Wow. This Argon40 Display Module has been a huge PIA. I would not recommend that anyone purchase this. If you have found this thread prior to making a purchase then you have been warned. I’ve had nothing but issues, The screen on mine will be all black with a barely detectable “shimmer” where the screen looks similar to the Northen Lights but only in grey hues. I have followed all paths that i can find through google, and there are many suggestions since the display doesnt seem to work for anyone, but my screen doesn’t work. I bought a second just in case it was a hardware issue, but nope. This is when I wish I had bought from an American company where delivering a working product is the goal. No one has gottent this display to work. I feel scammed. This product is absolutely unsupported and should be withdrawn from the US market. I will spend any further time making sure that people understand what a time-sink this thing is. The POD Display, costs $30 usd, and then the HDMI pod section costs another $30 usd. $60 total for an unusable piece of junk. I will try to get refunds and then for $60 I’m pretty sure there are driver-less displays, manufucatured by companies that support their products. What a waste of money this tiny little low resolution display is. I cant even think that anyone from Argon has a fix, or the time to share that fix with their custormers. I will give scathing review on Amazon, and I hop eothers will as well. We need to be able to warn each other when there is a product like this. Do Not Buy. Do not hope your screen will work. It wont, and no one at Argon cares (if there are even employees at Argon.). I will never buy an Argon product again. I think they are quietly taking in money for a product that they know does not function. We have to realize that Argon and Waveshare are laughing all the way to the bank each time someone purchases their trash. I invite anyone from Argon40 to provide guidance on using this display. I am trying to use the display with a RPi Zero WH, and not a Zero2, because they say it should work, but it doesnt, and I will not be ordering a Zero2 to continue trying to use this horrible cheap little display. Trust me guys, I’m saving you time and money, because I care about others, unlike Argon40. What a joke.
I just got it to work on a Zero2W. I used Legacy PIOS 64Bit. Touchscreen does work.
- Clean load SD Card
- On first boot dont run update/upgrade.
- sudo apt-get install libraspberrypi-dev raspberrypi-kernel-headers
- curl https://download.argon40.com/podsystem.sh | bash
- Run the argon pod config utility? I didn’t write down the exact name, but I think it tells you as soon as the bash script is done.
- Install framebuffer
- Set Resolution 320x240
- sudo shutdown -r now
I haven’t run general update and upgrade yet, and I haven’t tried it on the latest PIOS
I tried exactly what you said, several times, using a rpi zero2. I could not get through step 3.
I did however just receive a direct reply from WilfredoBisquera, of Argon40.
He confirmed that they are aware of an “issue” with using the display pod with the latest RPi Bookworm OS. And he says they are currently updating the script to work with latest OS.
He said, if I want to use the display (which, of course I do, since I paid $30 for it), they recommend using RPi OS Legacy 32-bit Bullseye Version (Not Bookworm).
So, I installed recommended OS, then ran first step of the set up instructions. Rebooted after that, and hdmi output stopped working, so I plugged in the display and it’s just a pure white screen.
Will try one more time, and will run the first, and second step (argonpod-config), before rebooting. Hopefully that allows me to install the driver before hdmi is shut-off.
If that doesn’t work, maybe someone on Fiverr will help me get this screen set-up for a small fee. It would be money well-spent.
I would still not recommend these Argon40 Display Modules to anyone. Would have gladly purchased a pre-formatted micro SD, or a download with OS and Screen Driver already configured, to avoid the time wasted trying to make this thing work. Horrible waste of time to get an ultra low-res, retro-looking display to function.
Running second step (argon’s-config) before rebooting worked. The screen was white though, until I pulled the power cord, and reattached. When the Zero2 booted back up, with the pod display attached, it booted up properly and the screen now shows the Raspberry Pi Desktop! I feel like I just climbed Everest!! Hope these in-sights help others get their Display Module working too.
It’s working ! Thanks for this clean instructions 