Press Releases

Touchscreen display module starter kits available from RS Components enable portable, low power Raspberry Pi applications

Easy-to-connect resistive touchscreen 2.8- and 4.3-inch LCD modules simplify mobility for Raspberry Pi projects and applications

New Zealand, 15 April 2014 :

RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the world’s leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products, has announced availability of two  touchscreen display starter kits for the Raspberry Pi, which provide a quick and easy wiring interface and are ideal for creating portable and low power Raspberry Pi projects and applications.

The starter kits for the 2.8-inch uLCD-28PTU-PI and 4.3-inch uLCD-43PTU-PI modules have been developed by 4D Systems and provide all the components needed for users to connect their Raspberry Pi to these newly available touchscreen displays and get their project up and running and ready for programming within a few minutes. A unique aspect of the kits is the 4D Pi Adapter Shield, which connects to the serial GPIO port on the Raspberry Pi and to the touchscreen display module via a 5-way cable. The Adapter Shield also replicates the Raspberry Pi GPIO lines and allows users to gain easy access to other Raspberry Pi functions.

These displays deliver a powerful HMI (Human Machine Interface) solution for Raspberry Pi applications featuring resistive-touch capability, on-board audio amplifier and speaker, and resolutions of 480 x 272 and 240 x 320 pixels for the 4.3- and 2.8-inch screens respectively.

Each starter kit contains: a 4D serial Pi adaptor shield; a 2GB microSD card; a uUSB-PA5 programming adaptor; a 150mm 5-way female-female jumper cable for quick connection to another device or a breadboard; a 5-way male-male adaptor to convert the cable to male-female; and a quick-start user guide. A series of ViSi-Genie application software libraries are also available to communicate with the Raspberry Pi board and user code.

According to Jonathan Boxall, Global Head of Semiconductors at RS Components, “There is huge enthusiasm for Raspberry Pi among businesses and electronics enthusiasts, and these two touchscreen display modules and associated tools from 4D Systems further boost the Raspberry Pi platform for prototype development, enabling users to quickly start developing innovative Raspberry Pi based applications.”

The 4D Systems 2.8-inch uLCD-28PTU-PI (SK-28PTU-PI) and 4.3-inch uLCD-43PT-PI (SK-43PT-PI) are in stock now and available globally through the RS network.