Hi, I've been watching the RaspberryPi project for about a year now (I mentioned it earlier on this forum). Perhaps there is a difference in that Netduino/Arduino is designed for I/O hardware projects - whereas these devices are effectively miniature "PC" (I know this is a simplification!) So I believe they may sit side by side. I intend to get one and see if my son finds it to be a similar spark as the ZX81 was for me all those years ago! Exciting times ahead! Cheers - hope you all had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year.

Hi, quick question; what do I need to power Netduino+ with battery, which points to insert +ve & -ve, anything I need to be wary of? Cheers

Hi Pete, thanks - I am incorrectly interpreting the data!!

Hi,
these are the readings when near window, perhaps if someone could verify where it has located in case I am misreading it please?

I find that it seems to be at 40 miles east and 10 miles south of my true location;

$GPGSA,A,3,15,09,22,12,25,,,,,,,,3.3,2.3,2.4*3C

$GPRMC,080009.000,A,5311.8122,N,00034.2950,W,0.62,
3.22,170911,,,A*73

$GPGGA,080010.
000,5311.8125,N,00034.2948,W,1,05,2.3,23.1,M,47.1,
M,,0000*79
$GPGSA,A,3,15,09,22,12,25,,,,,,,,3.3,
2.3,2.4*3C
$GPGSV,3,1,10,09,73,102,31,12,64,226,26
,14,32,309,,25,28,235,24*74
$GPGSV,3,2,10,17,27,048,,15,20,167,29,22,18,273,21,18,09,23
6,*70
$GPGSV,3,3,10,30,05,242,,04,03,090,*74
$GP
RMC,080010.000,A,5311.8125,N,00034.2948,W,0.50,16.
09,170911,,,A*49

$GPGGA,080011.00
0,5311.8127,N,00034.2948,W,1,05,2.3,22.5,M,47.1,M
,,0000*7F
$GPGSA,A,3,15,09,22,12,25,,,,,,,,3.3,2.
3,2.4*3C
$GPRMC,080011.000,A,5311.8127,N,00034.29
48,W,0.41,337.92,170911,,,A*78

$GPG
GA,080012.000,5311.8132,N,00034.2944,W,1,05,2.3,2
1.5,M,47.1,M,,0000*77
$GPGSA,A,3,15,09,22,12,25,,
,,,,,,3.3,2.3,2.4*3C
$GPRMC,080012.000,A,5311.813
2,N,00034.2944,W,0.79,336.81,170911,,,A*7B

$GPGGA,080013.000,5311.8134,N,00034.
2947,W,1,05,2.3,21.0,M,47.1,M,,0000*76
$GPGSA,A,3
,15,09,22,12,25,,,,,,,,3.3,2.3,2.4*3C
$GPRMC,0800
13.000,A,5311.8134,N,00034.2947,W,0.75,327.50,1709
11,,,A*7F

$GPGGA,080014.000,5311.8
137,N,00034.2948,W,1,05,2.3,20.1,M,47.1,M,,0000*7
D
$GPGSA,A,3,15,09,22,12,25,,,,,,,,3.3,2.3,2.4*3C

$GPRMC,080014.000,A,5311.8137,N,00034.2948,W,0.9
7,341.43,170911,,,A*7A

$GPGGA,080015
.000,5311.8141,N,00034.2949,W,1,05,2.3,19.0,M,47.1
,M,,0000*77
$GPGSA,A,3,15,09,22,12,25,,,,,,,,3.3
,2.3,2.4*3C
$GPGSV,3,1,10,09,73,102,31,12,64,226,
26,14,32,309,,25,28,235,24*74
$GPGSV,3,2,10,17,27
,048,,15,20,167,29,22,18,273,21,18,09,236,*70
$GP
GSV,3,3,10,30,05,242,,04,03,090,*74
$GPRMC,080015
.000,A,5311.8141,N,00034.2949,W,1.28,331.45,170911
,,,A*7F

Hi, is seems to me that I'm getting an incorrect reading for Longitude (not just within the margin of error you expect for GPS) but the Lat seems OK. Can anyone suggest ideas for debugging this please? Thanks

It was in my living room - not near the window (I was going to try that if needed as suggested earlier). So when I get a chance to try again one evening I'll see if it locks on a lot faster next time in the same place in the living room, as CW2 said that it may have needed to get all updated with the almanac... What I need to do now is check the coords are accurate and that its giving correct readings. Thanks all.

Thanks Charles and CW2 - I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get it working and would probably have given up if I hadn't got your input. But after 3/4 hr of leaving it running I got a fix and some readings! Cheers

Hi, wonder whether this could be something those of not in the US could set up independently in other countries? I don't know how many member there are in each country outside the US, so don't know whether this would be practical in say the UK. Any thoughts? Cheers

Hi,
I've wired up and written a code to read from a EM406a GPS unit and I'm getting messages from it but I don't think I'm getting a fix on any satellites.
The led on the EM406a is staying steady red.
Does anyone have any ideas about what I might try please?

Thanks

    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            
            AnalogInput rx = new AnalogInput(Pins.GPIO_PIN_A0);
            SerialPort serialPort = new SerialPort("COM1", 4800, Parity.None, 8, StopBits.One);
            serialPort.Open();
            

            while (true)
            {
                int bytesToRead = serialPort.BytesToRead;
                if (bytesToRead > 0)
                {
                    // get the waiting data
                    byte[] buffer = new byte[bytesToRead];
                    serialPort.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
                    // print out our received data
                    var msg = new String(System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetChars(buffer));
                    Debug.Print(msg);
                }

                Thread.Sleep(100); // wait a bit so we get a few bytes at a time...
            }

SAMPLE OUTPUT
================

$GPGGA,181115.872,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*56
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181115.872,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4C
$GPGGA,181116.871,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*56
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181116.871,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4C

$GPGGA,181117.872,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*54
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181117.872,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4E
$GPGGA,181118.874,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*5D
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPGSV,1,1,00*79
$GPRMC,181118.874,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*47
$GPGGA,181119.872,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*5A
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181119.872,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*40
$GPGGA,181120.872,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*50
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181120.872,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4A
$GPGGA,181121.871,,,,,
55
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181125.872,V,
,,,,,,080911,,,N*4F

$GPGGA,181126.872,,,,,0,
00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*56
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1
E
$GPRMC,181126.872,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4C

$G
PGGA,181127.872,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*57
$GPG
SA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181127.872,V,,,,,,
,080911,,,N*4D

$GPGGA,181128.872,,,,,0,00,,,M
,0.0,M,,0000*58
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$G
PGSV,1,1,00*79
$GPRMC,181128.872,V,,,,,,,080911,,
,N*42

$GPGGA,1811
29.875,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*5E
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181129.875,V,,,,,,,080911,,
,N*44

$GPGGA,181130.874,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0
000*57
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,1811
30.874,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4D

$GPGGA,181131.87
4,,,,,0,00,,,M,0.0,M,,0000*56
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,*1E
$GPRMC,181131.874,V,,,,,,,080911,,,N*4C

Hi Bill, it sounds as thought you would benefit from a tutorial book on programming in C# but which also teaches rather than assumes knowledge of programming concepts. I'm not the best person to suggest such a book as I'm a CS, so maybe others on the board might have some good suggestions. Maybe there are already a few threads on this board. Good luck

Hi,
some of you may find this interesting - again delete if this is not acceptable!! It's a very small, cheap computer!!

Rasberry Pi Homepage

My wife was interested in some sort of fitness watch so this could have been ideal - if it doesn't do quite what she wants I could have programmed it to!!!

Each deal is supposed to be for 2 weeks. Maybe they hit the limit on coupons quicker than they thought. If any Netduino users want to see if my coupon code is reusable, please PM me.

I ordered one. However I suspect that it's one of those things that seems cool initially, you write some "see if I can read the accelerometer in my watch" code, and then you struggle to find anything actually useful to do with it. It'll probably end up in the back or a drawer after a couple of weeks.

FYI - apparently this deal "expired" very quickly... although the impression was that it was supposed to last a while

Nothing to do with Netduino, but seems like the sort of thing that you guys would appreciate. TI often sell some bargain stuff and have recently set up the TI Deals site. Currently got the Chronos watch half price (and it's fairly cheap anyway) and even has free shipping worldwide.

If you're not familiar with the MSP430, it's very different from the Netduino. There's quite a range but they're generally small, low power and programmed in C or Assembler. Real time stuff, quadrocopters - yes. Nice .NET Microframework with events and garbage collection - no.

Anyway, just thought you might be interested. I don't think Chris will be offended that I'm posting about a different microcontroller, but please remove if inappropriate.

Hi,
not sure how to explain this question, but I have an EM406 GPS with a short cable for interfacing. However, the socket on it is tiny and would require really thin wires to insert into them.
Does anyone know whether there is a socket adapter which will fit this and provide a more pratical interface so that standard wires would be plugged in?

EM406 showing cable

Thanks

Hi, I know you think there will be an electronic version to view but for now is there any info on the content - chapter headings? Thanks

Could you provide any link about it?
Thanks!

Link to new Arduino info

Hi,
just noticed a new Arduino has been released with inbuilt ethernet PoE and able to "use/work with" usb devices, Android programmable etc.
Are any of these features not available on Netduino?
Cheers
New Arduino

Hi, I've got the "Internet of Things..." book and wondered whether its worth getting "Getting Started with Netduino" when it comes out or will it be too much of an overlap? If anyone might know. Thanks

Hi,
this is probably a simple one - if a part is advertised as an LCD which interfaces to microcontrollers through a serial bus interface - do I need additional parts? Is so what would they be?

The advert detailed spec says :-

It uses the PCD8544 controller. The PCD8544 is a low power CMOS LCD controller/driver, designed to drive a graphic display of 48 rows and 84 columns. All necessary functions for the display are provided in a single chip, including on-chip generation of LCD supply and bias voltages, resulting in a minimum of external components and low power consumption. The PCD8544 interfaces to microcontrollers through a serial bus interface.

Thanks

Broken toys
Non-broken toys.
Old computers
Unused electronics

Hi Eric,
good idea, have you found any parts in particular which you've found interesting/useful?
Cheers

Thanks all for your posts. I'll have to rethink. Looks like I won't be able to avoid the costs (like I said these things are quite costly in the UK). Cheers

With that data sheet you should have all you need. Your biggest issue may be figuring out how to solder the module. Do you have any test equipment to verify that it is working?

Hi JonnyBoats,
sorry not at the moment - what would I need to test it?
Firstly, I was wondering whether do I need a shield and also I noticed one GPS shield (AdaFruit) saying you need to plug in the GPS module. So I am wondering whether I need these things as well and which?
Cheers.

Hi,
there wasn't any info with it - but just thought and got the info attached from ebay;
Hope this is useful.
Cheers

sorry that may not have copied all the details - here is the link

ebay details for sirf star iii

Hi, here's photos of front and back - does this help? Cheers. P.S. here in the UK we don't seem to have such a ready supply of the parts for netduino and such like and where they are available it is quite expensive (especially with excahnge rates as they are). This might mean I'll have to check any suggestions for availability and reasonable pricing! Thanks again.

Hi, I'm new to all this - I got a Sirf Star III module, but it looks to me just to be the chip although its called a module. Is it possible to do anything with this or was it a waste of money? Any help & advice appreciated! Cheers.