Markus Wobisch: May 2019

When I got that tiny 0.96" LCD display with 80x160 pixels in my hands, I loved it and started looking for applications. Earlier, I had thought about building little wooden stages with different scenarios for some of my collected brick figures. So, why not bringing the two together and make a little stage for my Marty and Doc figures? Featuring the smallest functioning Flux Capacitor in the world?

Electronics and Code

The 0.96" LCD display is directly connected to an Arduino Pro Mini (ATMega328, 16MHz, 5V). Seven connections are needed in total (display-Arduino): GND-GND, VCC-VCC, SCL-D13, SDA-D11, RES-D7, DC-D8, CS-D9. No other hardware is required (of course, it never hurts to add a 100uF plus a 100nF capacitor between VCC and GND).

The Arduino code is using the TFT_ST7735.h library which is available at https://github.com/Bodmer/TFT_ST7735 and nicely described by the author at https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=397984.0.

I decided to display three different screens with different pieces of the time machine's electronics: The first screen shows the flux capacitor and the SID (spectrum indicator display), the second screen shows the time circuits (the clock), and the the third screen shows the speedometer and the analog gauges. The time interval that each screen is displayed is chosen randomly between 40-70 seconds.

The Wooden Stage

The stage is made of 3/16" plywood using a laser cutter with an engraved picture of the DeLorean and the sketch of the Flux Capacitor ("After I fell from the toilet, I drew this!").

The LCD display is mounted from behind. The 5V supply voltage is connected on the right side with a 2.1mm DC power connector. The whole stage is 6" wide, 3 5/15" tall, and 3 11/16" deep.