Animated Eyes Project

@lhops Have you tried all the other eyes?

https://dronebotworkshop.com/gc9a01/

Bill says in the video the eyes were originally intended for 128x128 displays and you would probably have to recompile the files so it is a bit involved.

I think I have solved it.  I reassigned the CS pins to new outputs on the ESP32 and that seems to do the trick.  I may have a faulty ESP32.  The displays are working very well now. 

I see that in the library "GC9A01A_t3n" has a sketch that appears to have a larger scale eyes called "uncanny_Eyes".  Has anyone tried this sketch?

Thanks for your replay!

@robotbuilder I have not purchased one of those expensive round displays yet so all I can do is compile. If you say it's involved, then I will not bother with this for a while at least, but possibly later when I have a project that will use it (maybe secondary remote weather display?)

@lhops I note everything I see is UNO not esp32 so that may cause some issues. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

@lhops Please tell us what pins you were using for CS and the new pins.

I am using pins 25 and 26 for the "CS" on the esp32.  Just looked on amazon and the you can get two displays (GC9A01) for $14 and some change.  If you need help on the project let me know, I am not sure if I can but will try.  I have not incorporated the joy stick and the wink buttons yet.  I followed Bill's video and that helped tremendously.

@lhops I was asking about what pins were you using that did not work. Some pins are reserved and that would mean the esp32 is NOT broken. Cost here is $25CDN, remember this is an international forum. When I get to my new location, I will order a couple from China where it will cost $4.07CDN or $2.86USD each. Shipping an extra $1.66CDN or $1.20USD.

Posted by: @zander

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If you say it's involved, then I will not bother with this for a while at least, but possibly later when I have a project that will use it (maybe secondary remote weather display?)

Bill in the video indicated it was involved.  A need to recompile the .h files I think. Maybe looking at the files and seeing how the data is stored. I don't have the files myself. If I wanted to do such a project I would just create my own animated eyes and program from the ground up no need for other people's animations.

Sorry Ron, the pins that I was using were pins 21 and 22. The pin 21 was working fine but pin 22 is where the problem was.  After changing from pin 22 to 25 the problem went away and for wiring simplicity I changed the pin 21 to 26.    I am sure you will enjoy making this project.  One thing I can help with is don't try running the display's power of 3.3Vdc pin of the esp32 board, it worked for awhile but didn't like it. Just use a separate power supply or a bread board supply and remember to set the output to 3.3VDC.  The displays that I am using do not have their own 3.3vdc regulator.

@robotbuilder The project was not that involved and the default eye sketch is very real looking...no cartoon look to it at all. I have been very pleased with it.  Now just trying to imaging what kind of 3d printing project to incorporate the eyes into.

@lhops Ok, BUT do you mean GPIO21? or physical pin 21? GPIO21 and 22 are the default I2C bus. I am not sure that is a problem, but when in doubt, use a free / unreserved pin. Consult the randomnerds for the pin out and most all things for noobs. https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp32-pinout-reference-gpios/

Except for low power usage and even then very unlikely, I never use a pin to power a board, that is what the USB connector is for. The reason is where I am now I have 12V aplenty, so 12 buck to 7 VR to 5 to the USB. That way a wall wart is a quick swap if I have 110VAC. For long-lasting power, the 7.4V 5,200mAh batteries get substituted for the 12->7 buck with no other change.

No need to worry about a VR, the ESP32 has one so any pin powered device is fine. 

I am thinking of using the display for a remote weather display, that by default shows the eyes, but when a PIR or Radar sensor detects a human nearby switches to the weather. That will not happen this year for sure but maybe next year.

See attached pic for GPIO21 and 22.

All pin references are in GPIO.

@lhops When you or I or any member wants to reply to a specific post, I use the 'Reply' link see pic. That way, the person being responded to gets an email telling them there is a reply.

There is other good info in the Forum Help under Your Profile and before Recent Posts on the right side near the top of the page.

@zander Okay...I see what you are saying.  While I have your attention...can you tell me how to place a photo on my profile.  I can't seem to find a way.