ESP32-4848S040 First Start

A complete ready-to-use starter project for the ESP32-S3 4.0" 480×480 RGB LCD development board (ESP32-4848S040). Built with ESP-IDF framework for maximum performance and flexibility. Includes properly configured display driver, touch support, and LVGL 9 demo UI.

Features

• ESP-IDF — Native framework without Arduino abstraction for optimal performance
• ST7701S RGB Display — 480×480 16-bit color, 60Hz refresh
• GT911 Capacitive Touch — Touch I2C controller
• LVGL 9 — Modern embedded GUI library
• PWM Backlight Control — Smooth brightness adjustment via slider
• Runtime Timing Adjustment — UART console for display tuning without recompilation
• Persistent Settings — NVS storage for timing parameters
• Clean Architecture — Modular source files, easy to extend

Hardware

Component	Specification
MCU	ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U-N16R8
Flash	16MB QIO @ 80MHz
PSRAM	8MB Octal @ 80MHz
Display	4.0" IPS LCD, 480×480, RGB565
Display Driver	ST7701S (3-wire SPI init + RGB interface)
Touch Controller	GT911 (I2C @ 400kHz)
Backlight	PWM controlled (GPIO38)

Pin Mapping

Click to expand pinout

RGB Data Bus:

Signal	GPIO
R0-R4	11, 12, 13, 14, 0
G0-G5	8, 20, 3, 46, 9, 10
B0-B4	4, 5, 6, 7, 15

Control Signals:

Signal	GPIO
DE	18
VSYNC	17
HSYNC	16
PCLK	21

3-Wire SPI (ST7701S Init):

Signal	GPIO
CS	39
SCK	48
SDA	47

Touch (I2C):

Signal	GPIO
SDA	19
SCL	45

Backlight:

Signal	GPIO
PWM	38

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio Code
• PlatformIO IDE Extension

Build & Flash

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/abcbbck-png/ESP32-4848S040-First-Start.git
cd ESP32-4848S040-First-Start

# Build the project
pio run

# Upload to device
pio run -t upload

# Monitor serial output
pio device monitor

Or use the PlatformIO sidebar in VS Code: Build → Upload → Monitor

Project Structure

├── src/
│   ├── main.c              # Application entry, LVGL task
│   ├── display.c/h         # ST7701S RGB panel driver
│   ├── touch.c/h           # GT911 touch driver
│   ├── backlight.c/h       # PWM backlight control
│   ├── ui.c/h              # LVGL demo interface
│   ├── timing_config.c/h   # NVS-backed timing parameters
│   ├── uart_console.c/h    # Runtime timing adjustment
│   └── board_config.h      # Hardware pin definitions
├── managed_components/     # ESP Component Registry deps
│   ├── espressif__esp_lcd_st7701/
│   ├── espressif__esp_lcd_touch_gt911/
│   └── lvgl__lvgl/
├── platformio.ini          # Build configuration
├── sdkconfig.defaults      # ESP-IDF defaults
├── partitions.csv          # Flash partition table
└── lv_conf.h               # LVGL configuration

UART Console Commands

Connect at 115200 baud to adjust display timing on-the-fly:

Command	Description
help	Show available commands
timing	Display current timing values
hbp <value>	Set HSYNC back porch (shift LEFT +) → save & reboot
hfp <value>	Set HSYNC front porch → save & reboot
hpw <value>	Set HSYNC pulse width → save & reboot
vbp <value>	Set VSYNC back porch (shift UP +) → save & reboot
vfp <value>	Set VSYNC front porch → save & reboot
vpw <value>	Set VSYNC pulse width → save & reboot
reset	Reset to defaults & reboot

Tip: If you see horizontal shifting or tearing, try adjusting porch values. The default configuration (all zeros) works for most panels.

Configuration

Display Timing

Edit board_config.h for compile-time defaults:

#define LCD_HSYNC_BACK_PORCH    0
#define LCD_HSYNC_FRONT_PORCH   0
#define LCD_VSYNC_BACK_PORCH    0
#define LCD_VSYNC_FRONT_PORCH   0

LVGL Settings

Key settings in lv_conf.h:

#define LV_COLOR_DEPTH          16
#define LV_USE_DRAW_SW          1
#define LV_DRAW_BUF_STRIDE_ALIGN 4

Build Configuration

Adjust in platformio.ini:

board_build.f_cpu = 240000000L
board_upload.flash_size = 16MB
board_build.flash_mode = qio

Using as a Base Project

Recommended workflow for building your own application:

1. Replace the UI — Modify src/ui.c with your own screens and logic
2. Add custom modules — Create new .c/.h files in src/ and register them in src/CMakeLists.txt
3. Add ESP-IDF components — Declare new dependencies in src/idf_component.yml
4. SDK-level settings — Configure only via sdkconfig.defaults (avoid editing sdkconfig directly)

The project structure is intentionally modular — display, touch, and backlight drivers are decoupled from application logic.

Resources

• ESP-IDF LCD RGB Panel Guide
• LVGL Documentation

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.

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Made with ❤️ for the ESP32 community