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Full machine-readable index: https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt # Adafruit 1.8 Color TFT Shield w/microSD and Joystick **Type:** Product page · **SKU:** ADA802 · **Brand:** [Adafruit](https://core-electronics.com.au/brands/adafruit-australia) **Page:** https://core-electronics.com.au/adafruit-1-8-18-bit-color-tft-shield-w-microsd-and-joystick.html ([markdown](https://core-electronics.com.au/adafruit-1-8-18-bit-color-tft-shield-w-microsd-and-joystick.html.md)) This lovely little shield is the best way to add a small, colorful and bright display to any project. Adafruit took Adafruit's popular 1.8" TFT breakout board and remixed it... ## Pricing - **Price:** $63.60 (inc GST) — $57.82 AUD, exc GST - **Quantity discounts:** 10+ $56.08 (exc GST) · 50+ $54.93 (exc GST) ## Availability & dispatch - Available with a lead time — expect dispatch between Aug 25 and Aug 31. ## How to buy - **Build a cart:** compose `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link?items=ADA802:1` (comma-separated SKU:qty pairs) and share the link. Opening it shows a confirmation page with live pricing and stock before anything is added to the cart. - **Verify the cart first:** fetch `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link/ADA802:1.md` for live line prices (inc & exc GST, quantity discounts applied), stock and dispatch estimates, and totals. Append `/to/{AU-postcode}` (or `/to/{country-code}:{postcode}`) before `.md` for delivery options and prices to that destination. Unknown, retired, or out-of-stock SKUs are flagged. (Query form `cart/link.md?items=...` also works but some robots parsers refuse query strings here.) - **Checkout** is completed on-site and includes a captcha at the payment step. Share the cart link; checkout takes it from there. - **Search the catalogue:** `https://core-electronics.com.au/search/{query}.md` (URL-encode the query; pages 2-3 at `search/{query}/{page}.md`; `search.md?q=` also works) - **Payment methods, purchase orders, policies and contact details:** https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt ## Description This lovely little shield is the best way to add a small, colorful and bright display to any project. Adafruit took Adafruit's popular 1.8" TFT breakout board and remixed it into an Arduino shield complete with microSD card slot and a 5-way joystick navigation switch (with a nice plastic knob)! Since the display uses only 4 pins to communicate and has its own pixel-addressable frame buffer, it can be used easily to add a display & interface without exhausting the memory or pins. The 1.8" display has 128x160 color pixels. Unlike the low cost "Nokia 6110" and similar LCD displays, which are CSTN type and thus have poor color and slow refresh, this display is a true TFT! The TFT driver (ST7735R) can display full 18-bit color (262,144 shades!). The shield has the TFT display soldered on (it uses a delicate flex-circuit connector) as well as a ultra-low-dropout 3.3V regulator and a 3/5V level shifter so its safe to use with 5V Arduinos. They also had some space left over so they placed a microSD card holder (so you can easily load full color bitmaps from a FAT16/FAT32 formatted microSD card) and a 5-way navigation switch (left, right, up, down, select). The microSD card is not included, [but you can pick one up here](https://core-electronics.com.au/sd-microsd-memory-card-4-gb-sdhc.html). If you just want to display text, shapes, lines, pixels, etc the shield uses pins 13, 11, 10 and 8. If you'd like to add the navigation switch, it uses Analog 3 (all 5 switches are connected using a clever resistor trick to permit all the switches to share one analog pin). For the microSD card, you'll also give up Digital 12 and 4. This shield works best with the Arduino UNO and compatibles. You can use it with the Mega but it won't be as fast since it would be using software rather than hardware SPI for both the TFT and SD card, so it's not recommended. Comes as a fully assembled and tested shield with the display, microsd card holder and nav switch with knob as well as a stick of 0.1" header. To finish up and use, you will need to solder on the header onto the shield PCB, a quick 10 minute task. Of course, Adafruit wouldn't just leave you with a datasheet and a "good luck!" - Adafruit have written a full open source graphics library that can draw pixels, lines, rectangles, circles, text and bitmaps as well as example code and a wiring tutorial. The code is written for Arduino but can be easily ported to your favorite microcontroller! ## Technical Details [Datasheets, Fritzing library, and EagleCAD PCB GitHub files available in the product tutorial](https://learn.adafruit.com/1-8-tft-display/downloads) **Specifications:** - 1.8" diagonal LCD TFT display - Physical dimensions: 2.71" (69mm) width, 2.1" (53.5mm) height, 0.27" (6.94mm) thickness (top of joystick) - 128x160 resolution, 18-bit (262,144) color - 4 wire SPI digital interface - Built-in microSD slot - uses 2 more digital lines - 5V compatible! Use with 3.3V or 5V logic Arduinos - Onboard 3.3V @ 150mA LDO regulator - 2 white LED backlight, transistor connected. Defaults to 'on' but can be connected to a digital pin for PWM or simply turning off - Comes with header, requires soldering! - Display current draw is mostly based on the backlight, with full backlight the current draw is ~100mA, this does not include the SD Card. SD cards can draw 20-100mA based on read/write. Measure current draw in circuit to get precise numbers. ![](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/rohs_icon_8216055e11.jpg) ## Images - [Product image 1](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/8/0/802-00.jpg)