TFT LCD Breakout 1.8in 128x160 Hookup Guide

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Contributors: Ell C, Liquid Soulder
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Introduction

The TFT LCD Breakout 1.8in 128x160 is a versatile, colorful, and easy way to experiment with graphics or create a user interface for your project. In this guide we will familiarize ourselves with the hardware, explain how to connect the display to your microcontroller of choice, cover how to install the Arduino libraries, and give an overview of the software examples that you can start off with.

SparkFun TFT LCD Breakout - 1.8" (128x160)

SparkFun TFT LCD Breakout - 1.8" (128x160)

LCD-15143
$33.95

Required Materials

The TFT LCD Breakout has Plated-Through-Hole (PTH) connections. You can connect these in a number of different ways but we suggest soldering in breakaway headers for use with a breadboard. You'll also need an Arduino compatible microcontroller of your choice - we recommend something with extra RAM like the ESP32 Thing Plus or the RedBoard Turbo. You may not need everything on this wish list, depending on what you may already have. Add it to your cart, read through the guide, and adjust the cart as necessary.

Tools

In addition to those components, you'll need a soldering iron, solder, and probably some general soldering accessories to help with the job.

Solder Lead Free - 100-gram Spool

Solder Lead Free - 100-gram Spool

TOL-09325
$9.95
8

Weller WLC100 Soldering Station

TOL-14228
2 Retired

Suggested Reading

If you aren’t familiar with the following concepts, we recommend checking out these tutorials before continuing.

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Installing an Arduino Library

How do I install a custom Arduino library? It's easy! This tutorial will go over how to install an Arduino library using the Arduino Library Manager. For libraries not linked with the Arduino IDE, we will also go over manually installing an Arduino library.

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

Everything You Should Know About HyperDisplay

This is a tutorial to go in-depth about the SparkFun HyperDisplay Arduino Library.