Adafruit 2.8" TFT LCD Shield vs Arduino Mega

Hi guys,
just double checking here before I go any further (sorry if this has been covered elsewhere - but I couldn’t find any references). I have just received the Adafruit 2.8" TFT LCD shield, and it works perfectly with my Arduino Uno - beautiful screen. I’m keen to hook it up to my Arduino Mega, but it looks like I need to cut the Pin 11 / 12 / 13 pads on the back, and solder bridge the ICSP pads on the back.

Just checking that this is correct for the Mega, and also if I do this, if the ICSP header pins will no longer be required in any way for the TFT screen to function. I’d like to use a screw shield between the Mega and the TFT, which will allow me access to other pins that the LCD will otherwise be covering. If I use the screw shield, the ICSP pins won’t connect between the TFT and the Mega - the screw shield elevates the TFT so that the ICSP header pins won’t physically be able to meet between the TFT and the Mega.

Thanks in advance!

Hey Dean,

Could you send us some images of the project so we can take a look at what we can do to fix this issue. I don’t know whether the board is designed to suit an Arduino Mega but I see no reason why it shouldn’t. It’ll likely just require some modding first. Have an awesome day!

Bryce
Support | Core Electronics

Thanks Bryce,

I’ve looked at all of the doco that I can find from Adafruit,
and it seems to indicate that the shield supports the Mega. It’s just a little
ambiguous as to what’s required to make it work. They even have a picture of
the shield installed on a mega. It looks like I need to cut the pin 11-13
traces, and bridge solder ICSP pin pads on the back of the shield - but the
doco intimates that this is actually for resistive vs capacitive
functionality. Looking at the back of the shield, the PCB is printed with very
brief instructions showing that I need to cut the pin 11-13 traces, and solder bridge
the ICSP pads for it to work on a mega. I’m not sure if I lose the SD reader
functionality on the mega or if it will still be fine if I do this.

Ideally, I’d like to just use it on a Uno, but I’m not going to
have enough memory for my project, as just the basic functionality for using
the screen with SD reader takes up 72% program space on a Uno - and I know my
weather station project using a basic 128x64 graphic LCD panel already uses 68%
memory on a Uno - and it’s 600 lines of code. I’m pretty sure that I’m going
to need the mega. It looks like the libraries for the Adafruit shield take up
a lot of space.

So, down to details. If you look here on the Adafruit site:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-2-8-tft-touch-shield-v2/connecting

There’s a subsection titled Using with an Uno R3,
Leonardo, Mega

Because
the TFT is about the same size as an Arduino, we pre-assemble the shield in the
factory. For the Capacitive Touch, to use, simply place it onto your Arduino
Uno/Duemilanove/compatible. No wiring, no soldering! Bam! For the Resistive
touch, you will need to cut the traces between 11-13 and solder bridge the ICSP
pins.

This is where there’s a pic of the shield installed on a Mega. So
this is intimating that the mod is for resistive touch to work and doesn’t
actually make any mention of the Mega. However the back of the shield does -
see attached pic.

I’m sure I’ve read something about the functionality of the card
reader on the shield not working on a Mega though. However, I’ve read a lot of
stuff on this subject now, and could be mistaken.

My actual project only has two sensors required - BME280 SCL/SDA
and a DS1307 SCL/SDA. That’s it. Pins aren’t the problem for me - just
memory. Whilst I’m yet to convert my existing Uno weather project across from
the blue / white 128x64 graphic LCD - it’s looking dicey re me having enough
memory on the Uno if I use the Adafruit TFT shield.

I’ve included a few shots of the shield installed on a UNO (and
it works perfectly btw - beautiful screen). I’m really just hesitant to do any
mods to get it working on the mega until I’m sure that I’m doing the right
thing.

I haven’t yet converted my existing code across to use the
Adafruit shield, so it may not be worth including it.

DC

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