DIY hand-held games console: GUI Framework
Last updated: 22 Oct 2022 - 23:00
Now that the screen lights up and displays something, next on my list was a way to make the screen show useful things dynamically with as little code as possible. I decided to go with LVGL which is a framework for creating embedded GUIs on small graphical displays. It's implemented in C and is impressively flexible whilst leaving the programming interface familiar to anyone who's used Qt, GTK etc.
Bitmap font editor tool
Last updated: 11 Nov 2020 - 14:36
In a project I am currently working on I needed a font to embed in the ROM of an ARM Cortex micro-controller that could be used on one of these ChLCD modules from SparkFun. The display in my application is currently mounted in a landscape orientation, but I didn't want to preclude using it the other way around, or changing the font. I've written a few bitmap font editors over the years for various graphical LCDs, VGA displays and LED matrix displays. They all have a common interface, a character being edited with oversized pixels and a preview of the entire font. I decided this time to do a "proper job" of the code and write a Python GUI app that should be cross-platform and allows saving and loading of fonts.
Server Monitor
Last updated: 31 Oct 2010 - 21:47
Server Monitor: A picture of the server monitor in place next to a cooling fan.
I've been in the process of upgrading my backup/home media server for a few weeks now. I managed to get hold of an old case from a skip outside a closing down fax/photocopier company. It's a fairly decent case, although it was somewhat 5.25" centric in design. Amongst other things I did to modify this case, I replaced the old drive door with a new completely transparent one with some USB ports and an additional fan for cooling the new compliment of many hard disks. The server is going to be running in a cupboard without a monitor most of the time and I wanted to be able to see at a glance what the system was doing. Inspired by the computer-graphic imaginary servers that are featured in web hosting ads that have a screen on the front, I set about adding a little monochrome LCD.