NetBurner 3.5.6
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SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display

SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display Application

Overview

This application demonstrates the basic usage of the SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display (COM-16919) with NetBurner's RTOS platform. The program initializes the display, shows a welcome message, and then continuously displays a running seconds counter.

Hardware Requirements

  • NetBurner development board with I2C/Wire support
  • SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display (COM-16919)
  • Qwiic connector cable or appropriate I2C wiring

Features

  • Network stack initialization with web server capabilities
  • I2C communication with the alphanumeric display
  • Real-time display of system uptime in seconds
  • Connection status verification
  • System diagnostics enabled for development

Application Flow

  1. Initialization Phase
    • Initialize the network stack
    • Enable system diagnostics
    • Wait for active network connection (up to 25 seconds)
    • Start HTTP web server on default port 80
    • Initialize I2C Wire interface
  2. Display Setup
    • Initialize the HT16K33 display controller
    • Verify display connection
    • Display "NBRN" as initial message
    • Wait 1 second before starting main loop
  3. Main Loop
    • Continuously monitor system seconds counter
    • Update display with current seconds (modulo 10000)
    • Print status dots to console every second

Code Structure

Key Components

  • SerialIf Serial - Serial interface for debug output
  • TwoWire Wire - I2C communication interface
  • HT16K33 disp - SparkFun alphanumeric display controller
  • UserMain() - Main application entry point

Display Operations

The application uses the SparkFun Alphanumeric Display library which provides:

  • begin() - Initialize display
  • isConnected() - Check connection status
  • print() - Display text/numbers

Network Features

The application includes network capabilities:

  • Web server on port 80
  • Network diagnostics
  • Connection monitoring

Usage

  1. Connect the SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display to your NetBurner board via I2C
  2. Compile and upload the application
  3. Monitor the serial console for:
    • Application name and NNDK revision
    • Display initialization status
    • Connection verification
    • Running status dots
  4. Observe the display showing:
    • Initial "NBRN" message
    • Continuous seconds counter (0-9999, then repeats)

Console Output

The application provides debug information via serial console:

Web Application: SparkFunAlphaDisplay
NNDK Revision: [version]
Begin True/false
Connected True/false
. . . . (status dots every second)

Development Notes

  • System diagnostics are enabled for development purposes
  • Consider removing EnableSystemDiagnostics() for production builds
  • The web server functionality is initialized but not actively used in this example
  • Display shows seconds modulo 10000 to fit the 4-digit alphanumeric format

Dependencies

  • NetBurner RTOS libraries
  • SparkFun Alphanumeric Display library
  • Standard I2C/Wire libraries

Troubleshooting

  1. Display not initializing: Check I2C connections and power
  2. Connection false: Verify proper I2C address and wiring
  3. Network timeout: Ensure network configuration is correct
  4. No display updates: Check that the main loop is running and seconds counter is incrementing

Related Documentation

This example is part of the NetBurner I2C examples collection: examples/I2C/Wire/SparkFunQwiic/AlphaDisplay

For more information about the SparkFun Qwiic Alphanumeric Display, refer to the SparkFun documentation for COM-16919.