2.8" TFT LCD Display Module - 240x320 SPI, ILI9341, MicroSD Reader (Non-Touch)

Specifications

• Display Technology: Standard TFT LCD

• Screen Size: 2.8 Inches (Diagonal)

• Resolution: 240 x 320 Pixels

• Color Depth: 16-bit RGB (65K Colors)

• Driver IC: ILI9341

• Interface: SPI

• Operating Voltage: 3.3V or 5V Power Input (Onboard Regulator)

• Logic Voltage: 3.3V (Requires level shifting for 5V boards)

• Touch Capability: None (Non-Touch Variant)

• Backlight: White LED

• PCB Dimensions: 86.00mm (L) x 50.00mm (W)

Key Applications and Projects

• Environmental Dashboards: Creating a centralized, color-coded readout for temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure data collected from multiple rooms.

• 3D Printer Status Screens: Building a custom Marlin-compatible display to show hotend temperatures, print progress, and Z-height in real-time.

• Audio Track Readouts: Displaying currently playing song titles, album art (via the SD card), and an EQ visualizer for custom MP3 player builds.

Unlock New Capabilities (Project Evolution) The Smart Digital Photo Frame: Have an old ESP32 module sitting in a drawer? Evolve it into a Wi-Fi-enabled digital photo frame! Hook the ESP32 up to this 2.8" display via SPI. Write a script that reaches out to an internet API (like Unsplash or NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day), downloads a daily JPEG, decodes it, and renders it onto this screen. You have just built a self-updating, high-tech desk ornament for a fraction of the cost of retail smart displays!

Package Includes:

• 1 x 2.8" 240x320 SPI TFT LCD Module (Non-Touch Variant)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

1. Is this a touch screen? No. Despite the word "Touch" appearing on the PCB silk screen, this specific listing is for the "Without Touch" version. The glass lacks a touch digitizer, making it a display-only module.

2. Why are there pins labeled T_CLK, T_CS, etc., if it doesn't have touch? The factory uses the exact same red printed circuit board for both their touch and non-touch variants to save manufacturing costs. On this non-touch version, those "T_" (Touch) pins are completely disconnected and should be ignored.

3. What driver chip does this display use? It is driven by the highly reliable and universally supported ILI9341 controller.

4. Can I power this with 5V? Yes, the VCC pin can be connected to a 5V power supply because the back of the board features a small voltage regulator (U1) that drops the power down to a safe 3.3V for the screen.

5. Can I connect the data pins directly to a 5V Arduino Uno? It is highly discouraged. While the power pin can handle 5V, the logic pins (SCK, MOSI, CS, DC) are strictly rated for 3.3V. Sending 5V logic signals directly into the ILI9341 chip can drastically shorten its lifespan or destroy it. You should use a Logic Level Converter.

6. Does it work natively with 3.3V boards like the ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Pico? Yes, it works perfectly and safely with any 3.3V logic microcontroller without needing a level converter.

7. What is the SD card slot used for? The MicroSD slot allows you to store large image files (like BMPs) or text logs. Your microcontroller can read the image data from the SD card and push it to the screen.

8. Do the screen and the SD card use the same pins? They can share the main SPI bus pins (SCK, MISO, MOSI). However, they must have separate Chip Select (CS) pins. The screen uses the main CS pin, and the SD card uses the SD_CS pin.

9. What does the "DC/RS" pin do? DC stands for Data/Command (sometimes called Register Select). The microcontroller toggles this pin HIGH or LOW to tell the display whether the incoming SPI bytes are setup commands or actual pixel color data.

10. What does the "RESET" pin do? It physically restarts the ILI9341 controller chip. Your microcontroller must pull this pin LOW for a few milliseconds during startup to initialize the screen.

11. What does the "LED" pin do? This pin controls the backlight. If you connect it to 3.3V, the screen stays at 100% maximum brightness.

12. Can I adjust the brightness of the screen? Yes! Connect the LED pin to a PWM-capable pin on your microcontroller. By adjusting the PWM duty cycle in your code, you can smoothly dim or brighten the backlight.

13. What Arduino library should I use? For ultimate speed on 32-bit microcontrollers (ESP32/RP2040), the TFT_eSPI library by Bodmer is the gold standard. For basic Arduino Uno/Mega setups, use the Adafruit_ILI9341 and Adafruit_GFX libraries.

14. Why is the screen completely white when I turn it on? A white screen is the default state when the backlight has power but the ILI9341 chip has not received its initialization commands. Check your wiring and ensure your code is running.

15. Is this an IPS display? No, this is a standard TFT (Twisted Nematic) display. While the colors are vibrant when viewed head-on, they will invert or wash out if viewed from extreme side angles.

16. How many wires do I need to connect just to get an image? At minimum, you need 7 wires: VCC (Power), GND (Ground), CS (Chip Select), RESET, DC (Data/Command), SDI (MOSI), and SCK (Clock). The LED pin can be hardwired to VCC.

17. What is the "SDO(MISO)" pin for? MISO (Master In Slave Out) is used if your microcontroller needs to read data back from the screen's memory. For 99% of graphics libraries, you only write to the screen, so the MISO pin on the display section can often be left disconnected.

18. What format must images be to display them from the SD card? Graphics libraries usually require images to be saved as 24-bit uncompressed .bmp (Bitmap) files. JPEGs and PNGs require too much processing power for basic microcontrollers to decode quickly.

19. What are the exact dimensions of the PCB? The red PCB measures 86.00mm in length and 50.00mm in width.

20. Will this play video? Not smoothly. The SPI bus is fast, but pushing 76,800 pixels per frame over a serial line limits the refresh rate. You can achieve basic, low-framerate animations, but it cannot play 60fps HD video.