I got the 3.5" TFT last week, and fired it up. Using the online instructions was pretty straight forward
and had it going in no time. Used it with both Pi's but ended up using the B+ in the end. No need for RCA
and like the microSD slot and 4 usb ports.
Using FreePascal / Lazarus I was able to get my first program wrote in the first few hours of owning
the setup. Wrote it directly on the Pi it self was interesting but a bit slow. I found it much easier to
my Windows machine and CodeTyphon (spin off flavor of FPC/Laz) and cross compiled for the Pi
and made some scripts to FTP it over and Putty script to setup the permissions.
So far I am highly impressed with the TFT. While the resolution is not super high, its good enough. Refresh speed is quick.
Once calibrated the touch works pretty well. I had some old Nintendo DS pens laying around and using that,
I can get much more precise. Kinda like using it as get much better clicking on those tiny controls in Raspian
on this.
My project is to have this used in a drag race car setup. To have in line of sight. I have a HP Windows tablet
running a software I wrote years ago to talk to my vehicle. It displays all kinds of great info talks to another serial
based sensors, ect. Does alot of work, but its bulky and mounted out of sight down where the radio was. Well, once
you are strapped in, helmet on, ect. All these nice gauges and toys mounted around don't mean much anymore.
You have limited movement, staging and launching, your watching the tree... and then down the track at 130+ MPH
your looking straight. No time to looking down or to left or right at the other gauges in the car.
So this guy will sit in line of sight and display some limited info during my staging of the car to make sure I am launching
the car at my desired optimal readings. Boost, power enrichment mode, target air fuel. Plus I'll be able to flash a
"Hey dummy, I sense engine knock retarding for whatever reason, let off the gas so you don't blow up" type deal :)
The Windows tablet will communicate via WIFI ADHoc to tell this what to do on the screen. My Pi program just receives
a set of commands to setup objects on the screen and fill in text, what color to be, things like that. Pretty easy stuff.
Since there is no case yet made for the B+ and this TFT, for now I just hacked up the box the Pi came in and mounted
everything in there. Cheap looking but will do the job for now until I fab up something a bit more robust out of fiberglass.
Video of one of my standalone program tests, pretty simple and short. Just a small windows program to send over
random dummy info to check the wifi / screen speed @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUZOaRn5-PY
In the end, I am giddy about this and how easy it has been. The Pi and the TFT and everything just went together so
well, and there is enough info out there that getting it all setup and going was super fast and simple.
One of my next future projects I have in my head, is to use this to talk to my serial devices directly, and eventually remove the
Windows machine out of the works. I only have the Windows machine, as I need this to talk to the hardware and the software
to reprogram and edit the cars computer. I have to use it, so it can't go anywhere. So the Pi setup is a companion box.
But I figured out how to edit the PCMs binary files and read/write the cars PCM years ago, just never got around to finishing up my
own editor tool. So this gives me a reason to do so to make my own small hand held device to do it all.
Soooo.. in the end. HUGE fan of the Pi and so far a big fan of Adafruit!
