Little Suprise....the Cherry on top

So work on the node continues. I decided to kinda take the node to the next level. I realize that its a bit over the top but I like my projects that way.

I finished level 3, the radio level, and decided to add a 4th level. Most will say that its unnecessary, but in reality I wanted to do this because its the precursor to the front panel of the repeater. So what is it?  Well I added a display. The first version was an I2C 20x4 LCD. I had one laying around so I decided to use it. Being that its I2C it was easy to interface, and a snap to write the code.......

Then of course I changed my mind. In reality I changed it for a good reason. I had an older 3.2 inch TFT screen available. I decided that I would try that. It wasnt bad to interface, and though a little more difficult to program I think the result looks clean and nice. Im not a huge fan of a lot of clutter, so I kind of modeled after the ICOM IC-5100 their first generation D-Star radio. I finally added a splash of color as you will see and I animated the S Meter as well. Here are the shots, one with the radio in transmit and the other receiving a signal

My inspiration was the IC-5100 by Icom.

Im a big fan of graphics. I just think the IC-5100 display is clean, easy to read, easy on the eyes and really looks professional. It was what I used to model my display after.....Thanks ICOM!

I havent added everything I want to the screen. It is a touchscreen and Im working on the bottom row of buttons, which will eventually power the system off and on, and maybe kill the radio while leaving the computer attached to the network. I liked the font I found which gives the screen a clean look and not just ordinary. A font conversion utility from an engineer at Adafruit turned me on to converting and uploading my own custom fonts, which I have to say once you learn how, it makes ordinary TFT screens really stand out.

When I am fully finished Ill add a video of the screen in animation so you can see the S Meter in action. Once Im done editing as well Ill post the code for the screen.

In the meantime, work continues on the Naked Node. My hope is to have the Node finished in the next few days, depending on available free time..........

In the meantime

Happy Coding!