14 replies to this topic

[Don King]

I have finished my first successful prototype and now want to make it a permanent one. If I understand what I have read on the forums correctly, I should be able to use a MakerShield to solder things to permanently and then place it on top of my NP2?

 

Any help, advice, tips, tricks etc. are very welcome. My project is a OneWire temperature probe and so I am certain there are "helper" devices that would allow me to have quick connect and disconnect of components? (e.g. if I don't want the temperature probe to be soldered permanently, I can have something soldered that it can connect to).

 

I appreciate any feedback. This community has been extremely helpful to newbies like me just learning electronics. I hope I can pay it back some day .

 

Thanks!

 

Don

 

 NP2_TempPrototype_DK.jpg   131.6KB   40 downloads

[JerseyTechGuy]

Hey Don,

 

For some of my prototypes I've use the ProtoShields from freetronics. http://www.freetroni...ns/protoshields

 

There are many types of quick connectors that can be used.  Can you give us a little more info on the sensors and the placement of them?  Perhaps we can point you in the right direction.

[Don King]

Hey Don,

 

For some of my prototypes I've use the ProtoShields from freetronics. http://www.freetroni...ns/protoshields

 

There are many types of quick connectors that can be used.  Can you give us a little more info on the sensors and the placement of them?  Perhaps we can point you in the right direction.

 

Hi Dave - Thanks so much for the reply. Yes, actually I have attached another image that I got from another member (CW2) that I used to help me wire up my prototype. In fact I followed this pretty much exactly. The only difference is that I don't have the little temp sensor pictured. I have the waterproof DS18B20. One of the issues I have is that it has copper wire that is not really stiff and so can't really seat it down into the breadboard. I ended up having to wrap it around some jumper wires that have the stiff wires on each end. Not a great solution and one of the reasons I am looking for connectors and such.

 

 

 ds18b20sample.png   49.88KB   27 downloads

[JerseyTechGuy]

For the sensor which I believe has 3 wires I would go with a Screw Terminal to connect it.  This can be soldered into the protoshield, the the 3 wires from the sensor lead can be screwed in.  It can handle solid or stranded copper wire without a problem.

[Don King]

Thanks for the information. I have a couple of questions:

 

1. What board from the freetronics site would you recommend for this prototype, if any?

 

2. With the screw terminals, I am guessing that I would solder that onto the prototype board and then solder other wires to make my connections for the power, ground and the resistor from that. And then that would fit down on top of my NP2?

 

I hope that these prototype boards come with some information for newbies to understand how components need to be hooked up

 

Thanks!

 

Don

[JerseyTechGuy]

Hi Don,

 

1) Personally I like the Protoshield short only because it takes up less room but any of the shields will work.  Just remember these do not have the extended pins for SDA/SCL pins on the Netduino 2.

 

2) You are correct on the soldering.  You basically solder parts in place and then solder jumper wires on the bottom side for the connections of all the parts.  I used some 18 or 20 gauge wire for that.

 

There are typically no instructions with these boards as they are BYO (Build your own).

[Don King]

Thanks again. So in looking at the short I am not certain where the 3 wire screw terminal would be attached. Also, in looking at a couple of tutorials briefly it looks like I would need at least 3 header pins to be soldered onto the prototype board and then it would sit down on (or insert) into the Netduino.

 

Am I on the right track? Sorry for the complete newbie questions but I literally have no experience with this. I am thinking I might go ahead and invest in the 5 pack as I am sure I will need to practice

 

One other thing, might it make more sense for me to get the MakerShield that I mentioned in my first post since it comes with all of the components that I will need? My guess is that someone with your level of skill and experience has quite a few of these things already? 

 

Thanks!

 

Don

[JerseyTechGuy]

Yeah I'm in a different boat... Electrical Engineer for 20+ years, started soldering boards and such when I was 11. That was ?? years ago.
 
Sparkfun has a good learn to Solder video https://www.sparkfun.com/news/509 you can check out.  They are using a soldering station but trust me you don't need a rig like that.  A simple pencil tip soldering iron works great.  Basically with the Protoshield you would solder all the headers into the unit so it snaps onto the Netduino like a pre-made shield.  Then it's basically placing your components in the holes in a manageable pattern and connecting wires much like the breadboard but this time you will be soldering them to the underside of the board and or the top of the board connecting the components together.  The 3 screw terminal can be soldered in any 3 holes you like.
 
I like and have the maker shield but this is an expensive board to try to solder your first time.  You can definitely ruin it.  The protoshields are cheaper.
 
Here's a good example:
 
This was my Maker Shield for pandora's box early on:


Later This was the start of the protoshield build:


Then this is the final spaghetti factory (Protoboard in the center plugged into a Netduino mounted under it):

[Don King]

Wow, very cool pics. And way beyond me at this point but I want to dive in and learn. I agree with your reasoning of cheap boards especially as one is learning to solder. I do have a Weller BP645 pen soldering iron and .062 diameter solder (.50 oz.). It doesn't state a gauge on it.

 

Is there a set of pins or like a components pack that you would recommend as well to go with the boards?

 

Thanks!

[JerseyTechGuy]

You should be able to get away with the soldering iron and the solder you have.  I've always used .023 or .025 (Really thin stuff) but that's what I got comfortable with when populating boards that had 40-50 through hole components.

 

The protoboards will come will the 4 header connectors to mate with the Netduino.  It does not come with the Reset Button but you can pick those up at many places.  It's basically this one --> https://www.sparkfun.com/products/97

 

Without knowing what else you plan to connect it's hard to recommend connectors.  These 0.1" spacing headers are typically used for most breakout boards, sensors, etc.

 

I haven't found too many generic assorted pin or component packs.  Generally kits are geared towards specific products.  If you give me an idea what you plan to build or generally the type of stuff you want to have on hand I might be able to recommend some of the vendors I've used.

[Don King]

Am I looking at the wrong protoboard? They state on the product description:

 

"Note that the ProtoShield Short comes without any extra parts at all: no headers, no reset button. Just a bare PCB, ready for you to fit whatever headers and other parts you happen to have handy."

 

Does that mean nothing extra besides the 4 header connectors?

[JerseyTechGuy]

Am I looking at the wrong protoboard? They state on the product description:

 

"Note that the ProtoShield Short comes without any extra parts at all: no headers, no reset button. Just a bare PCB, ready for you to fit whatever headers and other parts you happen to have handy."

 

Does that mean nothing extra besides the 4 header connectors?

Maybe they changed it from the last time I ordered.  Let me check so I don't steer you wrong.

[JerseyTechGuy]

Ok, yes they changed it a bit.  In addition to the board you will need the Stackable Arduino Shield Headers.

[Don King]

Thanks again for all of the advice. One more (hopefully) quick question. I notice that the other board is made in and ships from Australia. I don't have anything against the Aussies but would prefer to buy here and have it shipped from within the US. With that said would this Arduino ProtoShield - Bare PCB and Arduino ProtoShield Kit be pretty similar and serve the same purpose? They also have a nice little tutorial for people like me who are just learning.

 

As a side note, I notice that a commenter mentions a concern with Ethernet jack getting in the way. I wonder if that would be an issue with either of these boards and the NP2.

[JerseyTechGuy]

I just happened to be buying other stuff from freetronics at the time. epictinker.com carries their stuff and is in California. Otherwise any board will work for you. All of these shields sit directly on top of the Ethernet port. If you use the stackable headers it shouldn't be an issue. If you use the breakaway headers they are shorter.