Waveshare do some really nice Pico compatible modules. I've just bought a selection. Total cost to me including shipping GBP60.60, time to arrive from order just 8 days.
The quality of Waveshare stuff seems very good.

Included are a quad motherboard that allows multiple modules to link to the Pico. Without this many of them can also be stacked. Waveshare also do a couple of 2 way expanders.

Also included are a Pico compatible mounted ESP8266, a Pico compatible mounted GPS, a 240x135 display with two buttons and a joystick, a 240x240 display with 4 buttons and a joystick and a 320x240 touch display with SDcard slot.

All the displays use the ST7789 driver so I'll modify the firmware to support all three variants and post both the firmware and configuration details when available.

By default the GPS and ESP8266 communicate on COM1 (GP0, GP1) but both can be modified to support COM2 (GP4, GP5).

These sorts of modules together with MMBasic make it very easy to build embedded devices with graphics, I/O, SDcard etc. with no soldering or H/W design needed

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The GPS board is quite clever. I have some other Waveshare kit and it's quite well done.

Pimoroni (UK) and Cytron (Malaysia) make lovely add-ons too. But I'm a dealer for both of them, so I'll shut up now.

Every time I see a post about the Pico I smile, remembering Peters first thoughts on it when I made the post saying aboout it's release "it's a dog"  
I'm testing a gps module with it as soon as the boards arrive from JLPCB in a couple of days

  matherp said  

These sorts of modules together with MMBasic make it very easy to build embedded devices with graphics, I/O, SDcard etc. with no soldering or H/W design needed

Where is the fun in that? It would be like taking up electronics as a hobby and then spending all your time programming .

Tom

  scruss said  

The GPS board is quite clever. I have some other Waveshare kit and it's quite well done.

Pimoroni (UK) and Cytron (Malaysia) make lovely add-ons too. But I'm a dealer for both of them, so I'll shut up now.

I have the RTC-Module by Waveshare and the MAKER PI PICO by Cytron, both are very useful as well.

https://www.waveshare.com/pico-rtc-ds3231.htm
https://www.cytron.io/p-maker-pi-pico

Here is the first display working. This is the 240x240 ST7789 which is already fully supported by the firmware. The display is small but very colourful and bright



The display doesn't use SPI2 MISO but we need to allocate it so I've used GP28 which isn't used by anything else on the board

Other pins are:




Note: firmware versions below b22 will show landscape and reverse landscape reversed when using option list. Setting landscape matches the text on the buttons.

If you want to control the brightness of the display use

The 2.8" ST7789 display from Waveshare is my new favourite display. The image is very clear and bright with a very wide viewing angle (IPS).
BLIT and transparent text work perfectly (b23 onwards) and the way the Pico mounts to the back makes it very easy to use. Additional Pico boards can also be stacked. In the picture the Pico is mounted to a GPS and then the display, everything that is needed for a Geoff Graham SuperClock.




Configuration for the display is as follows:



and the SDcard and touch also work perfectly

Is there an ST7789_480 configuration for the 3.5" version?

Thanks

The 3.5" display is ILI9488 which is already supported

Thanks Peter

  cdeagle said  

Thanks Peter

Yes, thanks Peter.

I think I am going to get one of these, too.

What we could do with is a source of bezels for mounting the various displays. Then I could cover up the crappy filing of my rectangular holes. :)

  Mixtel90 said  

What we could do with is a source of bezels for mounting the various displays. Then I could cover up the crappy filing of my rectangular holes. :)

That is what I am thinking about , too.

How to built it into something, it needs some kind of nice frame, as the panel itself needs to be still touchable.

A touchy issue.

A radical thought from an ignoramus but PCBs can be manufactured with cut outs, could one be created that is basically just a frame with some bolt holes?

Best wishes,

Tom

  thwill said  

A radical thought from an ignoramus but PCBs can be manufactured with cut outs, could one be created that is basically just a frame with some bolt holes?

Best wishes,

Tom

Hi Tom,

actually you are right, I always forget this possibility.

But I think in this case it would be easy done custom made.

Just some blank pcb, a fine jigsaw and a drill.

Probably some varnish for finishing

erm... it's my cutting and filing that makes a bezel desirable. In my case cutting & filing a lump of PCB won't necessarily look any better than me doing the same to a front panel. lol

That's not a bad idea, Tom. A PCB shop will probably be more accurate and neater than I am. You get a choice of colours too! :)

It appears the only difference between the 2.8 and 3.5 inch modules is the type of display. I've tried the following options with b28. However, the display does not respond.

OPTION SDCARD GP22
OPTION SYSTEM SPI GP10,GP11,GP12
OPTION LCDPANEL ILI9488, LANDSCAPE,GP8,GP15,GP9,GP13
OPTION TOUCH GP16,GP17

Try just

OPTION LCDPANEL ILI9488, LANDSCAPE,GP8,GP15,GP9

Then CLS RGB(RED)

Then setpin gp13,dout

Finally try pin(GP13)=1 and pin(gp13)=0 to see which lights the backlight

ILI9488 displays are strange. The chip is a parallel input device but Waveshare use extra logic chips to convert SPI to parallel.

I don't have this display but I'll wire up another ILI9488 just to make sure the driver is working and report back

TBH I wouldn't have expected a ILI9488 to respond to the same codes as a ST7789.
However, a different resolution of ST7789 might respond to the wrong size driver and give some sort of a display. Have you got a ST7789_480? It might be worth trying the ST7789_320 driver to see if you get a part display.

Please also try the ILI9481 driver

UPDATE

Looking at the Waveshare schematic for the display they have done something very strange. It is not standard ILI9488 wiring but is the same as ILI9481 PI HATs.

Given this the only driver that might work is the ILI9481.

The way they have wired it 8-bit commands need 16 bits of data sending which the ILI9488 driver doesn't do but the ILI9481 driver does.

If the ILI9481 driver doesn't work this isn't something I can fix without a display to work with
Edited 2021-10-17 02:03 by matherp