That's good advice. And I've looked at going straight to the USB version of the RFID reader. My big motivation for using the Netduino though is that I'd like to add more then one sensor and even some other inputs (switches, knobs, etc) and have it do all the physical device handling. That way, I only plug one device into the system and get an array of data out of it.

In this case you could try to turn your netduino into a proper HID USB device. I haven't tried it yet myself but there is a sample in the .NET MF SDK that shows how to make a virtual mouse.

Here is also excellent article written by Michel Verhagen on GuruCE that shows how to communicate with .NET application using WinUSB driver: http://guruce.com/bl...cation-over-usb Looks like bit more work but it might be worth to give it a try.

In both cases you will probably loose ability to debug on the device via USB so you will need serial cable anyway. I surly can't wait until netduino guys figure out how to make this easier.

bah those look boring I'll make my own out of Plexiglas

Here is another enclosure from Adafruit
http://www.adafruit....products_id=271

I just ordered one so I can tell you shortly how netduino fits inside.

I'm really enjoying the device so far.

The application I'm working on uses the Parallax RFID reader which is talking to the Netduino as a serial device on D0 so, I'd have to look at D2/D3 for getting data out. Having a way to talk over the USB would be huge, since it would keep the whole solution smaller, simpler and cheaper.

I would be happy to share once I get something that's ready to share.

I'm looking to port this WPF PING sensor application over to the Netduino as well.

Hi futileboy,
If all you want is get the RFID data to PC you actually don't need netduino for that. You can simply connect it directly with the FTDI Serial-to-USB cable.
http://www.adafruit....&products_id=70
http://www.sparkfun....roducts_id=9718

Or you can just get the USB version of the same Parallax RFID reader.
http://www.parallax....17/Default.aspx

Then it will show as virtual comport that you can access using System.IO.Ports.SerialPort class (I should have some sample code if you need help).

Here is one more LCD interface that might work. It runs on 3.3V but uses I2C instead of Serial. http://shop.jeelabs....oducts/lcd-plug

I'm going to try to fit Netduino in Adafruit's Arduino Enclosure http://www.adafruit....products_id=271 I think it would fit nicely and only need to do one more cut out for micro USB. And I plan to add LCD display and buttons for debugging of my device.

I think one of the strengths of Arduino is the Playground area at http://www.arduino.cc/playground/ and especially the pages that collect information (including links to any libraries) about interfacing with various hardware: http://www.arduino.c...ingWithHardware Do you plan to add similar Wiki on this site? There are already some good libraries for .NET MF but its hard to find them on the web. It would be cool to have a single source for such information.

I've played around with microcontollers here and there, but now I have a project that I must work out. I'm trying to figure out the best way to tackle this new project. What my goal is to control a high powered LED and stepper motor using DMX-512. I'm not sure how to approach this but I could use some help getting pointed in the right direction. Is the netduino a good choice or is there something that would be better.

This sounds similar to one of the projects I want to implement myself. Could you provide more detail on what you are going to build?

-Szymon

Hi Xander, welcome to the forums!

We will have resellers in Europe (and probably Asia and Australia as well) in the coming months. Today, MakerSHED should be able to serve you well. But we know that Europe is a priority (for cost reasons) and we're on it...

Chris

Hi Chris,
I live in Poland so I'm also very interested in Europe based resseler. The closest distributor is in Czech Republic http://informatix.mi...microframework/

They carry many different .NET MF boards so I hope yours will be available shortly too :-)

Best Regards,
Szymon Kobalczyk (MVP)

PS: Thanks for this great project!