Friday, March 15, 2019

Adafruit's Portable 5 inch Monitor with HDMI DIY looked interesting. But in reality....


I've seen this video: Portable HDMI Display for Raspberry Pi - YouTube

And I thought it looks very nice and quite useful because it isn't only for the Raspberry Pi--I can use as my DSLR monitor or game console monitor as well--I have a Nintendo NES classic edition which is kind of portable console.
So I'd like to do this....



It's expensive than I expected.

But when I saw inside of it, it shouldn't be easy to do.
Building the portable monitor won't be easy, for sure--I haven't done soldering before. But it requires a lot of parts to buy, too.

And if I do this, I might learn a lot of things about Adafruit, for sure.

So I visited building guide wep page.
Overview | Portable 5in Monitor with HDMI | Adafruit Learning System

And I realised I don't only spend a lot of time, I need a lot of money to building it, too.

  • 5.0" 800x480 TFT Display $29.95
  • TFP401 HDMI Breakout $24.95
  • FPC Extension Board $4.50
  • Powerboost 1000C $19.95
  • 2500mAh Battery $14.95
  • Slide Switch $0.95
  • Tripod Screw Insert $1.50
  • Total: $96.75

I thought this is too expensive for me. I need other things like print 3D case and lots of tools to do this.


So when I go through their guide, I saw that it can powering up the screen through USB.
That means, I can simply use my smartphone powerbank.
So no need to buy Powerboost 1000C and 2500mAh Battery.
And I don't have 3D printer so I don't need slide switch and tripod screw insert, too.

So I need three parts--5 inch display, TFP401 HDMI breakout, FPC extension board.
So total $59.4.



Cheaper or even better alternative--Aliexpress.

That means I don't need to do this.
Because I can simply buy from cheap Chinese store in Aliexpress, like this:
This is screenshot of 5 inch capacitive lcd display from Livetime Store in Aliexpress.
5 inch Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ Touch Screen 800*480 Capacitive LCD Display + HDMI Cable + USB Cable + CD for Raspberry Pi 3-in Demo Board Accessories on Aliexpress.com

This is 5 inch capacitive touch display. And it costs $38--include free international shipping.
This model was different driver board design than 5 inch resistive display so I couldn't find case for this model.
5 inch resistive display case costs $6 to $10 in Aliexpress.
I can buy 5 inch display with case for about $48.

So it's much cheaper and better(include touch panel) than Adafruit's.
I know this because I just ordered one from there. So I search the a lot of similar--5 inch lcd.


If I wanted to learn about Adafruit, I probably can invest that much time and money.
But now I'd like to more focus on Raspberry Pi--and programming.

So I will buy 5 inch capacitive touch display.


You can also buy other 5 inch screen from Aliexpress like this:

This is the screenshot of '5 inch lcd hdmi' search result in Aliexpress.
Buy 5 inch lcd hdmi and get free shipping on AliExpress.com

This is the screenshot of '5 inch screen' search result in Aliexpress.
Buy 5 inch display and get free shipping on AliExpress.com

When you are searching the lcd screen, it doesn't show up many items. But you can find store that specialize in Raspberry Pi or SBC(single board computer). So you probably have to check Raspberry Pi store one by one.



It looks hard to build but maybe not that much.

At first, I don't think it's easy thing to do. When I saw this link:
On/Off Switch | Portable 5in Monitor with HDMI | Adafruit Learning System
It doesn't seem to easy, does it?
But if you are thinking about portable project, I think it's worth the effort.


I saw the next page. And if I learn about soldering, I think I can do this.
TFP401 Driver | Portable 5in Monitor with HDMI | Adafruit Learning System

And next,
Display | Portable 5in Monitor with HDMI | Adafruit Learning System
This part need just connect and position the cable. After that, screen is working.

Next part is mounting to the case.


Overall, if I learn and practicing soldering, it shouldn't be so hard.

But I still don't have a 3D printer and I don't like spend that much money.
So I will buy from Aliexpress.

Many of web store like adafruit, elements14, sparkfun, pimoroni were probably based on USA or UK so shipping and currency is too expensive to my country--Korea.
And same kind of store in Korea was all imported from those countries so things were much more expensive.

That's why Aliexpress is the best choice--for me. And probably to you, too.

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