question

wedgehog avatar image
wedgehog asked

Can I use a 7" Rasberry Pie touch screen with the cerbo GX?

Hi I was just wondering if I can connect a touch screen for the Rasberry Pie to a genuine Victron Cerbo GX and will it work ok or can it be done with some set up?

cerbo gx
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wmsmitty avatar image wmsmitty commented ·

I was able to get the screen linked below to work with no issues. I did have to run the calibration and dimming setup. I was hoping RpiDipsplaySetup would work so I wouldn't have to worry about updates but apparently it's not compatible with a Cerbo S-GX. Otherwise it's a good option. Anyone know of a way to keep the settings from getting wiped after an update?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KXXKPW9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



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4 Answers
Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

The "official Raspberry PI 7" touchscreen" can not be connected to Cerbo.

SOME HDMI displays have been successfully connected to Cerbo.


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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog commented ·
Hi Kevin, It's not the Official one I have ordered, I wonder if anything has to be set in the Cerbo or the display for it to work?



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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·
If the display plugs into the DSI port on the PI it will not work with Cerbo.

As I said, SOME HDMI touchscreens work. SOME DO NOT. There are no settings in Cerbo.

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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·
Are you the same Mr Windrem who did the Gui mods? If so may I thank you for all your wonderful work.
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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·
Yes, the same. And thanks for the kind words.
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·
You are welcome, it's people like you who make the Internet and these forums a wonderful place, also what you have done with the Venus software put Victron to shame and might shake them up a bit into making their software a little more user-friendly shall we say.

Obviously, I don't want to get into a discussion about your mods, as this is not the place for it, but I would be stupid having accidentally found you not to ask you a question that I have spent some time trying to solve with no luck, so I will risk it :-). In Package manager when trying to install VeCanSetup, it says it has to be done from the command line, How can I do this in a real Cerbo? Is there some instructions somewhere please?
I apologise if I have overstepped the mark, I am 72 and new to this stuff, Would I use putty? Bob


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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·
GuiMods started off as an enhancement to the flow overview screen, presenting more information in a single screen. However, it has evolved to the point of being "a screen full of numbers". It's only really attractive to someone with extreme technical orientation. A much larger display device is really required for this much information.

I have been thinking a lot about how best to display information that non-technical users can interpret and the gauges are (in my opinion) are the right approach. No numbers at all on the overview screens !!!!!!

Victron's gui-v2 is a complete rethink of the user interface and is a huge step in the right direction. Focus is on providing clean, uncluttered displays that non-technical users can interpret. While it is not ready for real use it is worth a look to see the direction Victron is headed.
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·
Thank you Kevin. Yes I think you are right, I also think that by merit of what the person is doing (Installing an off grid Solar installation, in a house, van, boat or whatever) they must have some technical knowledge, I was an Electronics engineer all my working life, before I retired. Anyway, I love what you have done and I will have a look at that link tomorrow and see what I can figure out, when I get to the prompt is the command to install it fairly simple? I have a reasonable knowledge of PC's windows though, some knowledge of Linux, used to do a fair bit of mod stuff in Satellite receivers etc. Bob
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog wedgehog commented ·
Oh! forgot to say, yes I did look at Victrons gui-version 2, as you say it doesn't all work yet though so I dumped it for yours. It is promising and it has a smart appearance with some innovative displays.
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·

Kevin, so I have logged in with putty and got no such file?

"login as: root

Last login: Sat Feb 10 22:29:47 2024 from ***********
root@einstein:~# /data/VeCanSetup/setup
--- starting setup script v3.9
creating package options directory /data/setupOptions/VeCanSetup
cat: can't open '/data/VeCanSetup/FileSets/fileList*': No such file or directory"


I can see the files are in/data/VeCanSetup, but there is no FileSets folder that the script asks for?



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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·
I found a bug in SetupHelper. v6.4 was just released to fix that.
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·
Hi Kevin, I have auto update on and auto install, will it update itself or do I need to do it?
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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·
The SetupHelper update will download and install automatically. You will then need to run the VeCanSetup setup script from the command line manually.
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·
That's what I thought, but I have been sat her over an hour and it hasn't yet!
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·

Hmm still not installing Kevin.


"root@einstein:~# /data/VeCanSetup/setup

--- starting setup script v3.9

VeCanSetup adds CANbus ports to the Venus OS system

Cerbo GX includes 2 CANbus ports

an unlimited number of USB ports may be configured

Available actions:

Install and activate (i)

Uninstall (u) and restores all files to stock

Quit (q) without further action

Display setup log (s) outputs the last 100 lines of the log

Choose an action from the list above: i

no CANbus definitions found ?



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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·

Victron has instructions on how to access the command line:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:root_access

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Ben Isikoff avatar image Ben Isikoff Kevin Windrem commented ·

well, you seem to be the guy to ask,

if you know and could kindly share? what screen does work natively with the cerbo gx?


Would this one work?

UCTRONICS for Raspberry Pi Screen 7 Inch IPS Touchscreen with Prop Stand, 1024×600

It connects through hdmi and usb and has the same resolution as the touch 7"

im just getting into all this and keep hearing about guimods, so thank you for your contribution!


Edit: guess i shouldve kept reading as someone linked to one that will work. which is a 7" 800x480
I found the same exact screen but in a 1024x600 version, should work right?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GDMDFZA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3UAI31N6IJM2&psc=1

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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog commented ·

Anyway, back to the display. The one I purchased was the Electrow 7" HDMI , when I connect it to the Cerbo it looked promising, I got a Blue Victron splash screen saying it was starting and then it displayed the Cerbo display. problem is though the size is only about a third the size of the screen and the touch doesn't work correctly because of that.
I don't know if there is anything I can do now? there are no settings to change the picture size anywhere, on the displays menu I can only change the aspect ratio, any ideas anyone please?


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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog wedgehog commented ·
So for the moment I have given up with the Cerbo and this screen and I have set up a Rasberry Pie 4 to be a Cerbo the screen looks good but of course there is a problem.


When I touch anything I get something else, looking closely I can see a very very tiny mouse pointer and it is always tracking about an inch from my finger tip and I cannot move it below a third of the screen. Is this a problem with the screen or is it a problem with the Venus software for the Pie? Is there anything I can do to correct it please?


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Kevin Windrem avatar image Kevin Windrem wedgehog commented ·
You need to calibrate the touch part of the display. My RpiDisplaySetup package will help with that. Please look over the ReadMe and go through the setup process as there are prompts at each step. You need command line access for this!
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog Kevin Windrem commented ·
Hi Kevin, Thank you. I see it in the inactive packages, but it says on it that it is incompatible with Einstien ? Isn't Einstien the genuine Cerbo-GX?
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Henry Pearson avatar image
Henry Pearson answered ·

I use a 11" hdmi screen (shared with computer onboard) and a mouse very successfully on my cerbo. It doesn't like gui 2.0 as the cursor doesn't show but that is in beta so hoping they fix that before full release.

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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog commented ·
Hi Henry, is that screen connected directly to the Cerbo or to your PC or laptop though. Bob
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Henry Pearson avatar image Henry Pearson wedgehog commented ·
Directly to the cerbo with hdmi. Mouse connected via usb
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wedgehog avatar image
wedgehog answered ·

I have purchased another screen and this one works perfectly with the Cerbo-GX straight out of the box, it's this one.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BHJ26B32?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I'm sure there may be others, would be nice if there was a sort of central repository where everyone could list screens they have bought that work with no modifications. Anyway this one works perfectly

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wilbur60 avatar image wilbur60 commented ·
Where does the touch micro usb connect to the Cerbo?
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wedgehog avatar image wedgehog wilbur60 commented ·
Hi Wilbur, there are no usb micro's on the Cerbo, only on the 7 and 5 inch monitors, I have a micro usb from the touch micro socket on the monitor to one of the two USB A sockets on the Cerbo. Don't get caught out by the fact that the third USB A socket on the Cerbo, the one nearest the centre, is for power only. Bob
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Ben Isikoff avatar image Ben Isikoff commented ·

awesome thanks!


i found this same one on the US amazon for anyone looking
7" 800x480

but im a stickler for resolution and i found the same exact screen for only $5 more but in 1240x600 which is the same native resolution as the victron touch 7"

7" 1240x600

i wonder this would work the same?


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rachaelza avatar image
rachaelza answered ·

The WaveShare 7" touch screens work out the box on the cerbo gx.


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Ben Isikoff avatar image Ben Isikoff commented ·
does the dimming/screen off work automatically?
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matthew-hodder avatar image matthew-hodder Ben Isikoff commented ·

dimming won't work, but the screensaver (switching off after a set period) will with a few changes to a couple of config files, only downside is those files need to be changed each time you do a firmware update, but no big deal.


Look at Kevin King's answer here for the code changes:

https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/93218/generic-touchscreen-on-cerbo.html?childToView=268848#answer-268848


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