What you need to build one
The DIY route: buy the screen and a stand, then load our software onto it from your browser. That last step is called flashing, it happens once, and there is a guide for it. A case is optional, and there is more on that below.
The shopping list
The first three are the exact parts we use, with Amazon UK links. No prices here because they move about. The last two you almost certainly own already, and they are described rather than linked because we have not tested a specific one.
The Amazon links below are affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- The screenElecrow ESP32-P4 9 inch HMI display, 1024x600 IPS touch
Buy that exact one. Elecrow sell several 9 inch models that look almost identical in listing photos, including ESP32-S3 versions and ones with a camera. Ours is the ESP32-P4 at 1024x600, without a camera. On any other variant the sign fails in ways that look like a software fault, so you end up hunting a bug that is not there.
- A standUGREEN foldable tablet stand
Adjustable and rotating, so you can angle the sign to wherever you pour from. The silver finish sits very nicely alongside a silver Pro, though it will stand out more against a black one.
- Right-angle USB-C OptionalUGREEN 90 degree USB-C adapter, 3 pack
Optional, but it turns the cable down behind the sign instead of sticking straight out of the side.
- A USB data cableAny USB-C cable that carries data
Not supplied with the screen, and not every cable will do: plenty are charge-only, and a charge-only one does nothing at all when you try to flash. You cannot tell by looking, so use one you know has moved files before: from a phone or a hard drive rather than one that came with a plug.
- A power supplyAny decent USB-C power supply
Also not supplied. The sign stays plugged in all the time, so this is what it lives on once the flashing is done.
The case
Optional. The screen works perfectly well bare on a stand, and plenty of people will leave it that way. A case changes how it looks next to your machine, not whether it works.
As far as we can tell, nobody has made a case for the 9 inch screen yet, us included. The CrowPanel tag on Printables is the place to check whether that has changed.
So for now, a case means designing one yourself once the screen is in your hands. We will link one here when it exists. Nothing else about the sign is waiting on it.
What else you need
- 2.4GHz Wi-Fi it can join. If you plan to use Home Assistant mode, put the sign on the same network as the machine running Home Assistant.
Then flash it
Once the parts arrive, the firmware goes on over USB, once. A couple of things about this screen catch people out. The two sockets look identical, and a charge-only cable behaves just like a faulty one, so it is worth reading the guide before you start rather than during.