12 replies to this topic

[Fabien Royer]

Hi,

I'm in the process of writing a series of articles for Channel 9 on using Arduino shields with the Netduino / Plus. The first installment of the series was posted yesterday: http://channel9.msdn...y-Netduino-Care

In this article, I also show how to interface a Touch Display module designed for Netduino Go! to a regular Netduino / Plus, which is a request that has come up often since we launched Go! modules.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0-RUMYaZEY

Cheers,
-Fabien.

[Gutworks]

Fantastic article Fabien. I think I have found my next afternoon project. The Touch Display module has been a great addition to my ever growing Netduino Go! collection and have I wished on countless occasions that I could use it with my Netduino Plus.

I can't wait to see some more articles in this series, and maybe some more Arduino shields used as examples. Keep the great work coming!

Thanks,
Steve

[Fabien Royer]

Thanks Steve The next article in the series has been written but it's up to the Channel 9 folks to decide when to release it. Cheers, -Fabien.

[Gutworks]

Hi Fabien,

So I have tried to replicate the project on a breadboard but discovered, after a lot of hunting for suitable resistors in my junk pile, that I have a damaged display. I was finally able to get it setup and working on my Plus only to find random pressure events firing, and an Invalid Command! error displaying. Thinking that I miswired my Touch Display, I quickly tested it on the Netduino Go!, only to find the same results. After inspecting the display with my eye loupe I have discovered a crack in the ribbon of which two wires are affected. I don't recall pouting as much, or for as long, since my Mother through out my G.I. Joe "Snake-Eyes: The Origin" comic as a young kid.

Touch Display, though you were my first, you will always be fondly remembered and missed. It just seems like last week when I turned you on and touched you ever so gently. I still remember your bright, fine-pitched glow, exuding beauty and colour. Maybe someday we'll meet again, but for now I need to save my money for the upcoming SD and Ethernet Modules.

As a side note, I also noticed that the links to the Bitbucket repository are not working and show "Access denied". I was able to get the source from the Netduino Helpers sample folder on CodePlex, so I think I have everything I need now. As for the busted display, it was neat to see it working on my Netduino Plus. Hopefully others can enjoy more than I have been able to!

Cheers,
Saddened Steve

[Fabien Royer]

Hi Steve,

I was finally able to get it setup and working on my Plus

Awesome and congrats!

only to find random pressure events firing, and an Invalid Command! error displaying.

The Invalid Command is typically caused by cables that are too long, such as the 30cm cable.

After inspecting the display with my eye loupe I have discovered a crack in the ribbon of which two wires are affected

That will do it. Can you do me a favor and take a magnified picture of the cracked ribbon and send it to me? Use "contact at nwazet dot com". I'd like to see where the crack is located. The good news is that I can offer you a replacement touch screen for $25: the touch display board is designed so that the display can be easily swapped out

I also noticed that the links to the Bitbucket repository are not working and show "Access denied"

Thanks for letting me know. I'll let the Channel 9 guys know about this issue: the links pointing to the BitBucket repository should not be in the article. The code is only on CodePlex as part of the 'netduino helpers'.


Cheers,
-Fabien.

[Gutworks]

The good news is that I can offer you a replacement touch screen for $25: the touch display board is designed so that the display can be easily swapped out

Perfect! I have sent you the images and await instructions. The only thing that could make this scenario any better would be if you had a copy of G.I. Joe "Snake-Eyes: The Origin" handy

Merci beaucoup Fabien!
Steve

[Fabien Royer]

Glad I could help

Also, I'm sorry, but we're fresh out of the "G.I. Joe Snake-Eyes: The Origin" copies ;-)


Cheers,
-Fabien.

[JerseyTechGuy]

Great Article... I have another project that I put on hold due to the immaturity of the Netduino GO and the Shield Module. This may be a great way for me to continue with the project using a ND Plus. I look forward to seeing what other shield articles you write.

[Fabien Royer]

Thanks Dave The next article should be up on Channel 9 the week of August 20th. Cheers, -Fabien.

[Gutworks]

I thought that I would pass along a Fritzing diagram that I found helpful in visualizing the project for me. The diagram was created with the 2N4403 PNP transistor in mind. One thing to note, is that if you are using a different transistor other than the one specified, make sure you check the datasheet for the pinout and ratings. In my final test I actually used a different transistor and wiring configuration than shown in the Fritzing diagram below.

It was a fun project, especially hunting for transistors in my broken electronics bin. I found a suitable one, however after running a few forward voltage tests using the diode check on an Agilent U1233A Multimeter, I was able to determine that the salvaged resistor was damaged in the process. For the sake of testing I used a transistor that had the bare minimum for the collector current (Ic). The other downfall was that the transistor was an ECB (Emmiter pin 1, Collector pin 2, and Base pin 3) instead of the EBC shown in the article. So please note the photo of the actual wiring is slightly different than the diagram. When I transfer this project over to a prototype board I plan on using the actual transistor suggested in the article. I have some proto board with 442 points that seems to be the perfect size to create a shield. The bill of materials in the article doesn't mention it, but I plan on using some I purchased from ebay.
Note: Unfortunately the link to purchase the transistor in the Coding4Fun article is broken. The links above should work.

You can find below a picture of the completed breadboard project, however do keep in mind that I damaged my Touch Display earlier — oddly enough a touch display is not a toy for a 2 year old — and have ordered a replacement screen from [nwazet. I must add, the service and swiftness of the shipment from [nwazet has been fantastic. Thank you.

You may also notice the handy Prototype shield with mini breadboard I am using. It was purchased from Dealextreme.com for a really good price with free shipping. Now to wait for my replacement screen and some fun projects to come on the Netduino Plus. In the mean time I will be playing with my Netduino Go! and the the Seven Segment Display Module from Komodex.com.

Thanks again for the article Fabien. Great work.

Cheers,
Steve


 Touch Display_bb.png   48.52KB   35 downloads
 2012-07-27_0002.jpg   544.1KB   38 downloads

[Fabien Royer]

Nice work Steve About the transistor: feel free to replace it with anything equivalent or use a MOSFET... You could even use a SPST switch flipped manually if you wanted Cheers, -Fabien.

[Gutworks]

Fabien, If a module uses 5v instead of 3.3v, what necessary modifications should I make to the circuit? Should I use the same type of circuit on the 5v bus as you have shown for Touch Display? Thanks, Steve

[Fabien Royer]

Steve, Assuming that you're controlling 5v power to the module from a 3.3v logic pin: place a 10K resistor at the base of the transistor and a 2.1K resistor as the pull-up (it should also work fine if you swap them. Just experiment). This will divide the 5v appropriately so that you can control the transistor from a lower voltage level. Cheers, -Fabien.