My Love-Hate Relationship with the Elecrow CrowPanel 5.79" e-Paper Display

The Elecrow CrowPanel 5.79“ e-paper display initially seemed like a dream come true. A large, high-resolution display for all my e-ink project ideas? Sign me up! However, my journey with this display was a rollercoaster of emotions, filled with both excitement and frustration.

Few weeks ago in Facebook Micropython group I've saw invitation to win E-Paper device based on ESP32 and gave it a go- filled in form. Only name and email was required. We live in spam world already, so I've decided to give it a go. To my surprise, I have received email asking me what model would I like to receive. Decided to try my luck on Elecrow CrowPanel 5.79. To my surpize- I have received parcel in my mail box. Unexpected, but very pleasant. In exchange for free item, Annie from Elecrow marketing asked me to share project on it. Searching for any library for the screen- nothing was found on the web. As it was not available- I've decided try and create it myself. Already had some experience on python coding, but writing low level communication for chips using non-full documentation and poorly documented code (but working Arduino samples from Elecrow website) was challenging task. Begun working on it and stumbled on fact, that screen is controlled by two SSD1683 chips.

One of the biggest hurdles I encountered was the presence of two SSD1683 driver chips within the display. This dual-chip setup added a layer of complexity to the control signals and data transmission. The documentation, while helpful, wasn't always straightforward, and I spent countless hours debugging communication issues. There are absolutely no details how to control SSD1683, which is in slave mode. It was trial and error journey from Arduino code samples provided.

The most frustrating issue I faced was a peculiar display glitch. A portion of the screen, roughly in the middle, would remain blank or display corrupted data. After much head-scratching and experimentation, I discovered that the issue stemmed from a two SSD1683's controlling one screen. Screen row basically consist of 792 pixels, which is 99 bytes. But to display correctly, each chip has to receive 50 bytes of information. Screen on the left 50 leftmost and screen on the right- 50 rightmost. But as there is only 99 bytes available- one byte must be shared between chips. That solved my problem and I was finally able to coax the display into showing the full image.

This project, despite its challenges, taught me valuable lessons about hardware-software interaction, debugging techniques, and the importance of thorough documentation. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this specific display for beginners due to its complexity, I believe the experience has significantly improved my embedded systems development skills.

In the future, I plan to explore alternative e-paper display options with simpler driver configurations. I also intend to create a more robust and user-friendly library for controlling the CrowPanel, making it easier for others to utilize this unique display.

• SDCard support
• Button
• Library for CrowPanel 4.2”

The CrowPanel 5.79“ e-paper display was a challenging but rewarding project. It pushed my technical limits and provided valuable insights into the world of embedded systems. While I encountered significant obstacles, the feeling of accomplishment upon finally overcoming the display glitch was immensely satisfying.

If you have CrowPanel 4.2” panel on you hand and would like to help Micropython community with CrowPanel library I encourage you to share your own tips or tricks you've discovered along the way!

Disclaimer: This blog post is based on my personal experience and may not reflect the experiences of others.