Adafruit
Adafruit eInk Breakout Friend with 32KB SRAM
The Adafruit eInk Breakout Friend is a driver board for eInk/e-paper displays with a standard 24-pin FPC connector. It includes all the power supply circuitr...
The Adafruit eInk Breakout Friend is a driver board for eInk/e-paper displays with a standard 24-pin FPC connector. It includes all the power supply circuitry and level shifting needed to connect your favourite display (up to tri-colour 4.2") to any development board via SPI.
Unlike basic breakouts, the eInk Breakout Friend includes a 256 Kbit (32 KB) SRAM chip that handles frame buffering for you. This means you can drive displays up to 4.2" (300×400 tri-colour) without consuming your microcontroller's precious RAM. The SRAM shares the SPI bus with the display, requiring only one extra chip-select pin. The included Arduino and CircuitPython libraries manage everything automatically — just use it like any Adafruit_GFX compatible display.
Key Features
- 32 KB SRAM Buffer – Offloads frame buffering from your microcontroller (supports up to 300×400 tri-colour)
- 24-Pin FPC Connector – Compatible with most standard small-to-medium eInk displays
- Level Shifting – Works with both 3.3V and 5V logic levels
- Power Supply Circuitry – All required voltage rails for eInk displays built in
- Enable Pin – Shut down power to the SRAM and display for ultra-low-power operation
- Configurable RESE Resistor – Default 0.5 Ω, switchable to 3 Ω via solder jumper
- SPI Interface – Standard SPI connection with shared bus for display and SRAM
Also Available
- eInk Feather Friend (Feather form factor with MicroSD slot)
Ideal For
- Low-power displays for IoT and battery-powered projects
- E-paper signage and information displays
- Projects requiring a daylight-readable, bi-stable display
- Prototyping with eInk displays on any SPI-capable board
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit eInk Breakout Friend with 32 KB SRAM (assembled)
- 1× Header strip
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- 3.3V and 5V logic levels
- Logic level refers to the voltage a board uses to represent digital on and off signals. Support for both 3.3V and 5V logic means this breakout can connect more easily to common microcontrollers and single-board computers without extra level-shifting hardware.
- breakout
- A breakout is a small circuit board that makes a tiny or hard-to-solder component easier to connect to with standard pins. It matters because this OLED module can be wired into a microcontroller project without needing to solder directly to the display’s fine contacts.
- CircuitPython
- A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
- FPC
- FPC stands for flexible printed circuit, a flat flexible cable or connector style often used where space is tight. It matters because this breakout needs the correct pin count and pitch FPC cable to connect reliably to the display or high-speed interface.
- IoT
- Short for Internet of Things, meaning physical devices that connect to networks or the internet to send data or be controlled remotely. It matters if you want projects such as connected sensors, remote controls or classroom data-logging activities.
- microcontroller
- A microcontroller is a small computer on a chip that runs your program and controls connected inputs and outputs. For this product, it is the part that reads buttons and sensors, drives the display and speaker, and communicates over Bluetooth.
- RAM
- RAM is temporary memory used while a device is running, and its contents are lost when power is removed. A “Run in RAM” mode is useful for testing settings without permanently programming the module, but it may not support every feature.
- solder jumper
- A solder jumper is a small pair or group of pads on a circuit board that can be bridged or cut with solder to change a hardware setting. It matters because changing modes may require careful soldering rather than just changing software.
- SPI
- A fast serial communication bus often used for displays, memory cards, and sensors. It matters because SPI devices need specific pins for clock and data, plus a separate chip-select line for each device.
- SRAM
- Fast temporary memory used by a processor while a program is running. More SRAM helps with projects that handle larger data buffers, networking, displays, or more complex code.
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Related Tutorials
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