2.4" Featherwing alternative?

[GPirner]

I have taken over the planning for a summer STEAM camp which will culminate in students building a digital namebadge. The project plan was configured using a Feather M0 Basic Proto board and a TFT Featherwing 2.4" screen. Unfortunately, I am finding that the screen is out of stock everywhere. Is there any alternative screen that will work with the M0 Basic Proto?

I'm totally open to suggestions...this part of the camp is a bit outside my area of expertise.

TIA!

[adafruit_support_carter]

Do you require sticking with the FeatherWing form factor? Being a STEM camp, seems like the best option.

There are some other FeatherWing display options:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/3321
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2900
https://www.adafruit.com/product/4650
that might work?

If you don't require a FeatherWing format, then maybe something using an available breakout?
https://www.adafruit.com/category/97
https://www.adafruit.com/category/98

[dastels]

It might be more out of the box than you want (or you already have the Feathers) but the PyBadge is a good platform for that sort of project. And I see that has stock issues as well. It's a tough time to keep things built and in stock. The EdgeBadge https://www.adafruit.com/product/4400 seems to be in stock at the moment.

Dave

[michaelmeissner]

There are various different answers. Note, check other distributors (such as digikey) that may have stock when Adafruit is sold out. And in this season of supply chain issues, try to buy all of the displays you need at the same time (plus extras of course).

Lets see, what featherwing displays are currently available:

• OLED 128x64 (black & white): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4650
• Eink 2.9" (grayscale): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4777
• Eink 2.13" (black & white): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4195
• Pimoroni Enviro + FeatherWing https://www.adafruit.com/product/4674, only 25 in stock
• E-ink 2.13" (black, white, red): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4814, only 64 in stock
• E-ink 2.9" (black, white, red): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4778, only 30 in stock

The Enviro is the most expensive, but has a bunch of sensors on it that may be useful for a Stem session. It is the only color screen available, but the screen is on the small side.

For a badge, I tend to prefer the E-ink displays, since the display will have the same contents if it isn't powered, while the OLED or TFT displays will go blank once you turn off the power. When the battery gets drained, the eink display will still display the last image. All eink displays redraw slow. They are more useful when they are only updated every few minutes. The black & white display should redraw much faster than the grayscale or colored display.

If you just wanted a self contained unit that includes the display there is:

• Magtag (eink grayscale, accelerometer): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4800, 98 in stock
• Funhouse (TFT color display, plus a bunch of sensors): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4985

[GPirner]

There are various different answers. Note, check other distributors (such as digikey) that may have stock when Adafruit is sold out. And in this season of supply chain issues, try to buy all of the displays you need at the same time (plus extras of course).

Lets see, what featherwing displays are currently available:

• OLED 128x64 (black & white): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4650
• Eink 2.9" (grayscale): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4777
• Eink 2.13" (black & white): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4195
• Pimoroni Enviro + FeatherWing https://www.adafruit.com/product/4674, only 25 in stock
• E-ink 2.13" (black, white, red): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4814, only 64 in stock
• E-ink 2.9" (black, white, red): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4778, only 30 in stock

The Enviro is the most expensive, but has a bunch of sensors on it that may be useful for a Stem session. It is the only color screen available, but the screen is on the small side.

For a badge, I tend to prefer the E-ink displays, since the display will have the same contents if it isn't powered, while the OLED or TFT displays will go blank once you turn off the power. When the battery gets drained, the eink display will still display the last image. All eink displays redraw slow. They are more useful when they are only updated every few minutes. The black & white display should redraw much faster than the grayscale or colored display.

If you just wanted a self contained unit that includes the display there is:

• Magtag (eink grayscale, accelerometer): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4800, 98 in stock
• Funhouse (TFT color display, plus a bunch of sensors): https://www.adafruit.com/product/4985

michaelmeissner, I think I am really liking the Eink option. The size isn't drastically different, I just need to reconfigure the 3D printing file for the case. So the key question is: I already have the coding set up to work with the Featherwing, will the same code work largely with this screen? I'm sure there are some adjustments in the color selection codes...

[michaelmeissner]

I believe the 2.9/2.13" eink displays are the same size as the feather board. But obviously check out the specs.

[michaelmeissner]

Oh and the other thing, check out the learning section for the displays, maybe somebody else has made 3d files for the particular display that you can adjust (or just use).

[michaelmeissner]

I forgot to answer the question about coding. The answer is it depends.

You will have to change the declaration where you declare the display, as each display uses different dimensions, and may use different drivers.

Depending on what you are doing, you will need to change your code to account for the difference sizes in the display screen.