Thanks again for providing the files to load directly. I was able to erase and flash the bootloader (once moved to XP) and reload the firmware, which is a major step forward. Still working out some odd errors in loading the hex files and when using the bit banger runtime - may be missing something still. I will provide more details on the errors when I into it again unless it becomes part of the base firmware by the time I get back into it, in which case I'll report back on progress using that. Thanks for all the help from you and the netduino team in providing a solid base to work from.

Hookedup: if you want to flash this you will need to reflash your bootloader (tinybooterdecompressor.bin is included) and then flash the hex files included.
-(e)

Thank you very much for providing the files and for contributing such a great updates. I am super busy for a couple of days but will work to do the updates and test usage asap.

I enjoy working with netduino and have high hopes that using your code will get me over the minor bump in the road to doing really cool stuff with the netduino

Thanks Chris. I will put one on back order. Which one do you recommend ordering from to get the fastest delivery?

My experience with MakerShed and USPS Priority Mail (FAST)
I added my name to the "notify me when in" list from MakerShed. I ordered the day I got the message which was a Friday. It made it all the way from Cali to Florida and was in my mail box on Monday.

Shipping method was "Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box - 6.95 shipping", which I think was the lowest price shipping on the page .. but was listed all the way at the bottom of the list.

Those links are pretty daunting for someone coming new into this technology. After reading those links am pretty sure I have no desire to go native for some time. That said, the current method of direct pin control is too slow. I tried FEZ Panda and it has the same slow pin speed, I guess it is the .NET layer. This seems very similar to standard pin control in the arduino being too slow, in which direct port access helps at the cost of portability. This bit banger driver seems to be a great solution for this problem. Is there is a way to put up a test firmware with big banger included? That would help see if bit banging will do the trick. I would think having bit banger built in would be best case. Is there a case to not include bit banger in the base outside firmware size? Thanks for building and posting bit banger, good to know there is a way to have fast pin access like direct port access in arduino.

You may want to have a look at the following two articles Using Interop in the .NET Micro Framework V3.0 and Your first interop project walkthrough to get the overview and step-by-step instructions how to write native drivers for .NET Micro Framework. Also, the Porting Kit documentation contains detailed description (Adding Features to the .NET Micro Framework by Interoperating with Unmanaged Code) and introduction of the build system. There are also threads in this forum that discuss various firmware build issues and what is needed to use GCC 4.4 compiler.

Thanks for the links.

What kind of shift registers do you have? Usually, it is possible to drive them via SPI...

The LEDs from bliptronics.com uses LPD-6803 chips which are like shift registers but they work using just clock and data pins.

The code from their site was pretty easy to port to netduino but is slow. I updated to use direct port manipulation in arduino and got up to 200 LEDs before hitting memory limits. I am hoping that getting port manipulation pin speeds at the native level will help that trend scale up to the netduino to run 1000 or two .

I have tried in arduino to get this working via SPI with no luck and understand netduino less, but still may give that route another shot.

I would however like to learn how to write / use native code in firmware .. so any pointers on how to get bit banger working would be helpful as well.

Thanks for your reply and idea for SPI.

Oh hey, that is really cool. If a few community members have feedback on uses for this, maybe we could integrate something like this into the stock firmware in a future update?

Chris

+1 to include bit banging in stock firmware. The standard output pins are so slow I can see the shift registers update LEDs before my very eyes (when normally this is done many times per second).

I downloaded the porting kit and was able to move the files around as described but now I am a total loss as to what to do next to update my firmware. There is a netduino firmware .. how does this update integrate with the netduino firmware? I have tried to read through documentation, but it goes in 100 directions .. a bit much for a newbie like me.

Any tips on what docs to read that with help me understand how to use bit banger in a project would be much appreciated.

I had thought about using both the low channels because I was concerned about the lows being spread out. I think what I will do is have a loop running that does strobe(true)strobe(false) read input strobe(true) strobe(false) read input then reset(true) reset(false). I will read the documentation when I get the board to see if that will work the way I think it should.

I would suggest just doing strobe(true) strobe(false) five more times and compare that with the results you get using the reset method.

Do you know how much work it would be to move the digital pins to ports 8 and 9? The website said it could be done. I ask because I have already built a board to hold 8 resistors and connectors to work with my led's and it plugs into ports 0-7.

Good question, I think there are jumpers on there you can use to change the pins (looking at the board, I see jp1 with 2 holes - may be it). Send your question to the e-mail at the "about us" URL and you will get an answer.
http://www.bliptroni...om/AboutUs.aspx

Later today I can try it out and let you know. I think there is a decay per read (as I read in the specs) .. so you may want to read them as shown and just pull the first entry from Spectrum[] (or maybe combine 0 and 1 to get a better low .. some songs do not hit the super low). Experimenting with the values on screen always helps me determine the next action to take.

My first goal was to be able to read the bliptronics EQ shield. Here is a link to the shield and working code.

Bliptronics Spectrum Analyzer Shield
http://www.bliptroni...aspx?ItemID=116

Summary:
This is a seven band EQ chip, actually two of them (L and R), in an arduino shield.

Important:
You need to connect a wire from the 3.3 to the aref on the shield when using with netduino.

Working Code:

/* Code to read the Spectrum Analyzer chip from bliptronics.com
 * http://www.bliptronics.com/item.aspx?ItemID=116
 * 
 * Important: Connect a wire from the 3.3v to the ahref on the shield to work with netduino.
 * 
 * * Based on code from bliptronics.com and arduino community assistance.
 * Port by: Joseph Francis
 */

using System;
using System.Threading;
using Microsoft.SPOT;
using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;

namespace BlipSpectrumAnalyzer
{
    public class Program
    {
        static OutputPort spStrobe = new OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D4, false);
        static OutputPort spReset = new OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D5, false);
        static OutputPort led = new OutputPort(Pins.ONBOARD_LED, false);
        static AnalogInput spReadL = new AnalogInput(Pins.GPIO_PIN_A0);
        static AnalogInput spReadR = new AnalogInput(Pins.GPIO_PIN_A1);

        static int[] Spectrum = { 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 };

        const int MUSIC_MIN = 190;

        static public void setupSpecrum()
        {
            spReset.Write(true);
            Thread.Sleep(1);
            spReset.Write(false);
            Thread.Sleep(1);
        }


        static public void readSpecrum()
        {
            byte Band;
            for (Band = 0; Band < 7; Band++)
            {
                //--- Trigger strobe to make multiplexer jump
                spStrobe.Write(true);
                spStrobe.Write(false);

                //--- Add the left and right values - then devide by 2
                int cVal = spReadL.Read();
                cVal += spReadR.Read();
                cVal /= 2;

                //--- Allow for a min hum
                if (cVal < MUSIC_MIN)
                {
                    cVal = 0;
                }

                //--- Set related bands (low to high = 0 through 6 for seven bands)
                Spectrum[Band] = cVal;

            }
        }


        static public void setup()
        {
            setupSpecrum();
        }

        static public void loop()
        {
            readSpecrum();
            string strOut = "";
            Boolean minHit = false;
            for (byte i = 0; i < 7; i++)
            {
                int SpectrumVal = Spectrum[i];
                if (!minHit && SpectrumVal > MUSIC_MIN)
                    minHit = true;

                if( strOut != "" )
                    strOut = strOut + " - ";
                strOut = strOut + SpectrumVal.ToString();

            }
            strOut = strOut + "\n";
            if (minHit)
                Debug.Print(strOut);
        }

        public static void Main()
        {
            setup();
            while (true)
            {
                loop();
            }
        }

    }
}

Results of code:
* will show nothing until you start the music .. then you get readings ...

698 - 752 - 835 - 969 - 1023 - 948 - 765

723 - 782 - 879 - 922 - 1023 - 880 - 695

635 - 712 - 768 - 851 - 1023 - 973 - 646

632 - 924 - 914 - 913 - 1023 - 895 - 621

557 - 815 - 761 - 847 - 1023 - 1023 - 699

691 - 840 - 632 - 791 - 1023 - 1023 - 632

595 - 753 - 559 - 805 - 1023 - 997 - 741

528 - 728 - 722 - 889 - 971 - 949 - 617

465 - 623 - 761 - 846 - 890 - 963 - 674

621 - 796 - 813 - 841 - 828 - 884 - 640

Bliptronics Spectrum Analyzer Shield
http://www.bliptroni...aspx?ItemID=116

Link to sample of working code:

http://forums.netdui...om-bliptronics/

Edit:
Moved code to main topic entry and linked from here to keep thread size down.

I realize in this case you may only want bass .. but in future projects .. a seven band EQ may be nice.

While it costs money (~30 bucks), I use the bliptronics.com spectrum analyzer shield. If you are a good solder, you could get an adapter and build your own using the raw chip. I have done both and would suggest just the shield for a one-off.

Shield:
http://www.bliptroni...aspx?ItemID=116

Chip only:
http://www.bliptroni...aspx?ItemID=111

It pulls seven bands and has a build in multiplexer .. so it only takes 2 digital and 1 analog pin. Been using this with the arduino for a while and it worked just fine with the netduino.

I am not affiliated with bliptronics but I can vouch for the quality and service as I have purchased at least four times from them and had delivery in about a week from AU each time.

I can provide working netduino code to read the bands if needed (my first code with the netduino - fair warning).

Hope this helps you or someone looking for graphical EQ in a box

EDIT:
FYI: I just tested the shield, created simple sample code and posted a link in the compatible shields section.

Here is a link to my post with working code:
http://forums.netdui...om-bliptronics/

HA! A newbie problem with an easy fix, that did it! I love being a newbie again .. it feels good. Thanks - great community!

I just got my netduino today and my first goal was to read some input using an analog pin.

After getting just 1023 for all readings, I tried to simply hook up the analog pin to ground and read the value in the loop. The reading should be zero every time but it is not.

Code in the main loop ...

AnalogInput inputPin = new AnalogInput(Pins.GPIO_PIN_A0);
            while (true)
            {
                Debug.Print(inputPin.Read().ToString());
                Thread.Sleep(250);
            }

- When I use port A0 - I get values like 255,127 and a few 0 and 1023 values (not consistent)
- When I use port A1 or A2 - I get 1023 all the time.

Just to make things interesting .. I hookedup the ground from an arduino and it reads zero most of the time. It still reads an occasional 1023 reading.

To recreate - just hook a wire from Analog 0 to any ground and run the code. If you get zero every time .. I'd have to say hardware issue or version mismatch of some type?

This seemed like a pretty straight forward test but being brand new to this environment I figured I'd make my first newbie post

Mine in the mail today from MakerShed .. I see still available ..
http://www.makershed...Search=netduino

Good luck and have fun.

Was in stock for a while .. but now out of stock.

Mine was ordered and shipped on Friday Oct 1st from CA. Got it today (Monday) in Florida .. USPS priority mail is the way to go when ordering from here.

Thanks for the quick reply Chris. I can tell this forum is top notch. I'll keep my eye out on Amazon and the second they're available you'll have a new customer.

I currently have an Arduino serving dual duties regulating temps in a homebrew beer cooler and controlling stepper motors on a telescope mount. The switching back an forth is growing old so another board is in order. Being a .NET programmer by day, the Netduino is perfect. Thanks again.

Mine in the mail today from MakerShed .. I see still available ..
http://www.makershed...Search=netduino

Good luck and have fun.

Using foam board contain the netduino and other components for a project is a great idea. I used the same foam board for the bottom of a small LED bar last night (arduino project) because it was the easiest to deal with and works fine to hold in the wires. Those jumper wires are pretty good too. I ordered more via your link - thanks for making it easy. I needed more because they are so inexpensive that I cut them in 1/2 to make easy breadboard adapters for phone lines, couplers, USB cables, etc (4 cents per 1/2). It may be a sin to chop them, if so .. I am going to hell for sure Thanks for sharing .. with pictures.

Chris, Thanks for the fast reply and the good news. Looking forward to getting one and joining the community. Building on existing arduino and .net skills seems very promising. Already read quite a bit of the docs and source code so I should be ready to roll when the "in stock!" e-mail hits the box. Regards, Joseph

Nice work - great project. I am very interested in the netduino platform as we all want more power . I'll be getting as soon as one becomes available.

Question:
Are there plans to ultimately have the netduino capable of serial communication via the usb port like the arduino works?

While I do have a FTDI adapter hanging around, would be nice to be able to just "dock" for power and comms.

I thought I read a post saying they/you are working on making this happen. Just curious if that will come to fruition or if the outlook is bleak / out of the cards.

Thanks You

Nice idea .. find any USB powered device that has a docking station and make a form factor to fit .. poof ... you have a dock-able component with a nice looking dock. This has sparked an idea to make a custom dock as well. You will find that just about anything with a USB connector for power is a regulated 5v power supply just like the computer provides. For this reason, you can also use the wall adapter that comes with USB powered electronic devices - that your USB cable plugs into. They will say 5v DC (usually 500ma). Making your own docking station is as easy as getting one of those power adapters adding a mini usb cable and then making a component case and related dock that match. While custom is cool, it is lots of extra work over buying a dock .. so great idea .. thanks for posting. Power on!