Earlier this year I have been working on a project for an off-road motorcycle tripmaster (an odometer with some added rally functions). I made it based on Arduino: https://matto.io/roadbook-con-tripmaster/ (sorry, it's in spanish).
But I quickly found a lot of things I'd want to improve. Programming in C++ is a pain. Even simple stuff like trying to get the length of an array is a non trivial task and the program memory is very limited, so I've decided to move to MicroPython for the new version.
As you can see in the blog, I used two 7 segment LCD displays for the existing version, but for the new one I'd like to use a graphical matrix display. That way I can show more information and make it more usable.
The problem I'm facing right now is that I can't find a suitable display that has available drivers for MicroPython. I have made some progress using the Nokia 5110 display with the invaluable help of mcauser, but the screen size is way too small for what it's needed.
I guess I could accomplish the task by using 2 displays, but even then they might be smaller than I'd like to.
In a perfect scenario, this is the display I would use:
- Higly readable on direct sunlight (this is the most important)
- Backlight needed for tunnels and night rides
- Draw big numbers (the common 2x16 screens don't work for this purpose, so I think it has to be a "graphic" and not "character" display)
- Draw custom characters (this is not mandatory, but nice to have)
- SPI and/or I2C protocol (this is not mandatory, but nice to have so I have more available GPIOs for other purposes)
- Have existing driver for MicroPython (I don't have the knowledge to write an entire driver, so this point is important)
- Not too small (I'm afraid that the Nokia 5110 is too small, even using 2 of them. Maybe something around 128x64?)
- Display controller board included (I think most displays have it)
- Cost less than 30€
- Stock availability (I might need to buy a bunch of these)
Do you have some advice or know about an option?
Any ideas are welcome. At this point I'm stuck and spending a lot of time googling around to find a candidate, but I'm not having much luck.
Thanks a lot!