1x Netduino
1x Wifi component from Weburban - http://store.weburba...urban/wifi.html

Hi Omnomnomsies,

My brief review of the datasheet for the Weburban WiFi component indicates that it is designed for PIC microcontrollers, and that it requires a TCP/IP stack loaded onto the PIC. I am skeptical that this WiFi component can interface directly with Netduino, since Netduino is based on an ARM MCU core. Sure, physically it might be able to connect, but in terms of the software, I am unaware of any C# TCP/IP stack written to specifically connect Netduino with this WiFi module. I see that there are Arduino libraries for this module, so maybe it is a simple matter of porting the Arduino libraries to Netduino; however, that might not be so simple.

For Wi-Fi on Netduino, I use a Gainspan GS1011MIP module. The link there is to a forum post I made a while ago. There is sample code there to get you started. The Gainspan is the same price as the Weburban module if you get it from Sparkfun.com.



Edit: just to clarify- the Gainspan module operates at 3.3v on a UART connection, not SPI like the Weburban one, in case that matters to you.

Edit 2: I just noticed you're looking for 802.11n. The Gainspan operates on 802.11b, so this might not be a good solution for you...

Why do you need 802.11n for your project? I have found most 802.11n Wi-Fi devices are backwards compatible with 802.11b/g. I am able to run a Wi-Fi web server directly from the Gainspan and my laptop has no problem connecting. I use a Netduino Plus for the built-in SD card, to store the web pages that I serve from the module. Works great.

Thanks for all the responses. Being new to Netduino it seems to me that their is not a lot of wifi compatible hardware out there for the netduino.

I have seen the following "Mantis" bot at this site.
http://ttjcrew.com/2...robot-controls/

They are using the netduino plus (with the ethernet port) and used a 12 volt car battery in addition to a wireless router.

I was thinking that this might be an alternative way of acheiving my objective.

I purchased my netduino yesterday and can't wait for it to arrive, so I can start playing.

Regards

ScottBrady

If the physical size does not hinder the project, then using a wireless router with a Netduino Plus is a good method. I think you'll find Netduino to be a useful microcontroller platform. Good luck.

Nick

I use the Gainspan GS1011 Wi-Fi module (http://sprkfn.com/p10505) and it works well with Netduino. It operates on 3.3VDC and connects to the UART and uses simple serial commands for communications. I've even gotten it to function as a very simple WiFi web server by serving the pages from the onboard Netduino microSD card.

I see there is an Xbee WiFi module available, but I have never used it and I do not know if it is compatible with Netduino.

I need to deploy some C# code onto two Netduinos but each Netduino requires different code. Is it possible to connect both Netduino's, at the same time, to a single laptop via two USB ports on the laptop? In C#, will the device name change from "NetduinoPlus_NetduinoPlus" to NetduinoPlus_NetduinoPlus_1" or something so that I can select which Netduino to target?

I guess I'm going to be forced to try this on my own. I will let you know the outcome.

Yes, exactly. You can also rename one of them to something more permanent by using the Target > Configuration > USB option in MFDeploy.

For instance, you could name one "NetduinoPlus_PeanutButter" and the other "NetduinoPlus_Jelly". [Bonus: if they ever become sentient, they'll already be friends...]

Naming them is probably the best option...because them it won't matter which order they're plugged in...Visual Studio will always recognize them by their custom names.

Chris

Excellent. Thanks again, Chris.

Hi,

I am working on connecting a TSL2561 lux sensor to a Netduino. It is an i2c device.

Can you please take a look at the Arduino wiring diagram and let me know if I can do the same wiring to a Netduino?

Do I need to add any pull-up resistors or can I wire as shown and expect it to work?

Coincidentally, I just finished reading the "High resolution light measurement" thread. Glad you decided to go with the i2c lux sensor. Netduino + i2c has kept me pretty happy and I always lean toward i2c options when shopping. The MinM is another example of super-convenient micro-controller/i2c overkill. It combines LEDs and an ATtiny85 micro-controller on one little board. I bought three for a project and it was ridiculously easy to interface and control them via i2c. Sure, my silly little project ended up with a total of 4 microprocessors, but it was orders of magnitude easier than trying to do everything directly with the Netduino.

Anyway, that thread was a good read. I think I might actually try out TI's "MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development Kit" mentioned in one of the posts. There is at least one thing I've wanted to build on top of Netduino that would benefit from offloading some of the high frequency work onto an auxiliary controller.

One other thing... You might want to check out the I2CBus classes by FusionWare and Phantom Typist -- they're in other threads in these forums. If you write your TSL2561 code as a "driver" for one of these bus classes, it might save you a little bit of time and also help if you ever want to hook up another i2c device at the same time as the TSL2561. Others have posted I2CBus compatible code back to the forums for others to benefit from, which was a huge help for me when I was starting with Netduino and i2c.

Good luck with the project.

I am still on a quest to build an accurate lux/foot-candle meter using off-the-shelf components. While it was frustrating at times, the high frequency light measurement project was a great learning experience for me, and now I understand that it is not bad practice to use additional chips in my projects. I have that TSL235R sensor working fine now. To get it working, I ended up writing a frequency counter for a PIC18F252 and then sending the measurements from the PIC18 to the Netduino via UART. I compared the PIC18 frequency readings against measurements right from the sensor using a high-quality o'scope, and my frequency counts prove correct.

The current problem is that the TSL235 sensors measure outside the visible light spectrum and there is no simple way to calculate the intensity of only the visible spectrum. The TSL2561 presumably solves this by providing a way to "subtract" the non-visible spectrum so that I am only looking at the intensity of the visible spectrum.

My intro to microcontrollers began with an Arduino and BlinkM i2c RGB LEDs. You're right, not to mention being really expensive, those LEDs are i2c overkill, but for me they served as a great intro to i2c communications.

I'll be checking the forums for those I2CBus classes.

The wiring diagram looks good to me, for Netduino. Note that the two small black surface mount devices labeled "103" are 10K resistors. These seem common as pull up resistors on i2c breakouts. The schematics for the product are available, but you'll need Eagle to view them. I've included a screenshot, below. Note that the 10K resistors are being used as pullups for SDA and SCL.

Thanks Spork. I figured the pull-ups might be in there already, but didn't notice that there were Eagle schematics available.

Now I just need to convert the C++ code to C#

Anyone know where I can get a netduino t-shirt?? I use this mcu so much I'd like to show my support. It would be a nice supplement to my Sparkfun sweatshirt.

Hmmm, I think I just figured it out.

Would it? If I figure it out I'll let you know. I've done extensive searches and don't see any reference to this, but maybe there's someone out there who knows.

Does anyone know if it is possible to install SQLite on a microSD card and then access the database engine using the .NET Micro Framework from my Netduino Plus? I need to add a database to my Netduino Plus project and I do not want to have to run a web server/database on a separate computer. I need the database access to be self-contained on the MCU's SD card. If there is any way to do this, even if it is not using SQLite but some other database engine, please let me know. I would rather not use flat files for storage.

There's also this little reference to 32-bit MCU's and Sqlite: http://www.microchip...ms/m469667.aspx

This ChipworX module has built-in Sqlite support: http://www.saelig.com/NMFP/NMF010.htm I bet the Netduino doesn't have enough processing power to handle database access.

Well unfortunately it didn't work. I tried using this: http://system.data.s.../www/index.wiki, and it looked like it was going to work, but because .Net MF doesn't provide access to System.Data.*, the code doesn't actually load onto the Netduino. Mario, protocol-buffers is an interesting idea, although I'd really like to get Sqlite working. But it sounds like I would have to work a miracle.

So how about this: could I run Puppy Linux (http://puppylinux.org) headless on the microSD card, along with a LAMP stack and then somehow query the LAMP stack from the Netduino using C# code? I'm thinking of having the Netduino make a port 80 request to a php page running on the Apache web server on the Linux install, querying the MySQL database via php and then returning the results as a string to the Netduino. If anyone knows how to do this or thinks it would work, please let me know.

I'm looking at a device that runs at fast-mode 400kHz i2c. Is it possible to integrate with Netduino?

.

Hi all, I've been playing around with controlling RGB LEDs with my new Netduino Plus. I set up a server on the Netduino that listens for requests on Port 80. Then I built a web page with a color picker control that sends commands to the Netduino. The web page runs on a separate web server on my laptop. The Netduino parses the commands into individual R,G, and B values for the LED. I am using a common anode RGB LED from Radio Shack, connected to three PWM inputs on the Netduino. Here's a demo: I am trying to get a better algorithm for the color generation. Right now I am using SetDutyCycle, but I think the SetPulse method would provide even better color generation. If anyone wants to look at the C# project and maybe help me with the color generation code, just let me know and I will post it.

I am trying to determine how to get accurate color representation of RGB values with a Netduino's PWM inputs. Specifically, I had worked with an Arduino and the range of the PWM inputs was 0 to 255. On the Netduino, the range is 0 to 100. I want to be able to generate colors based on a scale of 0 to 255 for red, green, and blue. I was able to do this easily with the Arduino. You can see my video of RGB LED color generation with an Arduino. I am unsure how to do this with Netduino. I know that there is a SetPulse and SetDutyCycle function, but I can't seem to figure out how to get a range of 0 to 255 so that I can represent monitor RGB LED values. Any help is greatly appreciated.

How can you actually remove the power LED from the board safely? I have an application I am doing with light sensors and the power LED is distracting the sensors. I would like to remove the LED but it is small. Should I just crack it off with a pair of pliers or is there a more "scientific" method?

Do you have black electrical tape?

If you do remove it, you'll want to use a soldering iron and tweezers (very carefully). Heat up the solder on both sides of the LED (switching every half second or so between the two) and then carefully remove the power LED using tweezers. Please note that this completely voids your warranty, for obvious reasons

I'd still recommend a small piece of electrical tape though...it's simple, non-destructive, and should blend right in.

Chris

I have electrical tape coming out my ears. Lol. But, e-tape gets sticky and is noticeable, and it can fall off. And I wanted something permanent.

I found that you can do exactly what you said to remove the LED, except to make it easier you only have to heat up one side and carefully wiggle the tweezers until the LED pops off of one solder point. Then just wiggle it off of the other solder point.

My Netduino has now entered the Dark Side. Oh, and it still works fine too. Thanks.

X10 is mainly using PLC technology. An RF standard is available but the PLC version is the most used, and still very much in use. I use it, but I also use devices communicating over 433 MHz RF, using hardware from RFXCOM.

Oops! For some reason, I keep mixing up X10 and Zigbee. Don't ask me why because I have no idea why. I guess Z's and X's cause confusion.

So, when I said that personally I would choose X10 over PLC, what I really meant was I would choose a newer communication protocol over PLC or X10 which are dated technologies even though they're still very much in use. We could also say that DOS is still very much in use, but would you really want to write new software for DOS? Well, maybe you would, but I wouldn't.

Personally, I would choose X10 over PLC. --- EDIT: wow! that makes a LOT of sense. Not really.