# Adafruit DPI Display Kippah ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/425/medium800/adafruit_products_2353_screen_04_hand_demo_ORIG.jpg?1428701373) A TFT panel connected to a Raspberry Pi without the use of an HDMI decoder? What is this sorcery??? It's the DPI Kippah from Adafruit! This HAT-like\* board snaps onto a Raspberry Pi B+, A+, Pi 2, Pi 3 or Zero and with a little software configuration, allows you to have what _normally_ would go out the HDMI port come up on a nice little flat screen. _\* Its not technically a HAT due to the lack of an on-board EEPROM, but its the same shape as a Pi HAT and its a covering of sorts, so we call it a kippah_ Compared to our lovely HDMI backpacks, you don't have the extra cost or expense of an HDMI encoder/decoder. And you get a nice ultra-fast 18-bit color display with optional touch support. We tested it and it works great with our 5" and 7" displays at 800x480. This display is 'native' so it gets all the graphics accelleration capabilities, instant refresh, etc. you would get from an HDMI display The Kippah will also generate the backlight drive voltage (up to ~24V) from the 5V USB power on the Raspberry Pi ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/423/medium800/adafruit_products_2353_top_demo_with_cable_ORIG.jpg?1428701323) OK so, exciting right? But, what's the catch? The catch is **this add on board uses nearly every pin available on the Raspberry Pi and those pins are hardcoded, they cannot be moved or rearranged**. The pins used are GPIO 2 through 21 inclusive. That means you don't get the UART RX/TX pins (no console cable) and you don't get the standard user I2C pins, the EEPROM I2C pins, or hardware SPI pins. You do get to use pins #22, #23, #24, #25, #26 and #27, and the USB ports are fine to use too. **The other catch is that this display replaces the HDMI/NTSC output** , so you can't have the DPI HAT and HDMI working at once, nor can you 'flip' between the two. Also, there's no PWM's available so you can't have precision backlight control unless you somehow rig up an external PWM generator with a 555 or something. Finally, we did test this setup with a straight-up Raspbian and after the software installs, it works great. However, we don't guarantee it will work with any other Raspberry Pi operating system or setup. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/424/medium800/adafruit_products_2353_iso_ORIG.jpg?1428701345) That said, if you dont need a bunch of GPIO, its very easy to add a high quality display. Pick and choose whether you want a touch-screen or not, then choose the size of the display - 5" or 7" is best. You can also grab an FPC extension board and extend the display away from the Pi. For power-users, this is a very nice little accessory ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/426/medium800/adafruit_products_2353_quarter_ORIG.jpg?1428701387) Comes as one fully assembled and tested DPI Kippah circuit board. You may need a soldering iron to adjust the backlight by soldering closed a PCB jumper (check the tutorial on this). **[TFT display](https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=40-pin+TTL&b=1), [USB micro-B cable](https://www.adafruit.com/products/592), [FPC extension cable](http://www.adafruit.com/product/2098), [bent wire stand](http://www.adafruit.com/product/1679), and Raspberry Pi not included** (but we do carry them in the shop!) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/427/medium800/adafruit_products_2353_screen_06_hand_demo_ORIG.jpg?1428701430) # Adafruit DPI Display Kippah ## Installation **If you just plug in the DPI Kippah, it won't work on a fresh installation of Raspbian! You must set up the special device tree overlay configuration!** However, its not too bad, check it out below! Info: Note these instructions are tested to work with Raspbian Bookworm as of 2024/04/2 # Connect Display The DPI Kippah has a 40-pin TFT connector. This is a semi-standard connector. A majority of 3.5", 4.3", 5.0" and 7.0" dot-clock DPI displays have this 'standard 40-pin' connector. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/429/medium800/adafruit_products_2354_top_screen_01_no_cable_ORIG.jpg?1428703197) Check the Downloads page for an example datasheet so you can check if your display is compatible. All Adafruit 40-pin TFT TTL displays work, we do not guarantee any other displays work. **In fact, if you connect a display that does not match the right pinout, you could easily fry the display if the 20V backlight pin ends up connected to a logic pin!** To connect, gently pull on the two black 'ears' on the FPC connector, and plug in the display so the gold/silver metalic pins are facing 'up' away from the PCB. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/430/medium800/adafruit_products_connector.jpg?1428703283) # Update & Upgrade Start by updating and upgrading your Raspberry Pi to the latest software. `sudo apt-get update` `sudo apt-get upgrade` ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/405/medium800/adafruit_products_aptgetupdate.png?1428687340) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/406/medium800/adafruit_products_aptgetupgrade.png?1428687363) # Update configuration Finally, we'll tell the Pi to use the attached DPI display. The following will work for our 5" and 7" 800x480 displays. Both touch and non-touch displays use the same setup here Start by editing with ```auto sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt ``` and add the following lines at the bottom ```python dtoverlay=vc4-kms-dpi-panel,kippah-7inch ``` For 4.3" TFT use the following: ```auto dtoverlay=vc4-kms-dpi-generic,hactive=480,vactive=272,width-mm=95,height-mm=54 ``` To finish installation, just run **sudo reboot** # Touch screen support If you have a DPI HAT with touchscreen circuitry installed _and_ a touch-screen display, you can easily use it for touch screen support A microUSB cable is required (not included) connect it from the MicroUSB connector on the HAT into one of the Pi's USB port. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/428/medium800/adafruit_products_2353_top_demo_with_cable_ORIG.jpg?1428703147) No additional drivers are required! The touchscreen should just work. However, you'll likely want to calibrate the screen. We have a calibration helper python script. Start by installing **python-pip** and **pyusb**. ```auto sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-venv python3 -m venv env --system-site-packages source env/bin/activate pip3 install pyusb ``` Then grab the code and example gradient ```auto cd ~ wget https://github.com/adafruit/Raspberry-Pi-Installer-Scripts/raw/main/ar1100.py wget http://adafruit-download.s3.amazonaws.com/gradient800x480.jpg ``` If you are running it on a 5" display, continue as is. If you are running it on a 7" display, edit with **nano ar1100.py** and change this line: `writeeeprom = CALIBRATED_5IN_800x480;` to `writeeeprom = CALIBRATED_7IN_800x480;` Then run the calibrator with: ```auto cd ~ chmod +x ar1100.py sudo -E PATH=$PATH python ar1100.py ``` Its normal for the first time you run it, it will complain " **Couldn't find generic either**" just run it again! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/420/medium800/adafruit_products_try1.png?1428699697) Just hit the up arrow on your keyboard and return, to rerun **sudo python ar1100.py** This time it will continue, program the AR1100 with the calibration data, and give you a rainbow display.  When done, hit Escape on your keyboard ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/421/medium800/adafruit_products_try2.png?1428699762) # Adafruit DPI Display Kippah ## Backlight The DPI Kippah has a backlight booster that can support any 40pin TFT display we carry. However, since backlights do vary from display to display, you may need to configure the backlight to match your display. Here's the constant-current draws of our displays - 4.3" 480x272 - 1 strand of 7 LEDs in series, **25mA** constant current - 5.0" 800x480 - 2 strands  6 LEDs in series, **50mA** constant current - 7.0" 800x480 - 6 strands of 3 LEDs in series, **150mA** constant current (although 100-150mA can be used) By default, we ship the DPI Kippot with 25mA backlight. You'll still be able to see the display on a 5" or 7" display, **but it will be dim!** That's OK, all you have to do is configure the Kippah to match your display. Since we dont know what display you're going to use, we leave this up to you. It's easy to do, just grab your soldering iron and heat it up, then grab some solder and melt it to short out the jumpers on the Kippah here: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/431/medium800/adafruit_products_backlite.jpg?1428703312) The left and middle jumper each add 25mA to the default 25mA. The right jumper adds 50mA. So if you want to have a 50mA backlight, short only the left jumper. For 75mA, short the right most. For 100mA solder short the left and right and for 125mA short all three! # Adafruit DPI Display Kippah ## Downloads # Files - [5.0" Display](http://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/KD50G21-40NT-A1.pdf) Datasheet (example of 40-pin interface pinout) - [Configuration files on GitHub](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-DPI-Kippah) - [EagleCAD PCB files on GitHub](https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-DPI-Kippah-PCB) # Schematic The middle section with the touch screen controller is not placed on the non-touch version! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/414/medium800/adafruit_products_sch.png?1428698074) # Fabication print This PCB fits the electrical 'HAT' specification. Dimensions in mm ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/415/medium800/adafruit_products_print.png?1428698098) # Adafruit DPI Display Kippah ## F.A.Q. ### Can I use the DPI interface and HDMI or TV out at the same time? Yes! With bookworm, the DPI/HDMI/TV outputs use a separate hardware driver so you can only have multiple enabled at a time. ### If you'd like to check out the device tree overlay and how to customize, you can read some more here: [http://blog.reasonablycorrect.com/raw-dpi-raspberry-pi/](http://blog.reasonablycorrect.com/raw-dpi-raspberry-pi/) Run: `sudo apt-get install device-tree-compiler ` `wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/robertely/dpi666/master/setup/dt-blob-dpi.dts ` `sudo dtc -I dts -O dtb -o /boot/dt-blob.bin dt-blob-dpi.dts` to create your own! ## Featured Products ### Adafruit DPI TFT Kippah for Raspberry Pi with Touch Support [Adafruit DPI TFT Kippah for Raspberry Pi with Touch Support](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2453) A TFT panel connected to a Raspberry Pi without the use of an HDMI decoder? What is this sorcery??? It's the **DPI Kippah from Adafruit**! This HAT-like\* board snaps onto a Raspberry Pi B+, A+, Pi 2, Pi 3 or Zero and with a little software configuration, allows you to have... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2453) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2453/guides) ### Adafruit DPI TFT Kippah for Raspberry Pi [Adafruit DPI TFT Kippah for Raspberry Pi](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2454) A TFT panel connected to a Raspberry Pi without the use of an HDMI decoder? What is this sorcery??? It's the **DPI Kippah from Adafruit**! This HAT-like\* board snaps onto a Raspberry Pi B+, A+, Pi 2, Pi 3 or Zero and with a little software configuration, allows you to have... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2454) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2454/guides) ### 4.3" 40-pin TFT Display - 480x272 with Touchscreen [4.3" 40-pin TFT Display - 480x272 with Touchscreen](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1591) This 4.3" TFT screen has lots of pixels, 480x272 to be exact, an LED backlight and a resistive touchscreen overlay. Its great for when you need a lot of space for graphics or a user interface. These screens are commonly seen in consumer electronics, such as miniature TVs, GPSs, handheld... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1591) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1591/guides) ### 5.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 with Touchscreen [5.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 with Touchscreen](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1596) This 5.0" TFT screen has lots of pixels, 800x480 to be exact, an LED backlight and a resistive touchscreen overlay. Its great for when you need a lot of space for graphics or a user interface. These screens are commonly seen in consumer electronics, such as miniature TV's, GPS's,... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1596) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1596/guides) ### 5.0" 40-pin 800x480 TFT Display without Touchscreen [5.0" 40-pin 800x480 TFT Display without Touchscreen](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1680) This 5.0" TFT screen has lots of pixels, 800x480 to be exact, and an LED backlight. Its great for when you need a lot of space for graphics. These screens are commonly seen in consumer electronics, such as miniature TV's, GPS's, handheld games car displays, etc. A 40-pin connector... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1680) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1680/guides) ### 7.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 with Touchscreen [7.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 with Touchscreen](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2354) This 7.0" TFT screen has lots of pixels, 800x480 to be exact, an LED backlight and a resistive touchscreen overlay. Its great for when you need a lot of space for graphics or a user interface. These screens are commonly seen in consumer electronics, such as miniature TV's, GPS's,... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2354) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2354/guides) ### 7.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 without Touchscreen [7.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 without Touchscreen](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2353) This 7.0" TFT screen has lots of pixels, 800x480 to be exact, and an LED backlight. Its great for when you need a lot of space for graphics. These screens are commonly seen in consumer electronics, such as miniature TV's, GPS's, handheld games car displays, etc. A 40-pin connector... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2353) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2353/guides) ### 40-pin FPC Extension Board + 200mm Cable [40-pin FPC Extension Board + 200mm Cable](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2098) Give your 40 pin, 0.5mm pitch, devices a strrrreeeetch with this extension board.  This 40pin FPC extension board has two 40-pin flex connectors (both are bottom contact type), and an extension cable to add ~22cm (20cm cable plus 2cm board)  Each order comes with one board a 20cm... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2098) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2098/guides) ## Related Guides - [Processing on the Raspberry Pi & PiTFT](https://learn.adafruit.com/processing-on-the-raspberry-pi-and-pitft.md) - [5" Display Kippah Portable Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/portable-kippah-pi.md) - [RA8875 Touch Display Driver Board](https://learn.adafruit.com/ra8875-touch-display-driver-board.md) - [Adafruit TFP401 HDMI/DVI Decoder to 40-pin TTL Display](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-tfp401-hdmi-slash-dvi-decoder-to-40-pin-ttl-display.md) - [Portable 5in Monitor with HDMI](https://learn.adafruit.com/portable-5in-monitor-with-hdmi.md) - [LED Matrix Necklace Pendant](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-matrix-necklace-pendant.md) - [Adafruit PiCowbell CAN Bus for Pico](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-picowbell-can-bus-for-pico.md) - [Adafruit Stepper + DC Motor FeatherWing](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-stepper-dc-motor-featherwing.md) - [Adafruit Metro ESP32-S2](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-metro-esp32-s2.md) - [Speech Synthesis on the Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/speech-synthesis-on-the-raspberry-pi.md) - [Adafruit RGB Matrix FeatherWings](https://learn.adafruit.com/rgb-matrix-featherwing.md) - [Adafruit PCT2075 Temperature Sensor](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-pct2075-temperature-sensor.md) - [Accessing and Using Adafruit PCB Design Files](https://learn.adafruit.com/accessing-and-using-adafruit-pcb-design-files.md) - [Basic Resistor Sensor Reading on Raspberry Pi](https://learn.adafruit.com/basic-resistor-sensor-reading-on-raspberry-pi.md) - [Adafruit I2C FRAM Breakout](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-i2c-fram-breakout.md)