I saw this blog post last night but haven't had a chance to check out the details.  Exciting!

Yeah...I haven't messed with any of the TinkerKits.  I did buy a DMX shield for $2.50 when Radio Shack had them on closeout but haven't had the time (or the project) to dig into it at all.  

So I haven't used relays but my understanding is that you would splice your power cord and connect it to the relay.  Then you would control the relay with your Netduino to turn the relay (and your device) on and off.  I don't think it would be too difficult.  

Alternatively, adafruit has this pricey option. 

http://www.adafruit.com/products/268

I am trying to re purpose some buttons in a current project and I thought I would share some code here for detecting a long vs short button press.  

The basic idea should be pretty straightforward and you should be able to drop this right onto a Netduino and test it with the on board button and LED.  Feel free to make any adjustments/improvements and post them here.  

using System;using System.Threading;using Microsoft.SPOT;using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware;using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware;using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;namespace LongPressDemo{    public class Program    {        private static bool _buttonState = false;        static OutputPort led = new OutputPort(Pins.ONBOARD_LED, false);        // Handle Bounce        const int DEBOUNCE_TIME = 100;        static uint RESETDURATION = 2000;        static DateTime _lastButtonPress = DateTime.Now;        static DateTime _resetTime;        public static void Main()        {            InterruptPort button = new InterruptPort(Pins.ONBOARD_SW1, false, Port.ResistorMode.Disabled, Port.InterruptMode.InterruptEdgeBoth);            button.OnInterrupt += new NativeEventHandler(button_OnInterrupt);            Thread.Sleep(Timeout.Infinite);        }        static void button_OnInterrupt(uint data1, uint data2, DateTime time)        {            if (time < _lastButtonPress.AddMilliseconds(DEBOUNCE_TIME))            {                Debug.Print("debouncing");                return;            }            _lastButtonPress = time;            if (data2 == 1)            {                Debug.Print("Button Down");                _resetTime = DateTime.Now;            }            else if (time > _resetTime.AddMilliseconds(RESETDURATION))            {                Debug.Print("Button Up Long Press");                Blink(5);            }            else            {                Debug.Print("Button Up Short Press");                Blink(2);            }        }        static void Blink(uint count)        {            for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)            {                led.Write(true);                Thread.Sleep(200);                led.Write(false);                Thread.Sleep(200);            }        }    }    }

It's coming along nicely.  I am actually working on it right now. 

The main goal is to make it a little smaller and less buggy.  The fact that I've got interrupts from the buttons instead of trying to catch the button presses in loop() has been a HUGE!  It's also a lot easier to handle timing since I don't have to roll my own (or someone else's) timing code.  

At this point I've got the display soldered onto a protoboard and it looks like that's all working fine.  I am currently trying to reduce the number of buttons by detecting a long press and getting dual use out of one of the buttons.

Once I get the sound circuit put together and working I would like to design a case for it and try to get it laser cut somewhere.  

You could try starting with this post.

http://forums.netdui...mini/?hl=vs1053

also try searching the forums for vs1053, you should find a good collection of results.

I was just wondering if anyone got around to doing this port or started even looking at it.  My C/C++ is mediocre, my C# is pretty decent.  Might be more than I am interested in taking on though. 

Thanks for the info Chuckles.  

I was wondering specifically if anyone had any projects that used DMX that I could use for inspiration.   I was also wondering if anyone had any experience working with these TinkerKits with a Netduino.  It also seems hard to find those relay and Mosfet modules in the states.  I'll have to figure that part out. 

Anyway, I've got a timer project I'm in the middle of right now so I've got some time to come up with some ideas.

I have some general questions about TinkerKit shields.  RadioShack is currently blowing out a lot of Arduino components (no Arduinos yet) and I was thinking of picking up some parts for potential future projects. 

It looks like the whole idea behind TinkerKit is that you don't have to do any soldering or worry about resistors, just snap and go.  I don't really care if it's easier or not I am just wondering if it makes sense to pick up a couple of components because they are cheap.  The problem is I am not really sure if the TinkerKit stuff is compatible with NetDuino and specifically I don't really know what I would do with a DMX Master Shield for $5.

I did a quick search and couldn't find anything on DMX so any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Also, 

There's a few other items that RS has on clearance if you can find them locally

http://www.radioshac...ductId=12296090

http://www.radioshac...ductId=12333768

http://www.radioshac...ductId=12369524

Hello cgozzard,

I guess I am not clear on what you are asking.  Are you asking for someone to convert the code for you or is there a specific question about a line or some functionality that you have?

The code in your loop looks pretty simple.  I don't understand what's going on in the setup code though.  Unfortunately I don't know VB but would be glad to help if you wanted to do it in C#.  

I've got an existing project that I decided to make smaller and better with the Netduino.  It actually started about two years ago with the Arduino and 2.3" LED's.  It works pretty well but I didn't really anticipate how hard it would be to see the LED's in bright (Colorado) sunlight. Also, the large LED's require 7ish volts which required a LOT of extra circuitry around the MAX7221.

So, the new version will be smaller with mess emphasis on the large display and more on portability.  

Here are a couple of pics of the original project.

I already have most of the Netduino project prototyped up on breadboards and it's much much smaller.  I'll post a pic when I get a chance.  

It's been pretty smooth so far.  I used a MAX7221 library that someone here posted (I'll give credit when I find that post again) and being able to debug the hardware in Visual Studio has been a far superior experience to the Arduino IDE.  

It would be pretty easy to get those headers off even with minimal soldering skills.  I realize that doesn't answer your question, but hopefully the stock setup isn't a dealbreaker for you.  

Thanks for the heads up.  Putting the finishing touches on a new order right now.