The hardware is open source which allows you to download the Gerber files and KiCad files and have the board produced by a manufacturer of your choosing. You'll also need this compatible display.

Alternatively you can just:

Arduino IDE

In order to install the FT81x Arduino Driver using the official Arduino IDE, navigate to Tools → Manage Libraries... and search for the FT81x Arduino Driver:

After you installed the latest version, you can use the library either by navigating to Sketch → Include Library or go to File → Examples → FT81x Arduino Library to load one of the example sketches.

PlatformIO

The library is available on the official PlatformIO registry. To install it, just run the following command in your project folder:

Pin Description

Please refer to the following pin description when hooking up the board to your microcontroller:

The table below prodives a more detailed description for each pin.

Common Boards

Please refer to the table below for specific information on how to hook up the display driver board to common Arduino boards.

^* configurable

After you successfully installed the Arduino library and hooked up your board, create a new Arduino Sketch and enter the following source code. Be sure to use the correct pin numbers for the CS1, CS2 and DC pins on line 3.

#include "FT81x.h"

FT81x ft81x = FT81x(10, 9, 8);

void setup() {
    SPI.begin();
    ft81x.begin();

    ft81x.beginDisplayList();
    ft81x.clear(FT81x_COLOR_RGB(0, 0, 0));
    ft81x.drawText(240, 200, 31, FT81x_COLOR_RGB(255, 255, 255), FT81x_OPT_CENTER, "Hello World\0");
    ft81x.swapScreen();
}

void loop() {
    // do nothing
}

After compiling and uploading to the mictocontroller, you should see the text Hello World at the center of your display.

Refer to the various example sketches as well as the API documentation for more information.

If you have any issues and you already double checked all the connections and the code contact the seller or open an issue on GitHub.

The FT81x Arduino Driver has support for mono audio output with its integrated sound effects as well as audio playback capabilites. To make proper use of this, an audio filter and amplifier circuit is required.

For prototyping purposes you can create a simple circuit using the LM386 audio amplifier IC:

The circuit above consists of the following parts:

1. The audio input signal coming from the FT81x Arduino Driver board.
2. A low pass filter for filtering all the high frequency switching noise.
3. A 10kΩ potentiometer to act as a volume control.
4. The LM386 audio amplifier with a 9V power supply.
5. A Zobel Network for impedence control of the speaker.
6. A polarized capacitor to block DC current.
7. A loudspeaker for the final audio output.

Some additional notes:
The power input of the LM386 may be increased up to 12V for less distorted output.
The value of the polarized capacitor in (6) can be anything from 220µF to 1000µF.

The above schematic laid out on a breadboard may look like this:

Be sure to connect all GND lines together and connect the audio output of the FT81x Arduino Driver board to the audio input of the amplifier circuit. Also, beware of connecting the 9V power supply to anything other than the LM386 as it may permanently damage the FT81x Arduino Driver board!

In order to test this setup, check out the Sound Effects Example Sketch of the Arduino library.