Regarding Visual c# I get this while trying to deploy to the device via USB. 'device not initialized resetting'. Plugging and unplugging the usb cable has various results, sometimes it finds the device sometimes not.

Hello, So you are saying that to get the netduino to work i have to modify a library.. There must be folks out there that are using LCD's without problems that do not have to modify libries to get it to work correctly. That does not answer the problems i get with windows, not being able to find the device from time to time, as it fails there also. Perhaps i need to send it back for a replacment. What libs are others using for LCD driving...

Hello ok here is the code, i have taken out a few remarks etc to make smaller. Its a trivial program and not finished but, this is basically the code i am writing. using System.Threading; using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware; using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino; using MicroLiquidCrystal; namespace System_Timer { public class Program { public static void Main() { var lcdProvider = new GpioLcdTransferProvider( Pins.GPIO_PIN_D12, Pins.GPIO_PIN_D11, Pins.GPIO_PIN_D5, Pins.GPIO_PIN_D4, Pins.GPIO_PIN_D3, Pins.GPIO_PIN_D2 ); // create the LCD interface var lcd = new Lcd(lcdProvider); lcd.Begin(16, 2); // Set display to 16x2 lcd.Clear(); // Clear display // set the cursor to column 0 lcd.SetCursorPosition(0, 0); // set to top left chr of lcd lcd.Write("System Clock"); // set cursor to column 1 lcd.SetCursorPosition(0, 1); // clear strings string Seconds = ""; string Minutes = ""; string Hours = ""; while (true) { lcd.SetCursorPosition(0, 1); Seconds = Utility.GetMachineTime().Seconds.ToString(); Minutes = Utility.GetMachineTime().Minutes.ToString(); Hours = Utility.GetMachineTime().Hours.ToString(); lcd.Write(Hours+":"+Minutes+":"+Seconds); Thread.Sleep(1000); } } } } Basically as you can see it displays the system timer on the LCD. Yeah i know its not finished yet... The program is loaded onto the netduino. Its powered from a separate power supply. When you press reset, several things can happen. 1 :- It starts up ok and runs ok, displaying the system timer counting up. 2 :- It attempts to start up, but leaves the LCD with the top line full of blocks, and does nothing more. 3:- It attempts to start up but leaves the LCD with the top line full of various chrs, always the same ones. When connected to PC and c# it can do the same thing. Often with C# complaining that it cannot find the netduino device. I have checked all the connections and they all look 100%. I cannot make this happen by wiggling any leads. I would love to get this sorted out it is very frustrating...

The supply is rated at 500 ma, i only have an LCD apart from the netdurino. so it should not be a problem, and besides that it does it on the pc also.

No it does the same thing off a 5v supply totally separated from the pc....

Hello, I am getting reset issues. Not only while in C#, but also when running a program thats downloaded onto the netduino. Pressing reset wiuth a working program loaded into the netduino, should work everytime. This also happens when working with C# on PC, it locks the c# up , or it comes back saying it cannot find the netdurino device. I have an LCD screen attached, sometimes it comes up with bars on it and just sits there. Pressing reset sometimes corrects this or it just locks up again. This problem is not just related to the PC USB interface. Other times it comes up with mixed chrs. ALways showing the top line of the LCD, 16 x 2. I am getting rather frustrated with this, what use is it developing stuff when you cannot rely on a reset restarting the program. If i cannot find a solution to this i will to get another type of microcontroller, its wasting my time and $$.

Hello, Pure C runs much faster, thats why the netduino has a much faster clock speed etc. If it did not the result with c# would be very slow compared to Pure c code...

Tree Frog,

MFDeploy hung on me the first time, but I had looked at several other things in configuration first. I unplugged and reconnected the USB. Pinged and then checked capabilities.

Attached in the about screen for MFDeploy.
Chuck

I tried it again a few times, then it worked, something not right there, needs looking at....

Run MFDeploy
Select Device -> USB, should show Netduino_Netduino
Press ping, should show Pinging... TinyCLR
Select Target -> Device Capabilities, it should show something like the attached JPeg.

Chuck

Thanks Chuck for your assistance here.

I wish i could see that, it locks the computer up before it gets to that point..
Perhaps because it is not gettitng any data back from the Netdurino.
Can you tell me the version of MFDeploy you have there, perhaps the version i have is bugged ????
I need to get this sorted out in case i need to return the Netdurino, i only got it 3 days ago.

Hello, Ok a few details, i am using netduino classic. I am using the '.exe version'. When i try and get device capabilities on USB it just locks up... It knows that the netduino is there as it is selectable. I need to know what version numbers are etc to see if i need to reflash the machine. I do not want to clear the netduino as i may not be able to reflash it as i can write code right now.

Hello, I cannot get netdurino to respond to MFdeploy. It knows the device is there on USB, but will not recieve any data back from it. I can send programs and run them. Hope i do not have a lemon....

Okay, now the things are getting very clear.

I think you can solve your problem with a simple voltage divider, let me a bit for calculating the best solution.
About the sensor connection, I think there's no problem for the wiring. However, I would strongly suggest to use a coaxial cable. The shield will be connected to the Netduino common ground. The sensor will be wired to both shield and core.
That's because the Netduino analog input will be exposed to any potential discharge (e.g. a lighting falling in the nearby). To keep it safe, the best thing is to use a coaxial cable, with the ground connected only to the Netduino side. Again, by the sensor side the cable must be wired *only* to the sensor, which is isolated.
I mean "sensor isolated" also from the contained liquid, which can be conductive. Which kind of material the tank will contain?

Cheers

Hello, i guess the solution is pretty simple....

3.3v
|
|< sender 0-80 ohms
|
|---- input to ADC
|
|< 100 ohm resister
|
|
| 0V

thanks guys :-)

Yes, i understand your point that if the sensor is not high precision then you cannot display high precision. The sender is totally isolated from the tank , in fact the tank is plastic. Perhaps it might make more sense to say display 10 bars max, this is not high presicsion but might suffice. If i can find out how to wire it all up, then i could mess around with the input values to decide how precise i can get. So if i am using 3.3v and the sender is 0-80 ohms, what value resistance would i need for this to work best in a divider setup????.

Tree frog, you forget to mention how accurate should be the reading. From what you write, I guess that you should expect a one percent of accuracy. This means that if your tank is 1000 liters, your meter won't be able to tell you if the actual quantity is 450 or 460, for instance.

How far is the sensor from the Netduino?
The opto-isolation could be a good idea whereas they are pretty far each other, and/or there are many other machinery, cables, etc. However, the opto-isolation yields to a much more complex circuit.

Please, give us a more complete picture of your project, otherwise it's pretty hard to understand what will be the best solution.
Cheers

Hello,
The netduino will be about 15 feet from the water tank. The tank holds 30 gallons. I want to display the amount % on an LCD meter. Calibrating it as follws. Tank empty, take a reading of the input, fill the tank and then take a reading again.
Taking the 2 numbers that relate to empty and full, and dividing by 100. That should be able to give me % of 0 to 99.
It does not have to be 100% accurate, but good enough to show that basic content left in the tank. The opto idea seemed to be a good idea, but i have no idea how to do this. I have some knowledge of electronics, but do not know where to start on this project. If it could work without the opto isolator then perhaps that would be good enough. If i wanted to use a resistive divider what would i need resistor wise. The sender varies from 0 - 80 ohms, Voltage i guess would be taken from the netduino 3.3v line ?.

Hello, The sender has a plastic case, so no way it could be grounded. The section on the top of the sender is a separate section. A magnet in the sender alters the resistance reading. I know it seems a bit odd... I believe some LP gas tanks use this same type of sender. I can post a picture so you can see what i mean tomorrow. So i have 2 leads coming off the sender, that vary from 0 - 80 ohms as i move the sender part that has the float on it. How can i use that resistance reading to give me some kind of data input that i can work with ????. I wish that the sender had 3 wires, or used a ground connection through the body of it but it does not :-(

hello again... How could i use the 0-80 ohm sender with an opto isolator. how could that be wired up??. It would be good to isolate the sender from the netduino. Any help would be much appreciated here. :-)

Hello again, sorry for double post... Basically i need to get 0-100% from the 80 ohm sender, 0 being tank empty and 100% full. I do not know the best way to do this. I have read up on constant current sources, but for this application i think that may be overkill....

Hi tree frog and welcome to the forums.

You need to read this out with the netduino, or you just want to know its value?
Keep in mind resistors always have a tolerance %, so it's never 100% accurate.

Hello,

Its actually a sender for a tank, a 0~90 ohm variable resistor. you only have 2 leads from the sender. So internally 2 pins are connected togeather. Not sure how to wire the sender, in a way that will not damage the input pin,
also to get me a reading that will be in a range i can use.

Hello, I am a new member on here. So firstly hello to all :-). I have a netdurino. My question is how can i read in a resistance value of 0 - 100 ohms ??. I need this to be an accurate measurement. Thanks to all who read this.