Presenting the PaperBack Contest Movie:

Build Instructions

I wrote up build instructions for making PaperBack. You should be able to find them on the main page of the project.

Remember, it's modular - if you just want to drive a 6" EPaper Display you only need to build the breakout board and source an ESP32. If you'd like to go further and display VGA you'll need the second board.

New Firmware on VGA Converter Board

If you take a look in the VGA firmware directory of the Github Repo, you'll see some updates to both the VHDL and the C++ for the ATmega.

The C++ rolls up a number of tweaks that interplay with the VGA signal. We now set the full range of VGA OFF -> ON to .7V, and tweak some of the clamping timing to better detect black. See the improved video in the... video.

The VHDL now supports the red user switches. I added some useful-to-me (and hopefully you!) resolution/color depths:

Switch 3 (Furthest from Microcontroller)
Switch 2
Switch 1 (Closest to Microcontroller)

• On On On - 16 color, ~10 seconds between frames
• On On Off - 16 color, ~5 seconds between frames
• On Off On - 4 color, ~10 seconds between frames
• On Off Off - 4 color, ~5 seconds between frames
• Off On On - 4 color, ~1 frame per second
• Off On Off - 2 color, ~10 seconds between frames
• Off Off On - 2 color, ~5 seconds between frames
• Off Off Off - 2 color, ~1 frame per second

Additionally, I tweaked the greyscale algorithm from the MST9883, so it now looks much better. All the more reason for you to build a PaperBack or two!