Can you get numbers from those BGAs? I wanna see what processors they use on those...

Sorry Chris, not sure I understand what you need. Do you mean the circuit, the components?

Guy

Hi,
A friend handed me his "old" (2+ years old) Garmin Nuvi (not sure of the model number).
I took it apart, having nothing better to do with it. I found the following:

• Touch-enabled color LCD (image 1)
• GPS sensor (image 1)
• SD card reader (image 2)
• Unidentified component - possibly CPU + storage? (image 2)
• Speaker w/ connector (image 3)
• 3.7v / 1.25Am rechargeable Li-Ion battery (image 4)

My question is: is there anything in here I can re-use/re-purpose to work with my N+?
Is it even worth the time and effort, or should I just look for similar 'virgin' components?

Thanks,
Guy

Hi Guy,

You can already use your Android, Windows Phone, iPhone, or Palm phone to control a Netduino Plus-based accessory via WiFi. Which is in many ways a much nicer solution than a USB cable.

That said, we're investigating ways to support USB Host. It's an interesting thing, as it's much more complicated than USB Client (since you need support code for each device type--plus hubs, enumeration ability, etc.). And of course you'd need a shield...but possible. Especially if the shield abstracts away much of the USB Host support already.

Chris

Thanks Chris,
I know that I can use Android (or any other web-capable platform) to control my Netduino over wifi.
I was more interested in utilizing the phone's 3G capability to cut my wifi dependence. The ability to control the phone itself (i.e. camera, GPS etc.) would also be a great feature.

I appreciate you guys keeping on top of this and researching the USB host requirement. It may all turn out to be just the need to add a specialized shield. Although now we'll have 2 code bases to maintain: C# and Java...

Google just (I/O day 1, 5/10/11) announced the "Android Open Accessory Development Kit" (ADK for short), that will allow

external USB hardware (an Android USB accessory) to interact with an Android-powered device in a special "accessory" mode.

They are providing a software and hardware (I swear the link to the Japanese company is taken directly from Google's page ) that will use an Arduino board + shield to communicate with Android 2.3.4 and higher devices.

The myriad of possibilities of using my N+ with my phone, if possible, is staggering. This could bring a new level of network, location and sensor integration.

I have not followed on all the board's hardware requirements (voltage, connections etc.). My questions are:

• Will I be able to use the Netduino+ I have to communicate with my Android devices?
• Will the NETMF environment be agnostic enough to allow integration with the ADK?
• Will I need to buy that special Arduino shield, and will that be compatible with the Netduino?

Hoping for good news

Guy

Thanks for all the replies, and I'll go out and get a 10k pot + a bunch of resistors later today.
But I still do have a question: if this has something to do with the brightness (lack of resistance on Pin 3), shouldn't I be seeing 2 lines of blocks rather than one? Will adding resistance solve the problem, or just move me to the next one?

You did say 16x2 so why do you set it to 16x4 in the code ? And I did it using 1K potentiometer for the brightness and it works fine

Actually, my code does say (16, 2) - I just copy-pasted from Pete's blog. But thanks for the catch - corrected the original question.

Hi,
Just got this 16x2 HD44780 controller from Hacktronics. After reading for a while, and realizing that using just the specified the Arduino wiring is not enough, I landed on Pete Brown's blog post.

I followed his instructions (almost) to the letter:

• I soldered the head pins into place (been a while - man, I'm rusty)
• I checked the continuity of my 16 pins
• I connected all pins as specified in the post, using a mini breadboard, with the exception of Pin 3.
  I do not have a potentiometer, so I just connected that pin to GND
  
• I downloaded the library from Codeplex
• I added the sample code specified in the article
  

  public static void Main()
  {
      var lcdProvider = new GpioLcdTransferProvider(
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D12,  // RS
          Pins.GPIO_NONE,     // RW
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D11,  // enable
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D9,   // d0
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D8,   // d1
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D7,   // d2
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D6,   // d3
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D5,   // d4
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D4,   // d5
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D3,   // d6
          Pins.GPIO_PIN_D2);  // d7
   
      // create the LCD interface
      var lcd = new Lcd(lcdProvider);
   
      // set up the number of columns and rows: 
      lcd.Begin(16, 2);
   
      // Print a message to the LCD.
      lcd.Write("hello, world!");
   
      while (true)
      {
          // set the cursor to column 0, line 1
          lcd.SetCursorPosition(0, 1);
   
          // print the number of seconds since reset:
          lcd.Write((Utility.GetMachineTime().Ticks / 10000).ToString());
   
          Thread.Sleep(100);
      }
  }
  

What I got is an LCD in the "on" state showing one line of blocks and nothing I try get it to show anything.

From this I deduce I must have been doing something right, to get the controller powered, but I must be missing something as well.

My only guesses are:

• I screwed something up while soldering (although then I'd expect this to not work at all)
• The potentiometer is a must for Pin 3 - skipping it might have done something
• The list of connections Pete specified is not correct for my board/controller (I have an N+)

Any ideas of what am I doing wrong/missing?

Thanks,
Guy

Thanks Dan! It is easy (took 3 minutes to write code and verify) Stefan, where can i learn about that tristateport class? Sounds like a better way to use this LED in the future than what I'm doing right now. Thank you both. I love easy answers

Sorry if this comes across as a newbie question.
I just recently got (back) into electronics. I managed to put out my first Netduino project, that simulates a traffic light (yay ).

While buying LEDs at my local Fry's, I accidentally picked up a 2-color LED. It says that a different color will be shown if polarity is reversed. I used my multimeter in diode-test mode, and sure enough, I got a green color when I switched the probes.

Now the question is, how to do this programmatically. Suppose I have one of the LED legs connected to D13 and the other to GND.
I can easily light the LED by using an OutputPort, but how can I reverse it's polarity? All I can write to the port is 'true or 'false'.

Do I need another electric component to reverse the polarity, or is it possible to achieve with code only?
Do I use an analog pin? What am I missing?

Thanks for your time.
Guy

Thanks guys! Using a combination of your suggestions, I managed to connect an Ethernet cable between my N+ and my laptop, turn on ICS, configure gateway/DNS, turn on ICS and get a valid IP! Now I'm off to find some code samples that will show me how to get a URL from the Netduino... Thanks again, Guy

Hi, Probably a noob question, but would appreciate some help. I have extensive software background, but close to no HW whatsoever (well, I was in charge of a CNC machine once, but I was mostly feeding it metal chips ). Anyway, just received my N+, ran the mandatory tutorials (blinkey + pushy) and wrote a little Morse Code app. Great. Now it's time for the "plus" part, namely connecting the Netduino to the internet. My router is in the other room, tucked under the TV. All devices in the house use wifi to connect. I read a bit and found that adding wifi capabilities to my board would set me back $60-70 and would require me to start messing around with electronics and shields (like wifly or XBee) which I'm not ready for yet [please correct me if I'm wrong or missing something]. My question is: Would it be possible to connect the board to the laptop I'm using to program it, and somehow get access to the internet + valid IP address? If so, what are the configuration steps? Or do I need to get one of those wifi bridges/hotspots that bridge Ethernet to wifi (like the ASUS WL530g, to name a cheap one)? I see all those great web server and twitter projects and I want to join the party. Just need help getting an IP. Any assistance will be appreciated! Regards, Guy http://blog.TravelingTechGuy.com