inkyWHAT not displaying

Support
1

I may have made a bit of a hash of things.

I first started using the instructions on this page: GitHub - pimoroni/inky: Combined library for V2/V3 Inky pHAT and Inky wHAT.

THEN I came across this page: Getting Started with Inky wHAT - Pimoroni Yarr-niversity

I think I have successfully followed the instructions on both pages to install inky.

i even did the “If you want to simulate Inky on your desktop, use: pip3 install inky”

Now, when I tried using the quotes example, my inkyWHAT does not update, but I do see the quotes in my terminal window.

Is this because I also did pip3 install inky? If so, how do I get it to show on the inkywhat instead of the terminal?

2

Also, am I being really stupid, but is this the correct way to install the actual hardware? It seems not to me, because the screws it came with cannot possibly fit on to the board and the pi, the 40pin plug is just totally in the way: https://imgur.com/a/AZi1piY

3

no body’s stupid, you can run the cable back the other way ,link in this picture !
pi gpio just make sure the white wire is on correct side

pi gpio
pi gpio1280×961 222 KB

4

The standoffs / screws work if you install it without the ribbon cable.
I hope that’s a male to female extension cable?

1000×1000 123 KB

5

I can’t join the board to the pi, they don’t fit for me. I’ve got a pi 4. It looks like I’m about three mm short. Yes I do have a male to female cable.

6

ignore my post if it not to late,I’m just getting totally confused with that picture ,

7

The Inky has a low profile SMT female header, there will be a small gap between its header and the black part of the Pi’s male GPIO header. Just enough to see the copper pins. That’s normal, its still making contact.

8

Heres a profile photo of the pi with the inky on top. As you can see, there is no physical connection possible.

I have the pi4.

IMG_1208
IMG_12084032×3024 2.15 MB

9

The WHAT box should have had a stacking header (similar to this but with slightly longer pins) in it which will bridge the gap. No need to solder, you push the header onto the back of the WHAT and then onto the Pi.

10

I didn’t have that, only the ribbon cable. Sigh. Should it work with only the ribbon cable? Click to see the second photo:

[Album] imgur.com
11

Yes it should work with ribbon cables, but you need to be careful with orientation to make sure the right pin on the GPIO header is being connected with the right pin on the board. Unfortunately this can vary, which why I try to avoid them. I think you need to rotate the Inky 180 degrees. I would have expected the first photo you posted to have been the correct way to do it.

Exactly which script are you running, and how?

12

@tjobbe ops looks like I dropped the ball on that one. A Pi Zero will plug in OK, anything else will need a booster header.
Booster Header – Pimoroni

13

If the white stripe is on the Pin 1 end of the GPIO header on the Pi it needs to be on the Pin 1 end on the hat. If its on the pin 40 end, pin 40 end at both ends.