# AR1100 Resistive Touch Screen Controller Guide ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/020/566/medium800/sensors_2109-04.jpg?1414002841) Getting touchy performance with your screen's touch screen? Resistive touch screens are incredibly popular as overlays to TFT and LCD displays. If you want to connect one to a computer you need something to handle the analog to digital conversion. Most converters we've found are not very easy to use, and are 'fixed' - making them difficult to calibrate. The AR1100 is a nice chip that solves this problem by acting as a touch-\>USB converter and also comes with calibration software. The calibration software is Windows only, but once you've calibrated you can use the screen on any OS. The AR1100 shows up as a regular Mouse or Digitizer HID device so no drivers are required and it works on any operating system that supports a USB mouse (that is, every single one we've ever seen) There is also a red LED that lights up to indicate when a touch has been detected. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/020/564/medium800/sensors_1580-00.jpg?1414002806) We have a breakout that features the AR1100, which has both USB and UART interfaces available. 99% of the time, you'll want to use the USB interface but there is some functionality for getting TTL UART data out (see the datasheet for details) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/020/563/medium800/sensors_1580-02.jpg?1414002789) For the screens that have 1mm pitch FPC cables, you can plug the cable right into the connector. The majority of medium/large touchscreens have that kind of connector. If you have another kind of touch screen, the four X/Y contacts are available on 0.1" pitch breakouts so you can hand-solder or wire them. We set this breakout up for 4-wire sensing only ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/020/565/medium800/sensors_2109-00.jpg?1414002833) We also use this same chip in our TFT Touch screen designs, so that the screen can act like a display+mouse for any kind of computer. [You can pretty much just plug and play to get started, for more details including calibration software, check out the AR1100 page](http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en555168). If you're using the breakout, plug any 1mm-pitch 4-wire resistive touchscreen to the on-board FPC connector. Otherwise, it should already be wired up internally. When you plug into a computer's USB port you should see a new device and touching the screen will cause the mouse cursor to move around. - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/ar1100-resistive-touch-screen-controller-guide/calibrating-the-ar1100.md) ## Featured Products ### Resistive Touch Screen to USB Mouse Controller - AR1100 [Resistive Touch Screen to USB Mouse Controller - AR1100](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1580) Getting touchy performance with your screen's touchscreen? Resistive touch screens are incredibly popular as overlays to TFT and LCD displays. If you want to connect one to a computer, you need something to handle the analog-to-digital conversion. Most converters we've found are not... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1580) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1580/guides) ### HDMI 4 Pi: 5" Display w/Touch and Mini Driver - 800x480 HDMI [HDMI 4 Pi: 5" Display w/Touch and Mini Driver - 800x480 HDMI](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2109) Yes, this is a cute little 5" TFT display with WVGA 800x480 resolution **and** **it has a resistive touchscreen** overlay.  And yes it comes with an equally cute little driver board and USB-enabled 40-pin to 50-pin touchscreen adapter board. We tried... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2109) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2109/guides) ### HDMI 4 Pi: 5" Display (w/Touch) 800x480 - HDMI/VGA/NTSC/PAL [HDMI 4 Pi: 5" Display (w/Touch) 800x480 - HDMI/VGA/NTSC/PAL](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2110) Yes, this is a cute little 5" TFT display with WVGA 800x480 resolution **and it has a resistive touchscreen overlay**.  This display comes with a driver board with HDMI, VGA, and Composite inputs and USB-enabled 40-pin to 50-pin touchscreen adapter board. We... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2110) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2110/guides) ### TFP401 HDMI/DVI Decoder to 40-Pin TTL Breakout - With Touch [TFP401 HDMI/DVI Decoder to 40-Pin TTL Breakout - With Touch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2219) It's a mini HDMI decoder board! So small and simple, you can use this board as an all-in-one display driver for TTL displays, or perhaps decoding HDMI/DVI video for some other project. This breakout features the TFP401 for decoding video, and for the touch... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2219) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2219/guides) ## Related Guides - [Adafruit 5" and 7" 800x480 TFT HDMI Backpack](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-5-800x480-tft-hdmi-monitor-touchscreen-backpack.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) - [Adafruit SPI FLASH Breakouts](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-spi-flash-breakouts.md) - [Textile Potentiometer Hoodie](https://learn.adafruit.com/textile-potentiometer-hoodie.md) - [74HC595 Shift Register](https://learn.adafruit.com/74hc595.md) - [Adafruit PAM8302 - Mono 2.5W Class D Audio Amplifier](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-pam8302-mono-2-5w-class-d-audio-amplifier.md) - [Adafruit Motor Shield V2](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-motor-shield-v2-for-arduino.md) - [Esenciales para CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/esenciales-para-circuitpython.md) - [Which CircuitPython Board is Right for You?](https://learn.adafruit.com/choose-your-circuitpython-board.md) - [Adafruit ESP32 Feather V2](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-feather-v2.md) - [Adafruit High Power Infrared LED Emitter](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-high-power-infrared-led-emitter.md) - [Adafruit Feather M0 Basic Proto](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-m0-basic-proto.md) - [Fisher-Price USB Controller](https://learn.adafruit.com/fisher-price-usb-controller.md) - [Adafruit Triple Axis Gyro Breakout](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-triple-axis-gyro-breakout.md) - [Adafruit EYESPI Breakout Board](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-eyespi-breakout-board.md)