB port the screen does not power up. I also have a 9vdc 650ma wall adapter, so I tried that as well. Still nothing. I noticed that there is a pot on the side of the shield, so I thought maybe this was a dimmer pot. I have adjusted it in both directions and nothing happens. So I unhooked everything and then loaded the Blink sample code. That worked just fine.......

So do I have a bad LCD unit? Bad Interface Board? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Grimm

[Darkblade48]

Those units do not always work straight out of the box and require some code tweaking first.

Since you mentioned that the Blink sketch works, then it is not a problem with your Mega, nor any of the USB drivers that need to be installed for the Arduino to work.

Do you have all the correct libraries installed for the TFT Touchscreen LCD? What Arduino IDE version are you using? There are some libraries that only work with the alpha versions of Arduino, while some libraries only work with IDE versions 1.0 and up.

[Grimnokk]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

Those units do not always work straight out of the box and require some code tweaking first.

Since you mentioned that the Blink sketch works, then it is not a problem with your Mega, nor any of the USB drivers that need to be installed for the Arduino to work.

Do you have all the correct libraries installed for the TFT Touchscreen LCD? What Arduino IDE version are you using? There are some libraries that only work with the alpha versions of Arduino, while some libraries only work with IDE versions 1.0 and up.

Using Arduino 1.0.3
Library trying to use is this one. Was trying to run the UTFT_Demo_320x420

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by Grimnokk

Using Arduino 1.0.3
Library trying to use is this one. Was trying to run the UTFT_Demo_320x420

Did you follow the instructions in these two lines of the code?

// Uncomment the next line for Arduino Mega
//UTFT myGLCD(ITDB32S,38,39,40,41); // Remember to change the model parameter to suit your display module!

[Grimnokk]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

Did you follow the instructions in these two lines of the code?

Yes. It looks just like what you quoted.

UTFT myGLCD(ITDB32S,38,39,40,41);   // Remember to change the model parameter to suit your display module!

[Darkblade48]

Normally, with the wrong code, the screen will just stay white (at least that shows it is being powered).

Is your screen, at the very least, showing a blank, white screen?

Also, you may want to check that the controller Sainsmart uses is compatible.

[Grimnokk]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

Normally, with the wrong code, the screen will just stay white (at least that shows it is being powered).

Is your screen, at the very least, showing a blank, white screen?

Also, you may want to check that the controller Sainsmart uses is compatible.

NO the screen is completely black. Doesn't look like there is any power.

How would I check to see if its compatable? I cant seem to even find this combination on their website. But I was sold through amazon as a complete kit...... so I am not certain where to even begin.

By the way Darkblade, thanks for taking the time to try and help.

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by Grimnokk

NO the screen is completely black. Doesn't look like there is any power.

How would I check to see if its compatable? I cant seem to even find this combination on their website. But I was sold through amazon as a complete kit...... so I am not certain where to even begin.

By the way Darkblade, thanks for taking the time to try and help.

The first step before even checking for controller compatibility with the library is to get the unit powered.

Just to clarify, you have the Arduino powered through USB, sketches such as blink work fine, and you have the LCD plugged into the LCD shield, and which is in turn, plugged into the Arduino Mega?

I also assume all the pins are lined up and stuff, and nothing silly like that is happening?

Edit: You also mentioned that you tried adjust the pot on the shield; try turning it one way or the other to see if you get a white screen.

[Grimnokk]

Yes Arduino is powered through USB and even tried the wall plug adapter. THe sketch Blink works. The LCD is plugged into the shield, then shield plugged into Arduino. No there are no bent pins or anything silly like that. Have spun pot in both directions and there is nothing. A blank black screen.

[Darkblade48]

The only other thing that I could of think of then would be that one of the traces/pins might be loose.

Checking with a multimeter would tell you quickly if this is the case (test all the pins and all the connections). You could also use it to check to ensure that the shield is actually supplying the LCD with power.

The following are the specifications for the iTeadStudio shield, but perhaps you can use it as a starting point for the Sainsmart shield (they are all very similar).

http://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/...y-for-arduino/

[Grimnokk]

Well it appears that my touch screen is DOA.

I have an 8 point relay module. If I take the 5V from the mega board to the VCC and then take gnd of the mega board and touch on of the signal pins for a realy, it operates the relay just fine.

Now if I take those same two connections from the mega and touch them to Pin 1 (GND) and pin 2 (5v) the touch screen wont even power on. I even tried it with the 3v3 voltage just to see. Nothing.......

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by Grimnokk

Well it appears that my touch screen is DOA.

I have an 8 point relay module. If I take the 5V from the mega board to the VCC and then take gnd of the mega board and touch on of the signal pins for a realy, it operates the relay just fine.

Now if I take those same two connections from the mega and touch them to Pin 1 (GND) and pin 2 (5v) the touch screen wont even power on. I even tried it with the 3v3 voltage just to see. Nothing.......

I am not sure which pins you are connecting it to (which pins are pin 1 and 2; the pins of the shield? The LCD?)

Also, the LCD requires 3.3V, not 5V. You may have inadvertently fried something.

However, if it is indeed DOA, Amazon has a good return policy, from what I understand.

[mistergreen]

Invest in a multimeter. It's great at debugging circuits. RadioShack has a cheap one.

It does sound like a loose connection.


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