ESP32C3 ink screen ornament

Video showing the effect of Station B: [Ink screen] 30 yuan homemade desktop ornaments ~ four modes to switch at will! always one option fit for you! _bilibili_bilibili

Hardware

1. Ink screen module

It uses a 2.9-inch ink screen from Xianyu. The price of a single piece is around 15. The driver board was designed with reference to other ink screen open source projects.

In order to ensure proper plugging and unplugging effect, it is recommended that the PCB thickness is 1.2mm.

* Regarding the model of the ink screen, I bought two different models, one is Wei Feng and the other is HINK. The two are not compatible. Since the project uses the GxEPD2 library to drive the ink screen in terms of software, the solution is to use the GxEPD2 library. Just select the appropriate model. As follows:

GxEPD2_BW<GxEPD2_290, GxEPD2_290::HEIGHT> display(GxEPD2_290(/*CS=5*/ 7, /*DC=*/ 4, /*RST=*/ 5, /*BUSY=*/ 6)); // The second batch of screens
GxEPD2_BW<GxEPD2_290_T5, GxEPD2_290_T5::HEIGHT> display(GxEPD2_290_T5(/*CS=5*/ 7, /*DC=*/4, /*RST=*/5, /*BUSY=*/6) ); //First batch of screens

2. Base module

The base module mainly serves to connect the development board and the ink screen module ( the reason why I made this design is because it feels interesting and I want to try it hahaha). Weld the PCB socket to realize the insertion and removal of the ink screen module, weld the header to realize the connection with the ESP32C3 development board, and weld the buttons for display control.

*The keyword for PCB socket on Taobao is "NDK/TAT Noguchi bus socket PCB gold finger socket"

3.ESP32C3 development board

Use Hezhou's ESP32C3 development board. You can buy either the classic or simple version of the development board. I personally like the classic version, because when using the simple version, you need to pay attention to more technical details and it is easier to encounter pitfalls. Just solder the pin header upwards, because the pin header and female connector are connected, so it is very convenient to unplug it for other projects after this project is finished.

software

1. Programming software Arduino

The Arduino programming software is relatively simple, and there are quite a few libraries available.

You can refer to the online information to configure the environment. The network disk information is also provided here to help you configure it quickly. For how to use it, please see my new video.

[Technology] Open source! Four modes of ink screen desktop decoration ~ teach you step by step DIY_bilibili_bilibili

Network disk address: Link: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1ELNBuo_a1YlaOqj3Q381AQ?pwd=lfxy

2. Development board added

Theoretically, you can refer to this article: ESP32 Getting Started Notes | 02 - ESP32-Arduino Development Environment Setup_MCUlover666's Technology Blog_51CTO Blog

But this is only theoretical. Various problems are often encountered in the process, mainly due to the failure of successful downloading caused by the network.

3.Libraries used

The libraries used in this project are:

①ArduinoJson library parses Json data. The weather, ancient poems, famous quotes and other information in the project are obtained through some APIs and stored in the returned json data.

②GxEPD2 library drives ink screen

③Timezone library is needed to obtain the clock through NTP

④U8g2 library image display library

For libraries, you can search and download them in Project->Load Library->Manage Library.

4. Project source code

See attachment DesInk4.2.0.zip

5. Font and picture modification

To modify the font, please refer to the article: How does oled u8g2 display Chinese (valid in actual measurement)_KhalilDai's blog-CSDN blog_u8g2 Chinese

The monochrome bitmap bmp picture is converted into a matrix using PCtoLCD2002 software. The modulo configuration is as follows:

Firmware burning method

If you just want to burn the program without modifying it, you can refer to the following method

1. Download the burning tool esptool

① Official download

Address: https://www.espressif.com.cn/zh-hans/support/download/other-tools

Note: If you download the official version, you will need to modify it later.

② Attachment download

Just download and unzip it and use it, and there is no need to modify it again later.

2. Modify the configuration of the burning tool

The official version needs to modify one configuration to be successful. Download the modified version and use it directly. You can skip the following steps.

① After executing the exe file for the first time, a configure folder will be generated in the directory . Open spi_download.conf in the following path with Notepad.

② Change flash_size = keep to flash_size = 4MB and save the file.

3. Firmware burning

① Run the exe file and select the following options. For the classic model, select UART download, and for the simple model, select USB download.

② Select the bin file downloaded from the attachment , the burning address is 0x0 , and the rest of the configuration is as follows.

③ First click the ERASER button to clear, and then click START to burn. The simple model needs to enter the download mode when burning: press and hold the boot button and then power on.

④ Once the program is burned successfully, it can be run.

manual

1. Installation of each part

① When installing the development board and base, ensure that the Type-C port is on the side of the KEEP key (with a white horizontal line)

② When the ink screen module is connected to the base, it can be used in both directions. Try to insert it in the center position.

2. First time use

① Distribution network

1) It is recommended to use web configuration for the first time. After selecting, press the KEEP button, and the red light will stay on. Use your mobile phone or computer to connect to WiFi "DesInk Distribution Network".

2) After the connection is successful, you will automatically enter the network configuration interface, select the required network and fill in the password.

②Weather key

1) Enter the Xinzhi Weather website and register an account Xinzhi Weather - High-precision meteorological data - Weather data API interface - Industry meteorological solutions (seniverse.com)

2) Enter the console to add and select the free version product

3) Select your private key, copy it, and fill it in the web configuration interface.

3. Daily use

①Mode switching and updating

Press the MODE button to switch modes and press KEEP to update. For modes that require the Internet to obtain information, such as weather and ancient poetry interfaces, the switching speed is directly related to the quality of the network signal. If the network is poor, you need to wait a moment.

It is not recommended to refresh frequently in the ancient poetry mode, as it may easily cause the website to be limited, and you need to wait for about an hour before it can be used normally. Since there are many rare characters in ancient poetry, there will also be certain missing characters.

②Configuration mode

Long press the MODE button until the red light goes out and then release it to enter the configuration mode. Pressing KEEP in the configuration mode will clear the configuration of the connected WiFi and restart to enter the network configuration interface. (Equivalent to restoring factory settings)

For the BOM table, it is more accurate to view the attachments.