SainSmart 1.8" TFT Color LCD Display Module with SPI Interface & MicroSD for Arduino UNO MEGA R3

Unit came broken. Panel was separated from the board. Connector was damaged. As noted by others, the documentation and sample code from SainSmart is pretty awful. Finally found a link to this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Mini-Arduino-enviroment-monitor/?ALLSTEPSThis seems to have the most complete 101 that I've seen.Ordered another unit, hoping this one comes in one piece so I can try getting it to work.Update: Picked up another display locally. Docs are non-existent of course... another review had a good link detailing connecting to an Uno.The first unit I had gotten was definitely bad. If you can't get the backlight to come up (which is just the 5v and ground), then you aren't going to get far.I'm also not going to be able to return it, because I ended up damaging the unit while trying to figure out why it wasn't getting power.WARNING: The unit isn't very rugged and the connection to the board is with a surface mount ribbon that is fragile and folded under the panel, so do NOT flex the panel from the board or press down on it, as this will potentially damage the cable or its connection.From another reviewer (Note: Compare the pin-outs carefully to the #define statements in the libraries. Current versions have the TFT_RST and TFT_DC pins swapped to what this article states)http://www.tweaking4all.com/hardware/arduino/sainsmart-arduino-color-display/Fast summary for fast mode:1. Download and install adafruit libraries (Yes, buy stuff from them. She rocks) 1st is the device specific lib, 2nd is the GFX core libhttps://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-ST7735-Libraryhttps://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-GFX-Library2. Pin wiring is slightly different then adafruit version (you will also have to modify the examples) Again, this is for fast version. Not worrying about SD card also.From right to Left on the back of the Sainsmart panelPanel --- Arduino UnoVCC ---- 5VGND ---- GNDSCL ---- Digital Pin 13 (Display Clock)SDA ---- Digital Pin 11 (Display Data)RS/DC ---- Digital Pin 8 (D - Data Mode or C Command Mode)RES ---- Digital Pin 9 (Reset)CS (For Display) Digital Pin 10 (Chip Select)3. Open the ST7335 Example Sketch - graphicstest4. You may have to make a minor edit. The current example sketch defaults to Option 1, high speed, which should match the above pins. Verify that the #Define statements for the pins match the above. TFT_CS is CS above TFT_RST is RES above TFT_DC is RS/DC aboveUpload and hopefully you'll see the display working. Just starting to play further, now that I have it working.

I wasn't sure if this display had a backlight before I tried it; it's so thin I didn't think it would. It does!!I haven't used it much yet other than running the example. I don't really have much spare time, but I got two of these and gave myself 30 minutes to try to get one to work. The pdf file that comes with the sainsmart software wasn't as good as it could be, but I did find it to be useful. For the wiring, you need to read the text, not just look at the picture since they used the same color wires to connect it as another reviewer pointed out. The biggest problem I had was trying to figure out where to put the library. On my mac, it just needed to go in my ~/Documents/Arduino/libraries folder, which already existed. I'm already using version 0023 of the Arduino, so I had no problems after figuring out that you load the sketch by just doing an "open" from the arduino tool's File menu, and then load it from the libraries/TFT18/examples directory.To my surprise, it worked and I was able to accomplish this just within the 30 minutes I gave myself! yeay!spent some more time messing with it... found that the colors defined in the sample code were not quite right; here's what I'm using now:// Color definitions#define BLACK 0x0000#define BLUE 0xF800#define RED 0x001F#define GREEN 0x07E0#define CYAN 0x07FF#define MAGENTA 0xF81F#define YELLOW 0x0FFF //BGR ?#define WHITE 0xFFFF

These displays are absolutely fantastic. They're bright and crisp, have a good color depth and are extremely inexpensive.While trying to get my first one to work, I was goign to give these 1 star. It was the first time I had tried to get an SPI connection working and the documentation from SainSmart was enough to make me want to slit my wrists. After I realized these were essentially the same unit Adafruit sells (but have a different pin order) I had the thing up and running with the Adafruit Arduino libraries in a matter of minutes.After getting that first one working, I've ordered and used 4 of these for different projects. At this point they're my first option for a display on any project I have that needs one. They're cheap and look great.I'd normally feel a little guilty about ordering these from SainSmart and using the Adafruit instructions and libraries, but I purchase enough other stuff from Adafrtui to appease my conscience. If you end up taking the same route I did, I encourage you to at least look at the other stuff they offer. They have some really cool products I haven't been able to find elsewhere.

There is a lot to love about this display: the thing is small, light, thin, and has amazingly crisp color. It also comes with a MicroSD card slot that can be accessed along with the display.For the software, SainSmart includes a link on the Amazon product page. The download includes the libraries, examples, a parts manual, and instructions. Bad news: the libraries have apparently not been updated in a while. The last release of the Arduino software for which they compile is the venerable 0023. Newer versions spit out compilation errors that (as one reviewer commented) are fairly easily addressed, but that are really SainSmart's responsibility.The instructions are maddening. For one, instead of using different color wires for each pin, the pictures only have two colors for the seven pins used. Fortunately, it's really hard to damage the display by connecting the wrong pins, so you get a few tries. Also, there are two modes to connect the display, but the instructions only touch upon the slower one. Interestingly, there are examples for both, plus another example for the concurrent use of display and MicroSD card.Adafruit sells the same display (with a different board). Their instructions are factors better - but beware of the different pin-out!

I had an old laptop that died. I kept a lot of the parts and was hoping that this little puppy would allow me to hook up my Arduino boards to the lcd screen. We'll see, just getting started, got a lot to learn before I try it out. this stuff sure is fun.Amazon has a tremendous variety of parts and kits, delivery is fast, and I fear I could spend way too much money and time on this.

Labeling is weird vs other brands but it works.

It worked as expected. Wish it would refresh actively.

Did not perform to specifications

It came in 2 days. Fast and waxy.