TFT LCD powered by arduino

I am wanting to design a simple unit that controls relays to active a 12v motor(pump). I want to be able to display the volume of the tank on an LCD, preferably TFT so I don't have to add additional buttons. The volume will be calculated from time which the pump is on. I would like to use a 4.3" LCD and does not need to be multicolor. Does anyone have any suggestions where to start?

Hello!

preferably TFT so I don't have to add additional buttons

Click to expand...

Does it mean you want to use a touch-panel LCD? Or does it mean that you will
set a kind of contextual menu bar explaining for each situation:
...
Situation Si
Button 1 = Action Si1
Button 2 = Action Si2
....
i being a number from 1 (first context) to N (last context).

Some thoughts:
- You don't need color TFT, but you will probably not find any monochrome TFT. In fact, monochrome TFT
do exist for high end applications (digital radiography), not for Arduino-like student projects.
- If you use Arduino, you will likely need a TFT with integrated controller. But I doubt you will find that kind
of product as large as 4.3 inch.

By the way, if anybody knows a 4.3 inch TFT (or larger) with integrated controller, please provide a link. Thanks.

Dora.

I found this TFT module online.

http://imall.iteadstudio.com/display/tft-lcm/im120419007.html

It says that it can be interfaced with a arduino mega. It might be a bit slow but I won't be using an extensive amount of graphics. What are your thoughts?

Hello!

I have looked at the link you provide. Yes, apparently you can use any kind of MCU.
As for the speed, it can be quite fast if you refresh only the part you need to.
1 2-byte word will be 1 pixel, so for example painting the background with a uniform
color would be fast.
Example: clock = 20 MHz. 1 loop = 10 clocks. Painting 480 x 272 pixels will take
about 7 ms. (this supposes that the data bus is 16-bit wide). These figures may vary
depending on the processor, clock frequency, how much time for a loop, etc...

Dora.