Pi Supply Gert VGA666 Software Setup and Test

This is how to Set up the Gert VGA666 for Pi Supply I have a previous post on assembling the components if you haven't already done so please check it out here.

Installing and Configuring software 

Be aware that you are changing the where the Pi is going to output it video if you have the option I would recommend setting up over an SSH connection.

Firstly you'll need to download the required software to run the Gert VGA 666. Make sure your Pi has an internet connection.

git clone https://github.com/fenlogic/vga66.git

Then you will need to copy the driver file into /boot/ and rename it.

cd vga666/setup/

sudo cp dt-blob-dpi.bin /boot/

sudo mv /boot/dt-blob-dpi.bin /boot/dt-blob.bin

Now the final step is to add it to your raspberry pi configuration.

So to open the configuration file.

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

The you'll need to add.

 enable_dpi_lcd=1
display_default_lcd=1

This will enable the VGA output. Then you can set the output resolutions by adding

dpi_group=2
dpi_mode=82

 For 1080p @60Hz or.

dpi_group=2
dpi_mode=86

 For 1366 x 768 @60Hz

These are the two screen modes I have tried myself please now the resolution values are the same as setting the resolution for the HDMI output, a full list can be found here.

Problems you may run into 

The first time that I tried this the VGA work for about 10 seconds of boot time the the text turned yellow and then vanished dropping my screen into power saving.

I was using a Rasbian image that had some of the GPIO setup for various tasks so it was 'grabbing' some of the GPIO for other tasks this was fixed with a fresh burn of Raspbian.

In conclusion 

This is great add-on to the Raspberry Pi and the documentation makes for interesting reading as it goes into an explanation of how it generates and analogue signal from the GPIO header, and makes for great learning and soldering practice.

This is in no way the perfect solution for VGA output on the Raspberry as it will have the occasional slight shimmer on the display and it uses huge chuck of you GPIO to drive it. So if your you are looking for a VGA output from your Raspberry Pi I'd recommend a good HDMI to VGA adapter.

So I award this 3 of 5 Sparks it was fun to assemble the documentation could be a little clearer but as a learning exercise it's fantastic.