Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
You can display a waveform on a Nextion screen by creating a Waveform component in Nextion Editor, then connecting a signal to a Scope element in Visuino and uploading the program to an Arduino-compatible board. Use Visuino’s Sine Analog Generator for a software-generated trace, or connect a potentiometer to analog input A0 to vary the displayed signal. This is a simple visualization project, not a specified or calibrated bench oscilloscope.
What this Nextion and Visuino scope does
The Nextion display provides the waveform output. An Arduino-compatible board runs the program built in Visuino, which sends one signal to the display’s Scope Channel 1. You create the display interface separately in Nextion Editor and load it onto the screen.
The tutorial’s parts list includes an Arduino Uno or another board, a Nextion display, breadboard, jumper wires, Nextion Editor, and Visuino. A potentiometer module is optional. The tutorial does not name a Nextion model, so choose the actual model in Nextion Editor and verify that it is compatible with your board and wiring.
Choose a signal source
| Signal source | What it does | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Visuino Sine Analog Generator | Produces a software-generated signal for a demonstration trace. Generator frequency and other properties can be adjusted in Visuino. | No potentiometer is needed. |
| Potentiometer connected to A0 | Provides a physical analog input that can change the displayed trace as you adjust the potentiometer. | A potentiometer module wired to supply, ground, and Arduino analog input A0. |
The tutorial does not specify sampling rate, bandwidth, voltage limits, accuracy, calibration, or trigger behavior. Do not use this project as a substitute for a measurement instrument when those specifications matter.
#1 Best Overall
- -Compared with Basic nextion display and nextion enhanced screen, Nextion Intelligent display has more powerful hardware in terms of MCU, Flash storage and SRAM. Audio, video and animation play functions enrich your project HMI interaction.
- -Nextion intelligent 7 capacitive display is a 5V device, but many development boards are 3.3V. It won't make the display power up.
- -To ensure Nextion capacitive 7 intelligent display work as expected, it's recommended to supply power via power adapter, not usb to ttl or boards.
- -If you supply power for NX8048P070-011C-Y via PC, the Nextion intelligent 7 inch display may works not as expected even though your PC is 5V.
- -Uploading TFT file via sd card is faster than the usb to ttl, but pls ensure card: FAT32 format, only one tft file(no folder), and no more than 32GB.
Wire the display and optional potentiometer
The tutorial’s example wiring is:
- Nextion VCC (red) to Arduino 5 V.
- Nextion GND (black) to Arduino ground.
- Nextion RX (yellow) to Arduino TX.
- Nextion TX (blue) to Arduino RX.
- Optional potentiometer VCC and GND to the Arduino supply and ground, with its output connected to A0.
These are the tutorial’s connections, not a guarantee that every board and Nextion model uses the same voltage, logic levels, or serial pins. Check the electrical requirements and serial-port arrangement for your exact hardware before powering it. In particular, confirm that the display’s supply and signal levels are suitable for the board.
Create and load the Nextion waveform interface
- Open Nextion Editor, create a project, and select the model that matches your physical display.
- Set the orientation to 90 degrees as in the tutorial.
- Add a Waveform component to the screen and resize it to the area you want to use.
- Compile the project and export its TFT file.
- Copy the TFT file to an SD card and load it onto the display as directed for your display model.
The Waveform component is the on-screen area that Visuino’s Scope element will use. The tutorial does not give a model-specific SD-card procedure, so follow the instructions for the display you selected.
Rank #2
- -Compared with Nextion Basic & Nextion Enhanced, Nextion Intelligent display has more powerful hardware in terms of MCU, Flash storage and SRAM. Audio, video and animation play functions enrich your project HMI interaction.
- -Nextion intelligent 7.0 display is a 5V device, but many development boards are 3.3V. It won't make the display power up.
- -To ensure Nextion 7.0 intelligent display work as expected, it's recommended to supply power via power adapter, not usb to ttl or boards.
- -If you supply power for this Nextion 7 intelligent display via PC, the NX8048P070-011C may works not as expected even though your PC is 5V.
- -Uploading TFT file via sd card is faster than the usb to ttl, but pls ensure card: FAT32 format, only one tft file(no folder), and no more than 32GB.
Configure the scope in Visuino
- Start a Visuino project and select Arduino Uno if you are following the example. If you use another supported board, select that board instead.
- Add a Nextion Display component.
- Add a Scope element.
- For a generated demonstration signal, add a Sine Analog Generator and connect its output to Scope Channel 1. Adjust the generator frequency or other properties if desired.
- For the potentiometer option, connect the output of Arduino analog pin 0 to Scope Channel 1 instead of using the sine generator.
The documented single-channel setup routes one signal to Channel 1. A separate Visuino example uses three channels to show BME280 temperature, pressure, and humidity, with Map Range components to normalize those inputs; that is a different project, not an automatic feature of this setup.
Build, upload, and check the display
- Before uploading, disconnect the Arduino RX pin as the tutorial instructs. This is the pin shared with the display’s TX connection in the example wiring.
- In Visuino, select the correct board port and use the Compile/Build and Upload control.
- After uploading, reconnect the Arduino RX pin to the display TX pin.
- Power up the Arduino. With the sine generator selected, the display should show the generated waveform. With the potentiometer input wired and selected, adjusting it should change the displayed trace.
If the waveform does not appear
- Blank or incorrect display: Confirm that the TFT file was compiled for the model selected in Nextion Editor and loaded onto the display.
- No communication: Check the display’s RX/TX connections, board serial-pin arrangement, and the selected Visuino port. Disconnect the shared RX connection during upload, then reconnect it afterward.
- No changing trace from the potentiometer: Confirm that the potentiometer output goes to A0, that its supply and ground are connected, and that analog pin 0 is routed to Scope Channel 1 rather than the sine generator.
- Unexpected behavior after wiring: Turn off power and recheck the exact display and board electrical requirements before trying again.
What this project is—and is not
This build is useful for learning how a Nextion Waveform component, Visuino Scope element, and Arduino-compatible board work together to visualize a signal. The documented tutorial does not establish measurement performance or provide the specifications needed to treat the trace as calibrated voltage-versus-time data. For interactive Nextion projects, Visuino also has separate examples involving buttons, text values, commands, and serial communication; those features are outside this waveform build.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesQuick Recap
Rank #4
- -Compared with Nextion Basic & Nextion Enhanced, Nextion Intelligent display has more powerful hardware in terms of MCU, Flash storage and SRAM. Audio, video and animation play functions enrich your project HMI interaction.
- -Nextion intelligent 5 inch display is a 5V device, but many development boards are 3.3V. It won't make the display power up.
- -To ensure Nextion 5 inch intelligent display work as expected, it's recommended to supply power via power adapter, not usb to ttl or boards.
- -If you supply power for this Nextion 5 intelligent display via PC, the NX8048P050-011C-Y may works not as expected even though your PC is 5V.
- -Uploading TFT file via sd card is faster than the usb to ttl, but pls ensure card: FAT32 format, only one tft file(no folder), and no more than 32GB.
Rank #3
- -As a member of Nextion basic series, NX4832T035 is a powerful 3.5 inch HMI: a 3.5" TFT 480 x 320 resistive touch screen display, 4M Flash, 2KByte RAM, 65k colors.
- -Nextion 3.5 display is a 5V device, but many development boards are 3.3V. It won't make the display power up.
- -To ensure Nextion basic 3.5 inch display work as expected, it's recommended to supply power via power adapter, not usb to ttl or boards.
- -Uploading TFT file via sd card is faster than the usb to ttl, but pls ensure card: FAT32 format, only one tft file(no folder), and no more than 32GB.
- -If your HMI project was developed via 0.53 or prior version Nextion Editor, we recommend you to use the LTS version for project maintenance as the latest version is not fully compatible with your exsisting source code and GUI desgin.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
