Files
espresso_frame/docs/hardware.md
T
tfaour f74085cedf Add third button: "scan to manage" QR overlay on the current photo
Pressing the manage button (GPIO1) overlays a small QR code -- "SCAN TO
MANAGE" -- in the top-right corner of whatever photo is currently on
screen, linking to the server's config page, then reverts to the plain
photo after 30 seconds.

The overlay is spliced into the existing streaming fetch as chunks pass
through (frame_client.c's http_read_fn), rather than buffering the full
192,000-byte frame in RAM: only the small overlay rectangle itself
(~30KB) is ever held in memory, generated via new stride-parameterized
drawing helpers (epd_draw_*_ex in epd_draw.c) that let the existing
QR/text drawing code target an arbitrarily-sized buffer instead of a
full-frame one. epd7in3e.c is untouched -- it has no idea an overlay
exists.
2026-07-19 00:50:07 -04:00

73 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown

# Hardware
## Parts
- An ESP32-C6 dev board (e.g. ESP32-C6-DevKitC-1). Needs 8MB flash --
see [`firmware/sdkconfig.defaults`](../firmware/sdkconfig.defaults) and
[`firmware/partitions.csv`](../firmware/partitions.csv) if yours differs.
- [Waveshare 7.3" E Ink Spectra 6 (E6) panel](https://www.waveshare.com/7.3inch-e-paper-hat-e.htm) --
800x480, 6-color, SPI.
- A USB cable for flashing/power.
## Wiring
The panel connects over SPI plus three control lines (data/command, reset,
busy). Defaults below match the reference build and are set in
[`firmware/components/epd7in3e/Kconfig`](../firmware/components/epd7in3e/Kconfig) --
override via `idf.py menuconfig` under **E-Paper Display (epd7in3e)
Configuration** if your wiring differs.
| Panel pin | ESP32-C6 GPIO | Kconfig option |
| --------- | ------------- | ----------------- |
| CLK | 20 | `EPD_PIN_CLK` |
| DIN | 19 | `EPD_PIN_MOSI` |
| CS | 18 | `EPD_PIN_CS` |
| DC | 9 | `EPD_PIN_DC` |
| RST | 10 | `EPD_PIN_RST` |
| BUSY | 11 | `EPD_PIN_BUSY` |
| VCC | 3.3V | -- |
| GND | GND | -- |
Optionally, three buttons, all wired the same way -- momentary push button
between the GPIO and GND, no external resistor needed (the firmware
enables each pin's internal pull-up, so it idles high and reads low when
pressed):
- **Factory-reset (GPIO3)**: held for 10 seconds, clears the stored
WiFi/server config; see
[`firmware/README.md`](../firmware/README.md#resetting-to-provisioning-mode).
- **Next photo (GPIO2)**: a normal press skips immediately to the next
photo; see
[`firmware/README.md`](../firmware/README.md#skipping-to-the-next-photo).
- **Manage (GPIO1)**: a normal press overlays a "scan to manage" QR code
on the current photo for 30 seconds, linking to the server's config
page; see
[`firmware/README.md`](../firmware/README.md#scanning-to-manage-the-queue).
Both pins were picked because they're within GPIO 0-7 -- the only pins
the ESP32-C6 can wake from deep sleep on -- aren't strapping pins, and
aren't already used by the panel wiring above.
A couple of things worth knowing if you pick different pins:
- **Avoid the ESP32-C6's strapping pins** (GPIO 4, 5, 8, 9, 15) and the
USB-JTAG pins (12, 13) where possible -- strapping pins are sampled at
reset to select boot mode. The reference wiring above already uses
GPIO9 for DC, which *is* a strapping pin; it's only sampled during
power-on/reset, so it's safe once the app is running, but if
flashing/boot ever misbehaves on your board, check whether the panel is
pulling that line low during reset.
- The panel's SPI interface is rated well above the firmware's default
4MHz clock (`EPD_SPI_CLOCK_HZ`), but breadboard/dupont-wire connections
are often unreliable much past a few MHz. Raise it once your physical
wiring is confirmed solid.
## Power
The device spends nearly all its time in deep sleep, waking briefly once
an hour (configurable, see the server's web UI) to fetch and display a
photo. A full-color refresh on this panel takes 15-30+ seconds and draws
more current than deep sleep by a wide margin -- expect battery life (if
not running from USB power) to be dominated by refresh frequency, not
sleep current.