DIY Raspberry Pi tablet

The Raspberry Pi microcomputer is distinguished not only by the widest range of applications, but also by the support of third-party devices, which significantly expand the functionality of the board. Today we'll look at the simplest way to teach your Raspberry Pi to operate with a touchscreen. And the end result is a tiny tablet with a desktop operating system.

What are the screens for the Raspberry Pi

There are at least three ways to connect a screen:

Display port in the form of a clamping connector on the front surface.
HDMI connector.
GPIO pins - universal input-output connectors.

All of them allow you to connect screens with a touchscreen to the Raspberry Pi.

Some standard LCD panels (for developers and embedded devices) work via the display connector. There is also the original one installed on the back of the Raspberry. Unfortunately, this option is very expensive, but nothing is required to run it. Just download the system and insert a USB stick with it. The usual Raspbian (Debian for Raspberry Pi) provides native support for this piece of hardware.

A more affordable option, especially in the CIS countries, where delivery from the UK kills all the charm of Malinka, are WaveShare screens that work through. Why? This allows you to implement screen support in any variants of NIX systems for the Raspberry Pi with any version of the board (for Raspberry Pi 2 and 3, one distribution is used, for the first revision - a separate one) and simplify the configuration and debugging of the resulting system. Plus, they're always in stock and worth everything.

How to connect

There is nothing easier: you need to unpack everything, and then connect the screen to the GPIO connectors of the Raspberry Pi. You don't even need to count the pins - just align the boards so that the screen is exactly over the main board.

How to setup

There are two methods: download a ready-made distribution kit or configure the system yourself. The first will require you to switch to. Then choose a suitable distribution kit, download and write it to a USB flash drive. We put it in, plug in the power - we enjoy the work. Unfortunately, in this case, you have to be content with an outdated version of the operating system.

The second method is suitable for users already familiar with Linux and first requires installing drivers into the system, and then transferring the computer to a resistive display. The instructions can be found at. By the way, using the same technology, you can connect a similar third-party screen.

Unfortunately, neither one nor the other method will force both the screen connected via GPIO and the HDMI port to work at the same time. You can broadcast to a TV or monitor already inside the system by connecting the monitor as an additional screen.