4D SYSTEMS 4D 4.3” LCD CAPE – BEAGLE BONE BLACK
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3. Getting Started
Requirements
The 4D 4.3” LCD CAPE is designed to work with
existing software and drivers already developed for
the Beagle Bone Black.
The Requirements for use are:
4DCAPE-43 or 4DCAPE-43T Cape
Beagle Bone Black (BBB) with suitable
distribution loaded
5V DC Supply suitable for the Beagle Bone
Black, recommended 2A @ 5V.
A Stylus is recommended for accurate touch,
however is not required.
How to use the 4D 4.3” LCD CAPE
The following steps should be all that is required in
order to use the 4DCAPE-43(T):
1. Connect the 4DCAPE-43(T) to the Beagle Bone
Black while the Beagle Bone Black is not
powered. Outline of the BBB is printed on the
back of the 4DCAPE-43(T) as a guide for
orientation.
2. If using with other capes, ensure the 4DCAPE-
43 is not conflicting pin wise to any other cape
installed.
3. Ensure the DIP Switch on the CAPE is set to a
different EEPROM ID to any other capes.
4. Ensure your Beagle Bone Black is loaded with a
suitable Linux distribution which is compatible
with the existing CircuitCo LCD4 CAPE or 4D
Systems 4DCAPE-43(T) – See Section 5.
Angstrom release 20.06.2013 or later is
recommended. Android 4.2.2 has also been
tested and functions correctly. Other
distributions may also be compatible with this
display.
5. Connect a 5V Supply to the DC Jack of the
Beagle Bone Black. It is recommended to use a
2A supply to ensure sufficient supply.
6. Once power is connected, something should be
displayed on the 4DCAPE-43(T) as it is booted.
Once booted, the system should automatically
log in (assuming Angstrom Linux distribution is
used), and the Touch Screen Calibration Utility
should load automatically. If using the 4DCAPE-
43 without touch, this can be exited and
ignored.
7. Calibrate the 4DCAPE-43(T) using the utility by
following the on screen instructions. If the
utility is closed, it is available again under the
System – Administration menu.
8. Complete – the Angstrom desktop should be
displayed on the 4DCAPE-43(T) and is ready for
use, else Andoid etc.
For support of the BBB and various distributions,
please seek support from the respective websites
associated with the BBB itself or the distributions –
See Section 5.
A good place to start for information and support
regarding the BBB and various distributions
available, is www.beagleboard.org
This website details how to update your software
on the BBB to the current version of Angstrom
available for the BBB
http://circuitco.com/support/index.php?title=Upd
ating_The_Software
This website details how to update your software
on the BBB for the current version of Andoid.
http://downloads.ti.com/sitara_android/esd/TI_A
ndroid_DevKit/TI_Android_JB_4_2_2_DevKit_4_1_
1/index_FDS.html
For support regarding the 4DLCD-43(T) CAPE
hardware itself, please go to the 4D Systems
website and either contact Support directly, or use
the 4D Systems Forum. www.4dsystems.com.au
Changing the brightness (Angstrom)
By default the backlight brightness of the 4D CAPE
4.3 is set to 50% with Angstrom distribution
(20.06.2013). It is possible to change the backlight
brightness as the backlight is PWM controlled.
Please note, these instructions may become
obsolete as new versions of Angstrom are released,
or if different distributions are used.
One method is to SSH into the Beaglebone Black
from your PC, and set the backlight value that way.
Note this does not persist over restarts, so this
would need to be entered into a startup script if the
setting is required to be set each startup.
At the command prompt, type the following:
cd /sys/class/backlight/backlight.10/
echo 100 > brightness
Where 100 represents 100%, this can be changed
to any number from 0 to 100 as required.