Planet Arduino

Surely you’ve been there: you need to capture serial output from a microcontroller or other device, so you reach for a PL2303 or CP210x or FT232RL-based USB-to-TTL serial cable (if you can remember where you put the damn thing after you last used it!) and…realize you don’t have the drivers installed on the computer you […]

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If you want video support on your project, you might start from a device like a Raspberry Pi that comes with it built in. [Kevinhub88] doesn’t accept such compromises, so he and his Black Mesa Labs have come up with a whole new way to add video support to devices like the Arduino and other cheap controllers. This project is called Mesa-Video, and it can add digital video at a resolution of up to 800 by 600 pixels to any device that has a single serial output.

The video is created by an FT813, a low cost GPU from FTDI that offers a surprising amount of video oomph from a cheap, low power chip (he has demoed it running from a lemon battery), meaning that he is hoping to be able to sell the Mesa-Video for under $50.

However, Mesa-Video is just the beginning. [Kevinhub88] wanted to get around the problem of stacking shields on Arduinos: add more  than one and you get problems. He wanted to create an interface that would be simpler, faster and more open, so he created the Mesa-Bus. This effectively wraps SPI and I2C traffic together over a simple, fast serial connection that doesn’t require much decoding. This means that you can send power and bi-directional data over a handful of wires, and still connect multiple devices at once, swapping them out as required. You could, for instance, do your development work on a PC talking to the prototype devices over Mesa-Bus, them swap the PC out for an Arduino when you have got the first version working in your dev environment. Is the Arduino not cutting it? Because Mesa-Bus is cross-platform and open source, it is easy to swap the Arduino for a Raspberry Pi without having to change your other devices. And, because all the data is going over a simple serial connection in plain text, it is easy to debug.

It’s an ambitious project, and [Kevinhub88] has a way to go: he is currently working on getting his first prototype Mesa-Bus devices up and running, and finalizing the design of the Mesa-Video. But it is an impressive start and we’ll be keeping a close eye on this work. Hopefully he can avoid that head crab problem as well because those things are as itchy as hell.

Filed under: Arduino Hacks, video hacks

rancidpacon writes:

I recently wrote a 15-page getting started guide for the $5 ESP8266 WiFi modules for Kiwicon 8, a local New Zealand hacker con. It’s available as both HTML and a PDF.

It provides details on: how to make the hardware connections using an FTDI Board or Arduino (with suitable disclaimer); how to communicate with the module; using AT commands to act as a client, server or AP; and, updating the firmware.

The con brought in a shipment of 100 of the modules which sold out extremely quickly and the guide provides a one-stop-shop for how to get started with the modules.

ESP8266 WiFi module quick start guide - [Link]

Vincent informs us of this Arduino compatible CT-UNO, the Cytron version of Arduino UNO:

The CT-UNO combines the simplicity of the UNO’s Optiboot bootloader (which load program faster), the stability of the FTDI and the R3 shield compatibility of the latest Arduino UNO R3. Besides, we know many are using Android phone which comes with USB micro-B cable (power bank also require micro-B to charge), therefore, to lower down the cost needed for customer to get started, we populate the USB micro-B socket for USB connection! Program can be loaded from Arduino UNO by utilizing your Android phone USB cable. Select “Arduino UNO” from the board and choose the correct COM port, you are ready to upload the code.
CT-UNO has all the amazing features Arduino UNO offer. 14 Digital I/O pins with 6 PWM pins, 6 Analog inputs, UART, SPI, external interrupts, not to forget the I2C too.

[via]

Introducing CT-UNO, Cytron version of Arduino UNO - [Link]

Vincent informs us of this Arduino compatible CT-UNO, the Cytron version of Arduino UNO:

The CT-UNO combines the simplicity of the UNO’s Optiboot bootloader (which load program faster), the stability of the FTDI and the R3 shield compatibility of the latest Arduino UNO R3. Besides, we know many are using Android phone which comes with USB micro-B cable (power bank also require micro-B to charge), therefore, to lower down the cost needed for customer to get started, we populate the USB micro-B socket for USB connection! Program can be loaded from Arduino UNO by utilizing your Android phone USB cable. Select “Arduino UNO” from the board and choose the correct COM port, you are ready to upload the code.
CT-UNO has all the amazing features Arduino UNO offer. 14 Digital I/O pins with 6 PWM pins, 6 Analog inputs, UART, SPI, external interrupts, not to forget the I2C too.

[via]

Introducing CT-UNO, Cytron version of Arduino UNO - [Link]

Here’s an update on Kevin Rye’s LCD clock . Source files are available here, for direct download LCD-Clock-V2-Source.zip:

Once all the components and headers were soldered in, I attached my Arduino and configured it as an ISP. I then burned the bootloader for an Arduino Uno.
I then connected my FTDI programmer and uploaded the blink sketch.Success!

Wow, that LED is super bright! It’s actually blinding and kind of hard to look at. With that, I swapped out the resistor for a 1K one in order to bring the brightness down.
Knowing that the Atmega worked, it was time to solder in the rest of the components, except for the display. Again, I don’t want to come this far and then waste a $15 LCD.

[via]

LCD clock version 2 - [Link]

This week FTDI Chip have announced a range of Arduino-compatible development platforms to support the company’s Embedded Video Engine (EVE) technology. The VM800P series provides engineers with everything necessary to implement Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) featuring display, audio, touch elements and data processing aspects too.

The units can be programmed using the standard Arduino IDE (using a pre-programmed Arduino-compatible bootloader). In addition to support for various Arduino libraries, every VM800P incorporates an FTDI Chip FT800 EVE graphic controller IC and its FT232R USB interface IC as well as an ATMega328P 8-bit microcontroller running at 16 MHz. Also featured are a touch-enabled display LCD panel, a backlight LED driver, an audio power amplifier and a micro speaker. A choice of 3.5, 4.3 and 5.0-inch display formats is available which have precision fitted bezels to enable operation in industrial environments. The VM800P units also have a USB serial port for firmware upload and application communication, a battery-backed real time clock (RTC) for carrying out system timing and a micro SD socket loaded with a 4GByte SD card containing sample applications. [via]

Embedded Video Engine for Arduino - [Link]

In this episode of “Projects with Ryan Slaugh” I highlight using the Arduino Mini with the FTDI Friend. Normally, using an Arduino is as simple as plug and play into your USB. With the Mini, however, you need to use the FTDI Friend. The Friend itself is a simple device that converts […]

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[Hans Peter] wanted to move away from using full Arduino boards in his projects. One of the components he rarely used after the development stage is the USB hardware. Once the firmware is flashed to the chip he didn’t need it any longer. So he tried his hand with some really small SMD parts by building this USB to serial Arduino programmer.

The chip he went with isn’t the FTDI part we’re used to. Instead of using an FT232RL, he opted for its smaller cousin the FT230x. This chip doesn’t fully implement the communications protocol of the 232, but it does work with AVRdude and that’s all that really matters. Above you can see [Hans'] creation next to the official Arduino USB-to-serial programmer. He used the same connection scheme, but went with an edge connector for the USB instead of using a mini-B jack.

It’s pretty impressive to see his prototyping work with the 16-pin QFN package. He soldered it dead-bug style to a couple of SIL pin headers in order to test it on a breadboard. The first board he assembled was too loose in the USB port, but he added some tape to the back to make it thicker, and coated the edge connector traces with a bit of solder and that did the trick.

Filed under: Arduino Hacks

Lira – A Barebones, Low-Cost, Arduino Compatible Atmega328 Breakout Board – [via]

What I came up with is the Lira. It is, as you will see, little more than a breakout board for the ATmega328, but it provides all the bare necessities like voltage regulation, basic power conditioning and an FTDI programming interface. It’s the smallest, simplest, cheapest design I could come up with that still uses through-hole components for ease of construction.

Certainly, your Boarduino has more features, better power conditioning and all of that. But then the Lira is significantly smaller at 2.15×0.85″ (vs. 3.0×0.8″, per the Boarduino page). So perhaps it will find an audience among those in search of the smallest, most bare-bones microcontroller they can build themselves.

Lira: A Barebones, Low-Cost, Arduino Compatible Atmega328 Breakout Board - [Link]