The Cheap Yellow Display - a ESP32-driven development board
In a world abundant with microcontrollers and development boards, standing out requires a blend of affordability, functionality, and community support. The Cheap Yellow Display, an ESP32-based development board, checks these boxes, all thanks to the remarkable efforts of Brian Lough. This article dives into the charm of the Cheap Yellow Display, the community blossoming around it, and how Brian's ingenuity has turned a modest piece of hardware into a growing sensation.
The Cheap Yellow Display: What is it?
The Cheap Yellow Display is an ESP32-driven development board featuring a touchscreen on its flip side, acting as a mini kiosk. This board comes with a micro SD card slot, a breakout for the rest of the GPIO pins, and dedicated breakouts for peripherals like a microphone and a temperature sensor. It's an affordable tool priced around $13.90 from Makerfabs, and even cheaper on AliExpress, with prices hovering just over €10.
The Brian Lough Connection
Brian Lough, a notable YouTuber, stumbled upon the Cheap Yellow Display and saw its potential beyond its modest price tag. The device was initially poorly documented, which Brian took as a challenge. Instead of creating a new piece of hardware, he decided to enrich the existing one with comprehensive documentation. His mission was to make the Cheap Yellow Display easily accessible and usable for the community, a feat he achieved with flair!
Documentation: The Bridge to Accessibility
Brian Lough focus was to provide robust documentation to the Cheap Yellow Display, which initially had a mere zip file with scant information. He leveraged his past experience, like creating an ESP32 driver for Matrix displays, to create a well-documented platform for this development board. His GitHub page now hosts a wealth of resources to get anyone started with the Cheap Yellow Display, truly embodying the essence of open-source community spirit.
The Cheap Yellow Display has a built in 320 x 240 LCD screen
Community Engagement: More Than Just a Board
The Cheap Yellow Display is not just a development board; it's a community project. From 3D printing cases to creating an array of example codes compatible with the Arduino IDE, the community around this modest board is thriving. The project’s GitHub page is a testimony to the active engagement, with various setup guides, configuration instructions, and a Basics page reminiscent of the simplicity and accessibility akin to Arduino’s platform.
If you would like to contribute to the development of the documentation, visit the Cheap Yellow Display GitHub repository.
Residing on the south coast of England, Rich has spent the last few years building Electomaker.io from the ground up. He is usually found behind a laptop coordinating the rest of the EM team and occasionally finding time to contribute articles to the blog. When not tapping away at a laptop, he can be found either paddleboarding, at the beach, playing golf (badly), or camping with his family.
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