For ages, I’ve been meaning to take one of these 4.3 inch TFT screens and embed a Raspberry Pi inside it. I realise, of course, that the resolution of the screen isn’t anything much (certainly not “high resolution” as it states on the description!) at 480px x 272px (ish) but it’s very cute the way it just “pops up” when you press the button and there seemed to be enough space in the bottom for a Pi. So, I went ahead and bought one. It arrived the next day and I went down to The Den (my shed) to take it apart. On opening my tool draw, I found a foldable 4.3″ screen… that’s right… I’d bought something I already owned… Never mind, eh!
The problem with these mini-screens is that they are primarily designed to be used as reversing-camera screens inside cars. That means that they are expecting a 12V power supply. They come with a cable that contains two composite inputs and a barrel jack for a 12V supply. This cable is pre-soldered onto the driver board. I knew, based on the work of other people (including SK Pang, way back when) that the screen is actually powered from 5V. So, the 12V supply must be converted into 5V by components on the controller board. Knowing that I’d need to solder onto the board, I un-stuck it from the base and inspected it.
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Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!