Braincraft HAT won't display anything

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jshcad
 
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Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

I recently bought a Adafruit BrainCraft HAT and I have been trying to get it to display any sort of video on the built in display but it isn't showing anything. I have followed the https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-bra ... le-install to a letter, including doing the 'advanced' kernal update. I have tried rolling it back in regards to the kernal version as well, nothing. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

Are you on the current Pi OS release?

Which model of Pi?

Which install did you use (easy / advanced)?

Did you notice any error messages or warnings while running the install scripts?

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jshcad
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

Sorry for the late reply.

I am running a rpi 4b with 8gb ram.

I did the advanced install with the original kernal, and then I did the advanced install with the downgraded kernal and still no console or anything on the system. The dotstar LEDS work, the audio works, the backlight works, but nothing is displaying on the screen.

In regards to the install there were no errors at all.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

@jshcad,

Thanks all good info.

Can you take two photos of the Braincraft HAT 1) top and 2) bottom. I would like to make sure the display looks connected properly. Ideally without the fan in the way.

As far as the Pi OS you are using. Is it the console mode version or the full graphical release? I have seen the TFT displays have a slightly higher success rate on the console (no-X) version of Pi OS.

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jshcad
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

Oh I am running the 32 bit pi os without the graphical interface, all console all the time.
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

Great photos.

It looks like there yellow ribbon connector might be able to be inserted a littlebit deeper. Can you pull on the black locking tab and try to re-seat the connector then lock it again in place? I put a red square around the area of concern.
69D5D4C0-D5B0-4677-B945-FEA7587DE91F.jpeg
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jshcad
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

Still nothing. Here is it reseated as well as the display with the hat plugged in and powered on. This pi is running the software with the directions followed.
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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

Can you try "the easy way" page with the python only script example. I think that should be a quick tell of if the unit needs to be replaced or we need to focus on what might have gone wrong with the advanced install script setup.

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-1-3 ... thon-setup

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jshcad
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

Hey. So I tried the 'easy' way and still nothing at all. The screen is just blank with only the backlight lit up.

Is there anything else I could try?

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

Last things to verify:

1) What was the purchase date of the Braincraft HAT and was it from Adafruit?

2) Please confirm that via raspi-config or Prerences --> Pi Configuration --> Interfaces that SPI and I2C are enabled.

3) attach your /boot/config.txt

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jshcad
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

Good morning,

I purchased it directly from Adafruit on July 21, 2021.

Yes the interfaces are enabled.

Code: Select all

# For more options and information see
# http://rpf.io/configtxt
# Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details

# uncomment if you get no picture on HDMI for a default "safe" mode
#hdmi_safe=1

# uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
# and your display can output without overscan
#disable_overscan=1

# uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
# goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
#overscan_left=16
#overscan_right=16
#overscan_top=16
#overscan_bottom=16

# uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus
# overscan.
#framebuffer_width=1280
#framebuffer_height=720

# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
#hdmi_force_hotplug=1

# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
#hdmi_group=1
#hdmi_mode=1

# uncomment to force a HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
# DMT (computer monitor) modes
#hdmi_drive=2

# uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
# no display
#config_hdmi_boost=4

# uncomment for composite PAL
#sdtv_mode=2

#uncomment to overclock the arm. 700 MHz is the default.
#arm_freq=800

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
dtparam=spi=on

# Uncomment this to enable infrared communication.
#dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17
#dtoverlay=gpio-ir-tx,gpio_pin=18

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on

[pi4]
# Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
max_framebuffers=2

[all]
#dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
enable_uart=1
start_x=1
gpu_mem=128
dtoverlay=i2s-mmap
dtparam=i2s=on

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

Looking at what our script used to inject into the /boot/config.txt:

Code: Select all

hdmi_force_hotplug=1
dtparam=spi=on
dtparam=i2c1=on
dtparam=i2c_arm=on
dtoverlay=drm-minipitft13,rotate=0,fps=60
It is odd to me that the dtoverlay line above is not in there. I you want to try adding this chunk at the bottom of your /boot/config.txt that would be interesting to see the results from.

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jshcad
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by jshcad »

Ah. Well that's because that was the boot file from the 'easy' display driver install. The advanced install has inserted that code in the boot file. Still nothing.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Braincraft HAT won't display anything

Post by mikeysklar »

@jshcad,

Okay, I think we have tried many options with no progress so let's try a hardware swap.

Plese e-mail [email protected] requesting a repalcement Braincraft Hat. Include your order# and a link to this forum thread.

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