7 replies to this topic

[Hans-Werner]

What are the differences between the Netduino and the FEZ Boards like FEZ Panda II and FEZ Domino? The FEZ Boards have a NXP microcontroller with 72MHz and more IO's. What are the pros and cons of the Netduino and the Netduino Plus compared to the FEZ boards like FEZ Domino and FEZ Panda II ? I'm not sure which board I should buy.

[Stefan]

Hi Hans, You should buy a Netduino offcause! I get your point, to be honest, in hardware both GHI and Secret Labs produce advanced versions which follow each other up. So for harware, it really doesn't matter. It's the software that counts. Secret Labs (makers of Netduino) have a strict open source policy. All libraries, firmware, drivers, frameworks, etcetera, are open source. with GHI that's not the case. Does that help you make a decision?

[Hans-Werner]

Hi Stefan, well I´want to order some boards (Not only Arduino like boards, also DSP boards) for some Trainees, Bachelor- or Diplomathesis. At the moment I try to write down some ideas for different tasks. To make it easier I want to use only 2 or 3 different board types.

[Stefan]

It's hard for me to give an honest answer. I never used Fez boards since I preferred an open source platform. I also know Netduino has a lovely community here and I know how to work with them if you want your students to also read/learn from the firmware source...?

[Hans-Werner]

if you want your students to also read/learn from the firmware source...? No !. I only want to use a board like this for some simple tasks like: - a DCF77 clock - an electronic keylock using a matrix keyboard (3x4 keymatrix, LCD) - a radio clock (MP3 player (VS1053B chip), radio (Silicon Labs chip), clock function, touchpanel) - reformatting NMEA strings from a GPS receiver

[greg]

if you want your students to also read/learn from the firmware source...?

No !.
I only want to use a board like this for some simple tasks like:
- a DCF77 clock
- an electronic keylock using a matrix keyboard (3x4 keymatrix, LCD)
- a radio clock (MP3 player (VS1053B chip), radio (Silicon Labs chip), clock function, touchpanel)
- reformatting NMEA strings from a GPS receiver

Honestly either board will do that just fine. And they'll both do it in C# with Visual Studio. And the programs will both be almost identical, there will be just a couple of minor differences in how you access the board pins.

[Hans-Werner]

Do you have any other nice idea what could be realized with an Netduino?

[greg]

Do you have any other nice idea what could be realized with an Netduino?

I am not sure what you're getting at here. The Netduino and Fez are pretty much identical products - so whatever you can come up with you can accomplish. About the only drawback to either product is if you need absolute timing in your application. Since it's managed code you can't control that (i.e., GC will run, etc) but for 99.9% of ideas this won't be that important.