VM801P – FT801 Development Platform
Note that VM801P43A-PL and VM801P50A-PL are now obsolete and is not recommended for new designs.
If there is any demand, please send in your enquiry for special support consideration.
For more information, please click here to contact us.
The VM801P ‘Plus’ provides a comprehensive, full integrated, ready to use development system, designed to provide engineers with everything necessary to create quality Human Machine Interface (HMI) solutions with display, audio and capacitive touch functionality.
This fully Arduino-compatible module features an FT801 touch controller IC for three in one operation (display, audio and capacitive touch) controlled from an inbuilt ATMEGA328P microcontroller operating at 5V/16MHz. Programming and configuration is easily achieved via the Arduino IDE, using a pre-programmed Arduino-compatible bootloader, accessed from the on-board FT232R USB UART interface IC
The development system offers a hi-quality system with an elegantly designed, precision fit bezel that provides a capacitive multi-touch panel sensor and component board in a rugged, plastic enclosure. Offered in black (-BK) colours, the device provides the engineer a low priced option which can shorten development time while enabling a production finished look for 4.3″ or 5″ colour TFT display solutions.
An abundance of enhanced features are included in the ‘Plus’ module: a backlit LED driver, inbuilt audio amplifier and micro-speaker, Real Time Clock (RTC) with battery backup, on-board 3.3v/5v level shifters, e-Flash IC build option, and a Micro-SD Card socket for application store plus 4GB SD card pre-loaded with 11 interactive application demonstrations and one library of free running apps, showcasing just a few examples of what this innovative device, designed primarily for industrial and commercial purpose, could be used for. The Arduino-compatible display system development platforms run off a standard 5V supply, delivered via a micro-USB or an auxiliary power connector. Furthermore, Micro-MaTch miniature connectors are provided to further extend functionality, and plug in card connectors are available to expand the IO capability to include GPIO, RS232, RS485, RELAY IO, Ethernet and POE, promoting improved connectivity and the ability to transmit over longer distances.
For more information, please click here to access the datasheet.
Documentation
A complete listing of technical documentation is provided below. Due to the size of the documents and Sample Application software environment, Bridgetek recommends that purchasers of a VM801B development system, first acquaint themselves with the VM801B and FT801 datasheets, after which familiarity with EVE’s pseudo language found in the Programming Guide is advised. The remaining documents and Sample Application software have been developed with an orientation toward system and design implementation.
- VM801P Datasheet
- FT801 Datasheet
- FT800 Series Programmers Guide
- FT801 Sample Application
- AN 240 FT800 From the Ground Up
- AN 246 VM800CB SampleApp Arduino Introduction
- AN 252 FT800 Audio Primer
- AN 258 FT800 Chinese Font Demo
- AN 275 FT800 Example with Arduino
- AN 276 Audio File Conversion
- AN 277 FT800 Create User Defined Font
- AN 291 FT800 Create Multi-Language Font
- AN 303 FT800 Image File Conversion
- AN 314 FT800 Advanced Techniques – Working with Bitmaps
- AN 318 Arduino Library for FT800 Series
- AN 327 EVE Screen Editor Installation Guide
- AN 333 FT800 and FT801 Touch Capabilities
- EVE Screen Editor Tool
- Arduino Library v1.2.0
- VA800A PROG – VM800P Programmer Datasheet
- VM801P Preloaded Firmware
Application Architectures
Bridgetek supports two programming solutions for the VM801P module, the HAL and the Arduino libraries. The architecture of both development systems can be seen within the block diagrams below:
The first diagram portrays a sample application using the HAL structure, which is further detailed in Application Note 246 – VM800CB SampleApp Arduino Introduction. The sample application is designed to easily port to numerous MCUs over SPI by introducing one generic Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), which can then be used as a guideline for other platforms.
Alternatively, by utilising the Arduino library as outlined in Application Note 318 – Arduino Library For FT800 Series the engineer benefits from dedicated library support and examples, and can operate over the popular and easy to use Arduino IDE, using a pre-programmed Arduino Bootloader.
There is an FTDI FT232R chip on the VM801P module and the FT232R datasheet is available here.
Please install the VCP and D2XX driver by the setup executable and it is available here.
Modules and Accessories
| VM801P43A-BK | FT801 Capacitive Touch Display System, ATMEGA328P @ 5V/16MHz, Micro SD socket, 4.3″ TFT LCD touch panel, black case |  |
| VM801P50A-BK | FT801 Capacitive Touch Display System, ATMEGA328P @ 5V/16MHz, Micro SD socket, 5.0″ TFT LCD touch panel, black case | |
| VA800A-PROG | Accessory – VM800P Programmer and Debugger module | |
| VI800A-TTLU | VI800A UART TTL module, plug-in accessory for the VM800P Plus Module | |
| VI800A-232U | VI800A RS232 Module, plug-in accessory for the VM800P Plus Module | |
| VI800A-N485U | VI800A RS485 Module, plug-in accessory for the VM800P Plus Module | |
| VI800A-RELAY | VI800A RELAY Module, plug-in accessory for the VM800P Plus Module | |
| VI800A-ETH | VI800A ETH Module, plug-in accessory for the VM800P Plus Module | |
| VI800A-PoE | VI800A PoE Module, plug-in accessory for the VM800P Plus Module | |
| VA-PSU-UK1 | Accessory – UK Model 5V/1A USB Power Supply (Mfr # JX-B0520C-1-B) | |
| VA-PSU-US1 | Accessory – US Model 5V/1A USB Power Supply (Mfr # JX-B0520B-1-B) | |
| VA-PSU-EU1 | Accessory – EU Model 5V/1A USB Power Supply (Mfr # JX-B0520A-1-B) | |
| VA-FC-1M-BKW | Accessory – Flat USB A to Micro B Cable 1M – Black and White | |
| VA-FC-1M-BLW | Accessory – Flat USB A to Micro B Cable 1M – Blue and White | |
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