OLED Displays with Arduino - I2C & SPI OLEDs

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays have a lot of advantages over LCD and traditional LED displays. Today we will learn how to use OLED displays with our Arduino projects. We’ll also build an OLED Temperature and Humidity Meter.

OLED displays a bright, lightweight, and easy to read in almost any lighting condition. They come in all sizes, from huge wall-sized OLED televisions to thumbnail-sized status displays.

Today we will work with three small OLED displays:

- A 128x32 monochrome display that uses I2C
- A 128x64 dual-color display that also uses I2C
- A Waveshare 1.5 inch 128x128 monochrome display that can use either I2C or SPI

I’ll explain how an OLED differs from a regular LED and how it is ‘organic”. It doesn’t have anything to do with growing OLEDs without pesticides!

Next, we’ll look at some I2C OLEDs and experiment with them, using some excellent libraries from Adafruit.

After that, we will look at a very nice OLED display from Waveshare. It’s the largest display we’ll examine today and it can be used with either I2C or SPI. I will demo it in SPI mode using the demo code provided by Waveshare.

The example sketches provided with the libraries do a nice job of showing off the display's capabilities but they can be a little overwhelming to reverse-engineer for your own scripts. So to help I‘ve put together a very simple project to display simple text on the display, you can use it as the basis for your own Arduino OLED display projects.

The project is a temperature and humidity meter that uses the 128 x 64 dual-color OLED as a display. It uses an I2C temperature and humidity sensor so the wiring is super-easy. I'll go over the code for that in detail so you can see how it writes values to the OLED display.

Here is the Table of Contents for today's video:

00:00 - Introduction
02:20 - How OLEDs Work
06:19 - Look at OLED Displays
08:50 - OLEDs to Arduino with I2C
11:45 - Adafruit OLED Library
18:22 - I2C OLED Demos
24:27 - Waveshare OLED to Arduino with SPI
31:38 - OLED Temp & Humidity Meter

While you are there please sign up for the DroneBot Workshop Newsletter. It’s not a sales letter, it’s my way of keeping in touch with you to let you know about what's coming up in the workshop.

Lots of changes coming up in the workshop soon so if you haven’t subscribed to the YouTube channel yet please do so you don’t miss out on anything.

Hope you enjoy the video!

Bill

[laidman]

Your video lectures could serve as examples to instructors in ALL fields. You're right up there with the very best!

[guyconiglio]

You are a great teacher because you repeat yourself frequently. You guide us through the process like a manual. You also don't confuse learners because you don't over exaggerate. Thank you.

[MorrWorm]

I just want to take a moment to say your channel is amazing! When you are trying to learn something everyone always skips over things that’s are actually important. Not this channel. It’s soo good! It explains everything. Every stone is turned over. I love it.

[brandontechnerd]

I love that you got over 40 minutes out of this topic, and even used a temperature / humidity sensor.

[interestedinstuff]

You may have read somewhere that changing camera position keeps a video interesting, but I'd suggest that it is interesting because of your content. May have said that the two camera switching thing is a bad idea, and I agree if you switch without it having a meaning. If you need to switch, put a graphic or closeup. Switching between cameras can be used to tell the audience that you've got a side note to add for example, but switching for the sake of it tells them nothing. Camera angle is as much a part of your visual communication as you actual presentation.
That said, thanks for the information. Very informative.

[richardbell]

There isn't a lesson you put out that I don't learn something from. Thanks for taking the time.

[Giblet]

SPI is a bus protocol. You don't need two SPI ports to run two displays. It's possible to run lots of SPI displays from an Arduino, as long as the display has a CS connection, you have a free GPIO pin to select the display, and the display library differentiates display objects by the CS pin value you defined. They can even be different display types with different clock (SCK) speeds and resolutions. On the 32 bit boards e.g., Teensy, it's possible to animate as many as four 320x200 displays, separately, at the same time with acceptable results, using one SPI port.

[charly]

I am so impressed with this channel as you have helped me immensely in keeping up with Arduino technology and sensors. I recommend you to all of my fellow engineers as well as hobbyists. Your lectures and demos are super clear and precise, with no distractive fluff. Thank You !!!!

[jlucasound]

You are awesome. I learned a lot. Your delivery is exemplary. Your knowledge is paramount. Thank You. I am 56.
Just ordered more (MM) jumpers and an AM2320 sensor AND an AM2302 sensor module. I have Arduino, breadboards, OLED displays, and power. Thank you for explaining the code so well. You make no assumptions as to how much any individual knows. I would rather say "already know that" than "Oh, what did I miss?". Thanks.

[BenStrano]

I have been having fun with programming and microprocessors for a few months now, but I have never really grasped a lot of what I was doing. This video drove home so many concepts. I'm going through all of your videos now, because even if they seem beyond my skillset, I know you're going to present them in an approachable way. Kudos!

[owais]

This is the best channel for learning microcontrollers . Thank you for all your hard work.

[francoisguyot]

I'm getting addicted to your channel. My "LED's" up there have been blinking like crazy since I tuned into it. What a nice way to "waste" my retirement time (and money)

[jerryl]

Another amazing video, Bill. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with the rest of the world. This channel is what YouTube should be. I teach Special Education, so it’s nice to come onto your channel and try to get some ideas. I’m hoping to make some adaptive equipment or some cool games that the kids might enjoy. Your channel is like nourishment for the brain!

[tkzcreations]

As and ex video producer 27 years i have to say i love your production value. The average change of angle is 6 seconds our brain gets bored after that, Especial for a single presenter. Yes keep it up. Anybody can run a camera but editing is an art form don't change a thing. This is how you produce educational videos so students do not fall asleep. Top rating for you. Love it.

[tonygilkerson]

Great content, I am using this channel as my reference as I learn, thanks

[audvasa]

This is the best video for me, I really appreciate very much for sharing your knowledge and make the things to be simple for the people like me to understand. Thanks for much.

[brynleyevans]

I enjoyed the instructional video and I am so thankful that you do not have background music. So many presenter’s videos have stupid background music that detracts from the information. You cannot always tell when they are going to play the music so I miss some of the talking after I mute the sound. If I want to listen to music I have my own library. Thanks again for the great video and no music.

[fusion-uxzz]

man i like how this guy explain, he though of everyone, slowl earners, not English speakers and what not, you are amazing

[JosephStates]

Thank you for your command of the English language! Thank you for showing every step! Today is my first day diving in with a nano as I have put it off learning about adrino for months. Now I must get educated to move forward on an invention my wife came up with. I lost a lot of time trying to understand the other guys' videos. I am hoping to get enough info from your videos to not have to watch the others. So thankful!

[DJGainmaster]

I never ever watched a explanation or "how to" video of this quality. Not even mine. Great Job