The BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 Kentec QVGA Display BoosterPack™ is an easy-to-use plug-in module for
adding a touch-screen color display to your LaunchPad™ design. MCU LaunchPad developers can use
this BoosterPack to start developing applications using the 320×240-pixel SPI-controlled QVGA display
with resistive touch screen.
BoosterPack, LaunchPad, Code Composer Studio, E2E are trademarks of Texas Instruments.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 QVGA Display BoosterPack™ Plug-in Module
The BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 Kentec QVGA Display BoosterPack is an easy-to-use plug-in module for
adding a touch-screen color display to your LaunchPad kit design. MCU LaunchPad developers can use
this BoosterPack to start developing applications using the 320×240-pixel SPI-controlled TFT QVGA
display with resistive touch screen.
1.2Key Features
•Kentec TFT LCD (part number: K350QVG-V2-F)
– 3.5-inch QVGA (320×240 resolution)
– SPI communication
– 4-wire resistive touch screen
– White LED backlight
•LED backlight driver circuit
•Complies with the BoosterPack standard for use with 20- and 40-pin LaunchPads
•MSP-EXP432P401R LaunchPad + BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 demos (see Section 3)
– Graphics Library Example
1.4Next Steps: Looking Into the Provided Code
After the EVM features have been explored, the fun can begin. It's time to open an integrated
development environment (IDE) and start looking at the code examples. Section 3 describes the example
projects available to make it easy to understand the provided software.
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BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 QVGA Display BoosterPack™ Plug-in ModuleSLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015
The Kentec QVGA Display BoosterPack adheres to the 40-pin LaunchPad and BoosterPack pinout
standard. A standard was created to aid compatibility between LaunchPad and BoosterPack tools across
the TI ecosystem.
The 40-pin standard is compatible with the 20-pin standard that is used by other LaunchPad kits like the
MSP-EXP430FR4133. However, this BoosterPack is intended for use with 40-pin LaunchPad kits. If
compatibility is needed with a 20-pin LaunchPad, some modifications must be made for access to certain
pins and to provide 5 V for the LCD backlight circuitry.
More information about compatibility can also be found at http://www.ti.com/launchpad.
2.1.2Kentec QVGA Display (K350QVG-V2-F)
The Kentec TFT display has the following features:
•3.5-inch diagonal screen
•320×240-pixel resolution
•Full color (262000 colors) RGB display
•4-wire resistive touch screen
•Integrated SSD2119 LCD driver/controller
•SPI interface by default, but supports many interface types
Additional information about the K350QVG-V2-F display can be found on the Kentec website.
2.1.3SSD2119 LCD Driver
The SSD2119 LCD driver is integrated into the display. In order to use the display effectively, a deep
understanding of this driver is required. The SSD2119 data sheet contains information about the
communication interface and the supported commands.
www.ti.com
2.1.4LCD Backlight Circuitry
Most of the circuitry seen on the BoosterPack is a boost converter to power the LCD backlight. The LCD
requires approximately 20 V to power the LCD backlight due to the serial voltage drops of the LEDs. This
power is derived from the 5-V (VUSB) power rail.
2.1.5SPI Configuration
By default the BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 comes configured as a "4-wire" 8-bit SPI. This is the standard SPI
on most MCUs with a hardware SPI peripheral. The user can reconfigure R2/R3 and R8/R9 to instead use
"3-wire" 9-bit SPI. In this configuration, each SPI write is 9 bits instead of 8, allowing one fewer GPIO pin
to be used.
LCD InterfaceResistor Configuration
4-wire SPI, 8-bit (default)DNP0DNP0
3-wire SPI, 9-bit0DNP0DNP
Other (such as parallel)
Table 1. SPI Resistor Configuration
R2R3R8R9
Pins PS0, PS1, PS2, PS3 as indicated in LCD data sheet.
This may require cutting and soldering these traces (not common)
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BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 QVGA Display BoosterPack™ Plug-in ModuleSLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015
Table 2 describes the SPI configuration pin functions.
LCD InterfacePin Name
4-wire SPI,SPI Data In
8-bit (default)(no support for data out)
3-wire SPI, 9-bitSPI Chip SelectSPI ClockN/A – controlled by extra bit (first bit)
2.2Design Files
2.2.1Hardware
Schematics can be found in Section 5. All design files including schematics, layout, bill of materials
(BOM), Gerber files, and documentation are available in a zip folder (SLAR098). This hardware design
was done in Altium Designer, a free viewer is available from
All design files including TI-TXT object-code firmware images, software example projects, and
documentation are available in the LaunchPad specific software folders. To see which LaunchPad kits
feature BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 examples, refer to the "What's Included" section on the tool folder.
Hardware
Table 2. SPI Pin Definition
LCD_SCSLCD_SCLLCD_SDILCD_SDC
GPIO to indicate data or command
SPI Chip SelectSPI ClockData = 1
Command = 0
SPI Data In
(no support for data out)
2.3Hardware Change log
Table 3. Hardware Change Log
PCB RevisionDescription
Rev 1.0Initial Release
3Software Examples
3.1BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 + MSP-EXP432P401R Graphics Library Example
This software is available in the MSP-EXP432P401R Software Examples or is more easily accessible
through MSPWare (see Section 4.3).
The demo shows how to use the MSP Graphics Library ("grlib") in a project with the Kentec display. This
demo shows the user how to enable the touch screen, create buttons, and use graphics primitives
including colors and images.
The program begins by calibrating the touch screen. There is a routine that detects the four corner
coordinates to determine if an eligible rectangle boundary is formed. If the calibration was incorrect, a
message displays on the screen indicating the calibration failed. When successful, the calibration provides
a reference for all button presses throughout the rest of the program.
The next step is to select the mode of the program: display primitives or images. Each mode simply cycles
through without user interaction to show features of the display. In the graphics primitives mode, the
following primitives are shown:
•Pixels
•Lines
•Circles
•Rectangles
SLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 QVGA Display BoosterPack™ Plug-in Module
The application is heavily commented to ensure it is very clear how to use the grlib APIs. The above
primitives are shown as well as the underlying concepts of grlib including background and foreground
colors, context, fonts, opacity, and more.
The images mode shows the drawing of a few different images both compressed and uncompressed.
Image compression can have a big impact to drawing speeds for simple images. To draw images with the
MSP Graphics Library, they must first be converted into the right file format. These files can be generated
by the Image Reformer tool that comes packaged with grlib. Launch this tool (.exe) from the grlib folder or
directly from TI Resource Explorer.
File Path: <grlib root>\utils\image-reformer\imagereformer.exe
TI Resource Explorer > MSPWare > Libraries > Graphics Library > MSP430 Image Reformer
The Image Reformer tool allows you to import images and output into grlib specific files to add to your
grlib project. Image Reformer does not manipulate any images (including color modifications, rotation, and
cropping)—any image manipulation must be done before importing into the Image Reformer tool. More
information about MSP grlib and the Image Reformer tool can be found in the application report DesignConsiderations When Using MSP430 Graphics Library (SLAA548).
www.ti.com
4Additional Resources
4.1TI LaunchPad Portal
More information about LaunchPad kits, supported BoosterPack modules, and available resources can be
found at:
•TI's LaunchPad portal: information about all LaunchPad kits from TI for all MCUs
4.2Download CCS, IAR, Keil, or Energia
Although the files can be viewed with any text editor, more can be done with the projects if they are
opened with a development environment like Code Composer Studio™ (CCS) IDE, IAR Embedded
Workbench, Keil, or Energia.
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BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 QVGA Display BoosterPack™ Plug-in ModuleSLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015
MSPWare is a complete collection of libraries and tools. It includes a driver library (driverlib), graphics
library (grlib), and many other software tools. MSPWare is optionally included in a CCS installation or can
be downloaded separately. IAR users must download it separately.
Additional Resources
Figure 5. BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 Software Examples in TI Resource Explorer
Inside TI Resource Explorer, these examples and many more can be found and easily imported into CCS
with one click.
4.4The Community
4.4.1TI E2E™ Community
Search the forums at http://e2e.ti.com. If you cannot find your answer, post your question to the
community.
4.4.2Community at Large
Many online communities focus on the LaunchPad and BoosterPack ecosystem – for example,
www.43oh.com. You can find additional tools, resources, and support from these communities.
SLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015BOOSTXL-K350QVG-S1 QVGA Display BoosterPack™ Plug-in Module
Changes from March 19, 2015 to July 20, 2015 .............................................................................................................. Page
•Changed the link destination for the MSP-EXP432P401R Software Examples .................................................. 5
NOTE: Page numbers for previous revisions may differ from page numbers in the current version.
SLAU601A–March 2015–Revised July 2015Revision History
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