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    [GUIDE] Retropie + 3.5 inch RPi LCD v3.0 (no brand)

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    retropie 4.0.2 3.5 lcd rpi waveshare
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    • R
      ray1618
      last edited by ray1618

      I couldn't get my GPIO screen to work without problems, I ordered another 3.5" from spotpear on ebay WITH Hdmi connection. And like the support guy of spotpear promissed me: The screen works Without drivers as it just uses HDMI for the screen Yay!.

      So far it works just as I hoped it would! and it also has an 3.5mm jack for audio (wich workes without noise, UNLIKE my original pi audio out)

      You still can connect it to the GPIO for touch support (does need drivers) and power (just works when pugged in), but it's also possible to power it with another micro USB cable.

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/332082341660?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

      IF I ever receive my aftermarked gameboy case I'll let you know how it fits :)

      @moosepr
      I'll check out if the bgr=1 and speed change works out for my other GPIO screen

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      • C
        chip @Taft
        last edited by

        @Taft sorry I am new to linux or retropie. Could you tell me where should I enter the command in retropie. Many thanks T.T

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        • C
          chip @Taft
          last edited by

          @Taft hi I have successfully installed the driver after following your guidance. Yet the 3.5 showed white screen then turn black. Is there any error in the settings? Thank you.

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          • C
            chip
            last edited by

            Finally The LCD is able to show pictures but like your situation it is too slow. And the colour isn't stable. I am really frustrated....

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            • H
              harrycool25
              last edited by

              I've done all the steps flawlessly, even though the screen is upside down for me, which I got it fixed later on. But now it is SO SLOWWWWW. Adding the lines suggested above into /boot/config.txt won't fix it at all, and even distort the colors. URGENT HELP SINCE I WANT TO COMPLETE MY PORTABLE RETROPIE SETUP!

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              • J
                juj
                last edited by

                I have recently been hacking on writing a new display driver for a WaveShare 3.5" (B) display and some other small Pi TFT displays, and also found out that the ILI9486 controller based WaveShare 3.5" inch screen is indeed quite slow. My copy of the display maxes out at 31.88MHz. I made a video about the best results I could reach at

                Other 480x320 Raspberry Pi SPI screens with different controller chips such as HX8357D and MZ61581 are much faster than ILI9486 (at least as present on the WaveShare). A table of SPI speeds of the different displays I have experimented with can be found at https://github.com/juj/fbcp-ili9341#which-spi-display-should-i-buy-to-make-sure-it-works-best-with-fbcp-ili9341 . The smaller 320x240 ILI9341 displays are also much faster, not just because of half the resolution, but also due to a 2.5x faster SPI bandwidth that ILI9341 controllers are able to provide, compared to the ILI9486. As result, ILI9341 are about 5x faster than ILI9486.

                Given the differences, for anyone considering the purchase of a 3.5" 480x320 display, I'd recommend those in the order MZ61581 > HX8357D > ILI9486; or if the serial connectivity is not a requirement, then save the trouble and pick up a DPI or HDMI connected display.

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                • J
                  jitencraiglist
                  last edited by jitencraiglist

                  @Taft Thanks for this guide..
                  i was able to get it to work with retropie well.. and dont see a screen lag..
                  however i see a weird issue..and wondering if anyone can help..
                  when hdmi cable is plugged / connected to monitor..i see dual display and the games run in correct resolution as in the whole game screen can be seen on the monitor as well as the 3.5 screen..
                  however if i remove hdmi connection and reboot.. i see lcd screen resolution is fine but when i start a game..that game doesn't fit correctly on the screen. it's resolution is much larger so i can only see partial screen of the game.

                  any idea how i can fix this issue?

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                  • S
                    shredderbenjamin
                    last edited by

                    Hi, looks like a good guide and people are having good outcomes from your advice but unfortunately for me it's not working! Using a Pi Zero W/retropie 4.4 - in the command "sudo cp waveshare-dtoverlays/waveshare35a-overlay.dtb /boot/overlays/waveshare35a.dtbo" It can't find the resource...

                    Any advice you could offer a newcomer like me? The screen is lighting up and that's all!

                    Thanks

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                    • A
                      Arzach
                      last edited by

                      Still works great with 4.5, thanks for the guide! Probably too late for @shredderbenjamin , but the filename isn't correct in that command. it's "waveshare35a.dtbo" not "waveshare35a-overlay.dtb". Once I figured that out it worked like a charm!

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                      • S
                        sword_sea
                        last edited by

                        Hello fellow humans. Ive gotten mine to work, though the colors are a bit wonky. can someone tell me the code for rotating the screen 180 degrees? I would like to use it on it's side for convenience reasons.

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                        • B
                          Bio_C @sword_sea
                          last edited by

                          @sword_sea You should change the string in the /boot/config.txt file
                          from: dtoverlay=waveshare35a
                          to: dtoverlay=waveshare35a:rotate=180
                          Didn't try it myself, but that's what is says in the waveshare readme file.

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                          • D
                            dkajan
                            last edited by

                            Hello I have only black screen...please help me

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                            • S
                              SeaFlurry02
                              last edited by

                              That sudo cp waveshare-dtoverlays/waveshare35a-overlay.dtb /boot/overlays/waveshare35a.dtbo command wont work for me! All i get is the command prompt yelling "cp: missing destination file operand after {former command here}"! Anyone know how to resolve?

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                              • samcoS
                                samco
                                last edited by

                                @SeaFlurry02 just happen to be working on this too. There is a "o" missing in the copy try sudo cp waveshare-dtoverlays/waveshare35a-overlay.dtbo /boot/overlays/waveshare35a.dtbo

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                                • H
                                  hohodsj
                                  last edited by hohodsj

                                  Thank you a million!!!
                                  The only thing I modified was

                                  sudo cp waveshare-dtoverlays/waveshare35a-overlay.dtb /boot/overlays/waveshare35a.dtbo

                                  to

                                  sudo cp waveshare-dtoverlays/waveshare35a.dtbo /boot/overlays/waveshare35a.dtbo
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                                  • S
                                    slowplayer157
                                    last edited by

                                    Hey thank for the code and it works great for a kit i pick up on Ebay, it wasn't that difficult to follow along with, and it's great that i had come across this. This is such great help, and understood what you mean by " this is very important because most guide are for 3.2 inch so if u have the waveshare 3.2 u must exchange the word "waveshare35a " in "waveshare32b" so when you mean if you have a 3.2 inch change "waveshare35a " to "waveshare35b" and if you have a 3.5 inch keep it at waveshare35a

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                                    • jtkblueJ
                                      jtkblue
                                      last edited by

                                      is there a way I can switch between HDMI and LCD screen?

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                                      • D
                                        dariofavaron
                                        last edited by

                                        Thanks it worked.
                                        The emulator was not centered in the picture so i had to change the resolution under RETROARCH -> Settings -> Video and width and height. it was 12807someting and i put the resolution of the screen 480320

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