Inkplate 5 Gen2 MP3 player serial communication without blocking SD card

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Inkplate
1

Customer:

I recently purchased an Inkplate 5 Gen2 for a dashboard project. I’m happy with the high resolution screen and fast refresh. I plan to purchase more for my projects.

I’m having a problem with the lack of Tx Rx pins for serial communications. I need to connect an MP3 Player that is controlled by Tx and Rx. I was advised not to use the TXD and RXD pins, so I used IO13 (SPI_MOSI) and IO14 (SPI_SCK) as Tx and Rx. This made the MP3 Player functional but now I cannot use the SD card.

My long term plan is to connect an I2C-to-UART module to the I2C port and use it to control the MP3 player. Can you suggest other ways to connect an MP3 player to the Inkplate 5 Gen2?

Originally submitted via email support on 27 March 2026. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

2

Soldered Support:

Your project sounds very cool! You could definitely use the UART RX and TX pins, at least for testing. Your main problem will be that you cannot get a Serial output. Also, when reflashing the board you will have to disconnect the RX TX connection because otherwise the flashing will fail. Apart from that, your only solution seems to be the I2C to UART converter.