| > What is the prerequisite knowledge needed in order to connect one of the displays to a microcontroller? Basic electronics knowledge. If you're unsure, you can buy a breadboard on the cheap and brush up on the basics before you commit something in stone. You can also buy GPIO header pins that let you create prototypes without soldering the Raspberry Pi directly to the board (a whopping $5 in savings per-prototype!): https://www.amazon.com/MCIGICM-Header-2-45mm-Arduino-Connect... > How do I physically connect the display to a microcontroller? Use a prototyping PCB board to connect the I2P and power ledes to a larger board. Most LCDs I've seen only have a few wires for controlling them, on a low refresh-rate display like E-ink I'd imagine it's even simpler. > I've watched some introductory videos on soldering, but are there gotchas? Not really! You can go grab a Pinecil for $40~ish bucks and get started whenever you want: https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-solde... Obvious disclaimers, though: soldering irons get hot, you can irreparably burn yourself if you're not careful. Get a sturdy stand or placemat for the iron, a ball of copper for de-tinning the tip and be extremely careful when you know the iron is hot. Also; lead solder versus unleaded. Unleaded solder is the current industry standard, since it is almost entirely nontoxic in all forms. However, unleaded solder is better-suited for automated soldering by robots; if you have shaky hands it will be tough to work with. I won't strictly recommend leaded solder for 99% of use-cases, but it's worth knowing (and fearing) the fact that it's there if you ever need an easier option. |