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#2104 Arduino or Netduino

Posted by Websteria on 10 September 2010 - 07:50 PM in General Discussion

Well, most of the questions have been answered then.

It's by no means a deal breaker. It just means that you have to do things differently. Using a transistor or Darlington array to do the switching will work just fine, as mentioned.

@Websteria -
Neither platform will allow a buzzer to buzz. They are microprocessors and as such, pretty low current devices. Anything more than an LED and you should use something else to switch it.

What I was talking about is driving sensors off digital pins. This allowed me to turn them on and off when I wanted which saves battery. Still doable now but I need an extra component. Like I said, not a biggie. ;)

As an aside, if you do use something like a buzzer, please please please use a diode across it to stop any back EMF.


Even with something as low voltage as 1.5/3v? It seems the transistor should be able to stave off the EMF, if it were a relay then yes a diode is necessary... :-) Maybe I'm wrong.



#2095 Arduino or Netduino

Posted by Websteria on 10 September 2010 - 04:04 PM in General Discussion

Interesting read - thanks...

My initial thought was "Cool, something I can write simple C# in".
I have a Netduino and am busy rebuilding a balance 'bot with it (currently runs on Arduino)

Overall I think it's a cool piece of kit with the biggest bonuses being the IDE used.

I would say, the biggest downer I have with the Netduino is the low sink / source capability of the pins. 8mA per pin IIRC. For all things digital, that's fine but I've used them for other things like the simple LED and using digital pins to power sensors (I can turn them on and off that way).
Oh, and it locked up on me the first day I had it. (Don't think it was my fault) but did the age old MS fix: Have you rebooted yet?

Some things that would make it great(er): (I know they will come with time)
- A "mega" but the inner pins have the same layout as the standard one. This will allow me to use normal shields but still have a mega
- Higher current capacity on the pins.
- Smaller boards. (My balance 'bot could do with less board and more battery ;) )

Other than that, I do like. :)

Oh, and "threading" ability is the best. I can [some would say be lazy and] just do things in different threads.

Cheers,
Crispin


My solution to that has been to use an NPN transistor and allow the "low source" signal to act as the switch to open the power to the higher voltage device. I used this (minus a netduino but same idea) to make a buzzer buzz (which requires 1.5-3v) when triggered by a motion sensor (enough output to light an LED, but not to buzz).

Jeff



#2091 More PWM Ports

Posted by Websteria on 10 September 2010 - 03:40 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

Hello, this is my first topic, first of all, sorry for my bad English.

I will start an automation project with PWM, I always meet up on arduino netduino.

I am C # programmer for over 10 years, enough to know like to do my automation using PWM netduino.

I'm having a hard time. I need at least 12 ports and PWM netduino saw that there are only four. The mega arduino has 14 orts pwm. I can increase ports of netduino pwm?

How?


Welcome to the community!

It depends on what you need them for. If you're wanting to do LEDs, you could use a bit shifter as the ground, and the bit shifter as the power source for the LEDs, or could plug it into a NPN transistor to open up the floodgates for the power..

http://www.sparkfun....products_id=733

If you need more just for needing more not sure there's anything you can do. I've thought about using fast switching on the digital ports for PWM but havn't played with it yet...

Jeff



#2065 Power Converter? What are those things called?

Posted by Websteria on 09 September 2010 - 10:45 PM in General Discussion

Thanks. That's good to know. At this point, my hardware skills are minimal. The idea of surface mount soldering seems a bit beyond me. I have basic soldering skills and will be trying my hand at something that's more advanced - for me anyway - within the next few days.

Stacy


I just put this one together:
http://www.adafruit....products_id=184

It'll do 3.3, 5 and everything from 1-20 with an adjustment... well worth the extra $5.

Jeff



#1898 5mm Color Cycling LED

Posted by Websteria on 07 September 2010 - 03:30 PM in General Discussion

Websteria,

What shield is that you have attached to your Netduino?


That's the arduino protoshield from sparkfun, with a little half length breadboard on it... Easy to assemble and useful! :-)



#1686 OneWire ALPHA

Posted by Websteria on 02 September 2010 - 06:18 PM in Beta Firmware and Drivers

I agree. Especially if the SecretLabs people will take this code and insert it into the official firmware in which case the code will certainly be "officially" from SecretLabs.


Please implement this same change on the main firmware. I need the Analog fix in there too! :-)



#1631 Netduino Controlled Servo Robot

Posted by Websteria on 01 September 2010 - 04:09 PM in Project Showcase

It's the Adafruit's prototyping shield http://www.adafruit....&products_id=51


Thank you for writing the WiiChuck driver! I was going to take a stab at this, but now I don't have to. AWESOME! Thank you SO much, you have provided so much help to us newbies. :-)



#1586 AnalogInput Read() LOCKS UP NetDuino

Posted by Websteria on 31 August 2010 - 08:32 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

Hi Websteria,

Are you running the updated firmware (v4.1.0.2)? There was a bug in the earlier AnalogInput code (sorry about that) which could cause this...

http://forums.netdui...e-v410-patch-2/

Your Netduino is probably not dead; it probably just needs some good firmware upgrade medicine :)

Chris


That fixed it. Whew! Thank you! :-)

Jeff



#1580 AnalogInput Read() LOCKS UP NetDuino

Posted by Websteria on 31 August 2010 - 07:17 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

Just trying to read some analog values, and my NetDuino is locking up the debugger when it hits the Pot0.Read() line.... This is very disturbing as I've had to HARD reset it several times by using MFDeploy to make it work again. Any ideas?

I've bolded the line that it crashes on when it gets to the code.... This is with 3.3v hooked to aref. Is my netduino broken?



            AnalogInput Pot0 = new AnalogInput(Pins.GPIO_PIN_A1);
            AnalogInput Pot1 = new AnalogInput(Pins.GPIO_PIN_A0);

            while (true)
            {
                [b]int Pod0val = Pot0.Read();[/b]
                int Pod1val = Pot1.Read();
                Thread.Sleep(50);
             }




#1432 Arduino to Netduino Help needed

Posted by Websteria on 27 August 2010 - 09:25 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

You need to step down the analog input voltage. Netduino's microcontroller can take inputs from 0V-3.3V.

Chris


Is there an easy way to do this? I was trying to figure out if a resistor would be enough, but it doesn't seem like it would since I don't know the current on the line... any ideas? This is where being a newbie sucks..



#1430 PWM maximum frequency

Posted by Websteria on 27 August 2010 - 09:10 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

I was just playing with this getting an LED to light up and it seems like when I ramp the Duty Cycle from 0-100 then I see light change, but what happens when the values go higher? Is the range really only 1-100? Thanks. Jeff



#1428 Arduino to Netduino Help needed

Posted by Websteria on 27 August 2010 - 08:25 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

I think that you'll want to use an InterruptPort. Community member phil made an RC6 infrared receiver decoder.
http://forums.netdui...-decoder-class/

Does that give you a good start?

Chris


I actually just ordered one of these myself, but I'm concerned because the analog inputs go from 0 to 5V. Can the Netduino take that voltage on the A/D input ports, or do I need to step it down?



#1426 5mm Color Cycling LED

Posted by Websteria on 27 August 2010 - 08:06 PM in General Discussion

Websteria,

That's a really nice effect. I wonder what kind of art projects you will create...

Chris


I actually got the idea from an art project kit at Sparkfun, and figured it'd be more fun to make myself. Basically you wire 3 of them in paralell to a 3v battery source with an on off switch and put some paper in front of it, and you get all sorts of pretty effects just from the LEDs themselves..



#1420 Netduino Emulator

Posted by Websteria on 27 August 2010 - 05:30 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

Hi thanks for the suggestion I was looking at this or ZedGraph (http://zedgraph.org/...title=Main_Page) for plotting I have just come across an alternative (http://www.codeproje...phPlotting.aspx) which might be worth a look. But using a pre-built library will definitely be a way forward.

By the looks of it I should have a decent emulator up and ready with a couple of weeks depending on work. The buttons are complete and I'm half way to shifting the input and outputs into their own classes to allow more advanced configuration and the easy choice of different inputs and outputs.

cheers
Chris


This is really awesome! The only thing I would add would be a time constant so that things which switch on and off very quickly are visible. Allow a thread.sleep time to be passed in or something. I had to modify my code to see it work, but it did work right off the bat. Very neat!



#1419 5mm Color Cycling LED

Posted by Websteria on 27 August 2010 - 04:53 PM in General Discussion

I know a lot of people like me enjoy seeing what components do, so since I just got my order of slow color cycling 5mm LEDs I hooked them up to 5V with a 330 ohm resistor and this was the result: http://www.youtube.c...=1&hl=en_US



#1356 Best Hobby Oscilloscope

Posted by Websteria on 26 August 2010 - 08:02 PM in General Discussion

I know nothing about that scope, but I was on the seeedstudio website the other day and it caught my eye.
http://www.seeedstud...l?cPath=104_108

It looks to me like the one you linked to on ebay is the older version. If it was me I'd probably try to get the newer one when it comes back in stock. If you do end up picking it up I'd be curious to hear feedback, it seems like a steal.


That does look good. I've got a notification warning when it comes back into stock. Anyone have experience with the first one?



#1335 Best Hobby Oscilloscope

Posted by Websteria on 26 August 2010 - 04:05 PM in General Discussion

Ok, being an electronics newbie I know I'm posting tons of questions on here. Everyone has been really nice though, so I hope that continues! :-) I'm looking to get an oscilloscope to use with my netduino projects to analyze when issues come up. I've seen the PC Sound card based ones, and those seem like they're not really the best idea. I've also seen some scopes like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/...I_Oscilloscopes and this: http://cgi.ebay.com/...I_Oscilloscopes Any suggestions? I'm looking for something small, and easy to move around since I do my work in various parts of the house where I can get some space. :-)



#1331 More blinking leds

Posted by Websteria on 26 August 2010 - 03:10 PM in Project Showcase

You should be using the SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.Pins enumeration instead of Cpu.Pin. This will ensure correct mapping from hardware specific pin numbers to internal numbers. For example Netduino.Pins.GPIO_PIN_D5 true value is 51. So in your case you should change these lines:

            OutputPort DS = new OutputPort(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.Pins.GPIO_PIN_D5, false); 
            OutputPort StoreData = new OutputPort(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.Pins.GPIO_PIN_D6, false); 
            OutputPort Latch = new OutputPort(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.Pins.GPIO_PIN_D7, true); 
 
            InputPort Read1 = new InputPort(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.Pins.GPIO_PIN_D0, false, Port.ResistorMode.Disabled); 
            InputPort Read2 = new InputPort(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.Pins.GPIO_PIN_D1, false, Port.ResistorMode.Disabled); 

I hope this helps.



Ok, think this should be stickied, the problem is that VS2010 will AUTOMATICALLY put the microsoft default PINS in there, which do not map up to the Netduino pins. That was my problem. Thank you so much!!!!



#1290 Soldering Temperature for IC's, etc...

Posted by Websteria on 25 August 2010 - 04:16 PM in General Discussion

Honestly, temp isn't the big deal - it's how long does it take to get a solid joint. You shouldn't be touching the components for more than a second optimally. If your tip is properly cleaned and tinned you should put the iron down, half a second later touch your component with solder and it should flow right away. If your tip is on the board for more than 2 seconds I'd say you're doing something incorrectly -- either not having a nice clean tip, not tinning, or have some kind of heatsink somewhere sucking heat away from your tip when you apply.

I personally use a Weller WP35 - a 35 watt iron and never have a problem. I just need to let it heat up for a good 5-10 mins so I know it's nice and hot, clean it with a wire brush, tin it and I'm off and running.


Maybe I need to get a finer tip. The tip I have is kind of flat on the sides, and round in the middle... I do use Rosin on it and make sure all the solder is off, but perhaps I need a new tip, or to clean it with a wire brush.

I know it's at the right temp cause the flashing light which indicates it is flashing... perhaps it should be off...



#1288 More blinking leds

Posted by Websteria on 25 August 2010 - 04:05 PM in Project Showcase

Hi,
I have published article on my blog that shows how to use shift registers to extend number of digital output pins on Netduino. In particular I demonstrate how to use it to control a 7-segment display or any other LED components. In two examples I show how to display values from potentiometer and SHT15 temperatuer & humidity sensor.

Here is the blog post: http://geekswithblog...nking_leds.aspx

I also made a short video to show how this works:

You can download the source code here: http://cid-4c7ec0c21...s^_20100822.zip

Please let me know if you like it or not, and if you would like to see more projects like this from me.



Syzmon, your post inspired me to get a shift register, even though I've NEVER had success with IC's before in electronics.

I started out trying to just read the values off of Q0 and Q1 on the Netduino ports, but they always showed as on, even if they should have been sent as off, is this because the 5V sent to the IC is being output to the other ports?

I'm using Dig Pin5 for DS, Dig Pin6 as Data, Pin7 as latch and reading values from Q0 on Pin0 and Q1 on Pin1.

Thanks!


My code looks like this:
using System;
using System.Threading;
using Microsoft.SPOT;
using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;

namespace ShiftRegister
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // write your code here
            OutputPort DS = new OutputPort(Cpu.Pin.GPIO_Pin5, false);
            OutputPort StoreData = new OutputPort(Cpu.Pin.GPIO_Pin6, false);
            OutputPort Latch = new OutputPort(Cpu.Pin.GPIO_Pin7, true);

            InputPort Read1 = new InputPort(Cpu.Pin.GPIO_Pin0, false, Port.ResistorMode.Disabled);
            InputPort Read2 = new InputPort(Cpu.Pin.GPIO_Pin1, false, Port.ResistorMode.Disabled);

            //Write 1,0 then send it...

            // set the latch low...
            Latch.Write(false);

            //Write the 1..
            DS.Write(true);

            StoreData.Write(true);
            Thread.Sleep(100);
            StoreData.Write(false);

            //Write the 0..
            DS.Write(false);

            StoreData.Write(true);
            Thread.Sleep(100);
            StoreData.Write(false);

            // let er rip..
            Latch.Write(true);
            Thread.Sleep(100);
            Latch.Write(false);

            Debug.Print("Value @ pin Q0: " + Read1.Read().ToString());
            Debug.Print("Value @ pin Q1: " + Read2.Read().ToString());


        }

    }
}






#1287 Soldering Temperature for IC's, etc...

Posted by Websteria on 25 August 2010 - 04:02 PM in General Discussion

I've got a weller Soldering Iron which goes from 350 to 800 degrees farenheight (Weller WES51). It works great, but I wonder sometimes if I'm making it too hot. Before I knew what the know did (duh, it says degrees F x 10) I used to try it around 500 degrees, but it didn't seem to get hot enough to get the solder to flow within about 4/5 seconds and I was concerned about the components. When I kick it up to 600 or 650 it works GREAT, but things get really hot. I especially worry though when I'm soldering things like Capacitors and Diodes or transistors. How long does it take before these items get damaged by the heat? Is this the proper heat to use? Too hot? Not hot enough? I know some of you electronics types know this. :-) Thanks! Jeff



#1249 Computer + Netduino Integration

Posted by Websteria on 24 August 2010 - 09:16 PM in Project Showcase

Hi, Chris has suggested that I post this here so here goes:

The following details simple 2 way Communication with a Windows Forms App - Rudimentary packet handling has been implemented via inclusion of an additional byte to the beginning of the packet which details the length of the string to be sent to the Netduino.

Once received the device filters the incoming data and recreates the string. A simple switch statement is then used to trigger functionality.

To see it in action, check out the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgvBMmS5Tc

Netduino Serial 1.0.zip

I have attached the source to this post, hope its of help to someone, cheers, dyadica



So how did you hook this up to your serial port? Did you use a serial cable and just take the appropriate pins and wire them to the arduino?

Also, would it be possible to do this via USB communication instead of Serial, or will it be?

Thanks!



#923 Ethernet Shield from nuelectronics

Posted by Websteria on 20 August 2010 - 07:45 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

That's odd that the joystick wouldn't work. Right on the schematic at http://www.nuelectro...ia_3310_lcd.pdf it says "VCC - 3.3V - 5V All ligic I/O compatible with 5V & 3.3V logic level"



#875 LoL shield

Posted by Websteria on 19 August 2010 - 11:03 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

Hello.. this is very exciting.

I have never played with arduino either. Can the Netduino work with the LoL shield? The LoL description refers to a library that must be installed.
http://code.google.com/p/lolshield/

Is that required? Or can the C# code perform these same functions as the library etc?

Thanks for your patience. Lots to learn!


It appears right now that a lot of the shields will work, but the drivers would need to be rewritten for the .NET MF. I'm not sure how hard this is, as I've not worked with the Arduino, but if someone writes up a tutorial I'd be happy to start doing this!



#845 Netduino and Ping))) Ultrasonic Sensor?

Posted by Websteria on 19 August 2010 - 02:46 PM in Netduino 2 (and Netduino 1)

We really need a wiki / svn library for all of these code libraries which are compatible with the netduino!!! :-D




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