Firewing with 4-D systems FTDI EVE chipset

[Zonker]

Good morning Dave..!
I am a totally new user to the Firewing project.. (looks awesome!) Vasi from the Back Shed forum has a thread going about the great work you are doing here and I would like to get started doing some dev work on a project... I am trying to create an EIS system for Ultralights and was planning on using a PIC32 type MCU along with a touch display from 4-D Systems

http://www.4dsystems.com.au/product/4DLCD_FT843/

One of the kits you can get describes an Arduino style interface board that I think should be compatible with your upcoming PIC32 Firewing board...

I have used 4-D displays and like the UI objects they have developed... I was wondering what types of UI library objects that have been created for the FTDI display and if they can be used with the Firewing IDE... Vasi had a link to a video you had made showing some gauge objects and I was wondering what other types of objects there are... Right now 4-D has a 30% off sale on the FTDI display ($34) so I was going to order some if you think this kind of setup will work OK...

Thanks in advance for any advice to a nubbie you could offer..!!

[David John Barker]

Hi Zonker

Welcome to the forum!

> I think should be compatible with your upcoming PIC32 Firewing board

Yes, it looks like it would be. On the link you sent me, it states "3.3V SPI Bus, Audio Output and amplifier Enable, not 5V tolerant" so it would be happy working with Firewing - I think having the Arduino interface shield would make life easier. I have noticed that the Gameduino (which uses the same chip) seems to run faster that the FTDI VM800B43A module. I think this is because the connection path to the SPI bus is shorter (I have 8" runs of wire connecting the VM800B43A) so if you can keep the path as short as possible (by perhaps using the dedicated shield) then I think you would see better performance. Also, there is nothing worse than a connector coming loose during testing!

> I was wondering what types of UI library objects that have been created for the FTDI display

I noticed on the datasheet link

All software support for the 4DLCD FT843 Display is provided directly from FTDI. FTDI also write and supply the libraries and demos for this shield/display combo.

So it looks like they are using the built in FT800 objects, not their own. In that case, Firewing will give you 100% access to these objects. I'm hoping to be releasing the new R2 boards in the next couple of weeks. If you need one before, just contact me off forum and I can arrange for you to get one. I should add, you don't need a Firewing board - just a compatible MCU and a way of programming it and off you go - but obviously if you can purchase a board, it helps the development fund

I cannot see any problems using this display with Firewing. The only difference between the Gameduino and the VM800B43A is the startup sequence (a few lines of code which varies between products because of the display used). I suspect the 4DLCD FT843 would be compatible with the FTDI offering in terms of startup code, but it would matter too much if it was not - it literally would be only a few lines of code and I'm sure we could sort that out for you.

Anyway, keep me informed of progress and if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask...