
Get Started With 3.5β LCD for Raspberry Pi
The 3.5 inch LCD Display is directly pluggable into a Raspberry Pi and perfectly fits various Pi models from B+ to Raspberry Pi 3B+. It is a brilliant alternative for an HDMI monitor. When set up, it behaves as a human-machine interface enabling the user to prototype with the Raspberry Pi device anywhere at any time.
Features:
- 480x320 hardware resolution with 8:5 aspect ratio
- Typical current consumption within 110-150 mA with a 5V supply
- High-quality immersion gold plating
- Resistive touch control
- Simple installation procedure described below
Installation:
It is very easy to set up the display by installing an LCD driver on your Raspbian OS. It requires only 3 commands to be run on the terminal.
Β
After setting up your Raspberry Pi, connect the LCD Screen to your RPi as shown below
Β
Β
1. Display works on SPI communication protocol so you have to enable SPI interface
Menu>Preferences>Raspberry Pi Configuration>Interfaces; click βEnabledβ for SPI
Or
type sudo raspi-config in the terminal, go to Interfacing Options, select SPI and enable it, click on Finish Β to close the configuration menu
Β
2. Restart your RPi to make sure that the configuration changes have been updated
Β
3. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl-Alt-T or by clicking on its icon located in the RPi taskbar at the top
Β
4. Update your libraries, just for good practice
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
Β
5. Download the drivers from Github
git clone https://github.com/goodtft/LCD-show
Β
6. Go inside the driverβs directory
cd LCD-show
Β
7. List all the files in this folder to find the LCD35-show file (Just for good practice)
Β
8. Convert the file into an executable using super-user
sudo chmod 755 ./LCD-show
Β
9. Run the executable
sudo ./LCD35-show
(if the command is not being executed, run Β sudo chmod 755 ./LCD-hdmi)
Β
10. RPi Β will restart after running the program and your LCD will display the desktop
Β
11. Switching back to HDMI Monitor:
Β
If you want to switch back to an HDMI monitor from the LCD screen, the process is also very simple.
1. Every library also includes a file to revert back to HDMI
Β
2. Go into the directory of the library
cd LCD-show
Β
3. List all the files to find LCD-hdmi fileΒ
ls
Β
4. Convert this file into an executable
sudo chmod 755 ./LCD-hdmi
Β
5. Run the executable to view your Raspbian desktop from an HDMI monitor
sudo ./LCD35-hdmi
Β
Like the previous time, Raspberry Pi will restart to switch to HDMI
We hope that this helps you, explore more and learn more.