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My screen is barely readable
Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2016 6:14 pm
by mwass
I have wired up my screen based upon Felders post. (
http://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic. ... =lcd#p9839)
I dont have the adafruit monitor i have the BW one so I wired it up but the text just isnt readable. Is my voltage too slow? or did I wire it to the pi wrong?

- IMG_1617.JPG (2.89 MiB) Viewed 14140 times
Also there is a bit of noise on the screen. There are waves pulsating from top to bottom
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 2:18 am
by Mischief
In /boot/config.txt you can modify this line to change the console resolution:
#framebuffer_width=320
#framebuffer_height=240
Just remove the hashtags and set the resolution to what the screen outputs (most are 320*240)
To get larger text on the emulation station themes you have to modify the themes XML use this code (for carbon theme):
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
Then change all lines for font size to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 10:46 am
by statikeffeck
Mischief wrote:In /boot/config.txt you can modify this line to change the console resolution:
#framebuffer_width=320
#framebuffer_height=240
Just remove the hashtags and set the resolution to what the screen outputs (most are 320*240)
To get larger text on the emulation station themes you have to modify the themes XML use this code (for carbon theme):
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
Then change all lines for font size to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
Thanks for the info! I noticed retroarch is fixed at roughly 640x480, any way to shrink that down permanently as well?
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 11:10 am
by Mischief
statikeffeck wrote:Mischief wrote:In /boot/config.txt you can modify this line to change the console resolution:
#framebuffer_width=320
#framebuffer_height=240
Just remove the hashtags and set the resolution to what the screen outputs (most are 320*240)
To get larger text on the emulation station themes you have to modify the themes XML use this code (for carbon theme):
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
Then change all lines for font size to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
Thanks for the info! I noticed retroarch is fixed at roughly 640x480, any way to shrink that down permanently as well?
Not had issues with that yet so not looked into it, most of the info I know is from searching google and following or combining many tutorials.
The font size mod is from the adafruit learn site, but because the carbon skin had red text for selected game it was still fuzzy I changed to another skin and modified the font size on that instead.
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 6:58 pm
by mwass
Mischief wrote:In /boot/config.txt you can modify this line to change the console resolution:
#framebuffer_width=320
#framebuffer_height=240
Just remove the hashtags and set the resolution to what the screen outputs (most are 320*240)
To get larger text on the emulation station themes you have to modify the themes XML use this code (for carbon theme):
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
Then change all lines for font size to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
How do you modify the themes XML code? I cant find it in the boot menu. Im sorry but I am a bit lost. Also this is more specifically for emulation station. I am unable to read anything.
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2016 7:40 pm
by ChunkeeMunkee
Can't help with the text size I'm afraid, however the screen phasing you mentioned can be fixed with a jumper wire:

- 800px-IMAG0115.jpg (107.45 KiB) Viewed 14053 times
(Image taken from Sudomod Wiki)
Had the same issues myself (BW screen Variant 7, same as yours by the looks of it). You don't even need to remove any chips!
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 2:03 am
by Mischief
mwass wrote:Mischief wrote:In /boot/config.txt you can modify this line to change the console resolution:
#framebuffer_width=320
#framebuffer_height=240
Just remove the hashtags and set the resolution to what the screen outputs (most are 320*240)
To get larger text on the emulation station themes you have to modify the themes XML use this code (for carbon theme):
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
Then change all lines for font size to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
How do you modify the themes XML code? I cant find it in the boot menu. Im sorry but I am a bit lost. Also this is more specifically for emulation station. I am unable to read anything.
Framebuffer in config.txt is so you can read the text on the pi's console (when you press F4 on a keyboard), to adjust the theme (emulationstation) text you have to press F4 then enter the code "sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml" (where carbon is replace it with the name of the skin your using) then change all the lines <fontsize>X.XXX</fontsize> to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
I solved the screen noise issue by removing the IC chip before running the bypass wire, also if your running another device as well as the screen from the same power point that will cause a little noise as will having the power wires to the screen too long make them as short as possible.

Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 4:05 pm
by mwass
Mischief wrote:mwass wrote:Mischief wrote:In /boot/config.txt you can modify this line to change the console resolution:
#framebuffer_width=320
#framebuffer_height=240
Just remove the hashtags and set the resolution to what the screen outputs (most are 320*240)
To get larger text on the emulation station themes you have to modify the themes XML use this code (for carbon theme):
sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml
Then change all lines for font size to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
How do you modify the themes XML code? I cant find it in the boot menu. Im sorry but I am a bit lost. Also this is more specifically for emulation station. I am unable to read anything.
Framebuffer in config.txt is so you can read the text on the pi's console (when you press F4 on a keyboard), to adjust the theme (emulationstation) text you have to press F4 then enter the code "sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/carbon.xml" (where carbon is replace it with the name of the skin your using) then change all the lines <fontsize>X.XXX</fontsize> to <fontsize>0.05</fontsize>
I solved the screen noise issue by removing the IC chip before running the bypass wire, also if your running another device as well as the screen from the same power point that will cause a little noise as will having the power wires to the screen too long make them as short as possible.

Sorry for being stupid but how exactly do you type that. You only have 4 buttons. I know that "A" if f4 but how do you type the rest?
Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 4:11 pm
by Mischief
Sorry my fault, you need to plug a keyboard into your external usb port

Re: My screen is barely readable
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:50 pm
by mwass
Mischief wrote:Sorry my fault, you need to plug a keyboard into your external usb port

No problem. Thank you very much!