Hi all. I only recently discovered the Netduino platform 3 days ago, and am very happy that I did! Please excuse any part of this post that reeks of ignorance. I am trying to come up with a "different" way of timing a pinewood car race. For those not intimately familiar with it, a set of hand-carved wood cars roll down a track, and the one that gravity and aerodynamics treats the best wins. In contrast to the awesome++ work done my Jarrod Sinclair, I am interested in doing something like this (there are 4 lanes on the track): 4 sensors at the top of the track, each registering datetime when a car rolled over them, saving it at "start time" for lanes 1/2/3/4. 4 sensors at the bottom of the track, each registering the datetime when car rolls over the track, saving "finish time". The Netduino Plus 2 would be set at the bottom of the track with a monitor to display the TimeSpan difference for each lane. So...... Do (flat low profile?) sensors exist that register simple touch impact? Can 8 be wired to a Netduino 2 (plus?)? Is this a crazy idea? I am just now reading over some "getting started" text to get familiar with the platform. I appreciate ideas and input on this. Thanks!

Hey all. I have developed on .NET for years and years (I can recall combining 1.0 and 1.1 assemblies for system deployments and am still in therapy over that). However, I just discovered the MF and Netduino platform is week, and am really excited to try it out for a real world project. I am starting form zero knowledge , but have about 5-6 months to get the project completed. My plan is to capture and display the event timing of wooden model race cars assembled by kids, each car rolls down a "slot" and the one withi the best aerodynamics and gravitational treatment wins. I currently have a flaky electronic race timing system in place, which needs to be replaced. My current idea is to have a weight-sensitive sensor at the starting line in each slot, and have another at the bottom. On a push button signal, I would detect when the weight was released from the start line sensors, detect when each weight was applied to the bottom line sensor, and then diff and display the elapsed TimeSpan. Other than knowing I want a Netduino2+ (so I can eventually post the results over a protocol to a laptop, or show on a web page), and knowing I need to read some books, I don't know what hardware to acquire or direction to take. All ideas appreciated and excuse any obvious ignorance. Thanks!

This looks really cool.

Could 4 sensors be connected to a single Netduino Plus 2? I am thinking of using a set to collect simultaneous data at the same time; 4 are lined up within 1" of each other, pointing at the sky, and when something rolls over each one, the Datetime could be saved/displayed for each acquisition.

It did... I actually web-searched a bit, read through his stuff, and that is how I landed here and discovered the Netduino platform.   And it was a happy discovery!

 

I plan to attempt something a little different than what Jarrod created.

 

I was thinking of a configuration where space for each sensor is cut into the track, and as a car rolls over them, time is captured (via IR or pressure or sound or something (I need at minimum thousandths of a second precision, prefer ten-thousandths). I am trying to remove the need to have a paired sensor, remove the need to have hardware above/below the finish line. Just something that points "up" and can tell when something is over it.

 

I saw the below sensors via web searches but am not sure if Netduino driver support exists for 4 simultaneous sensors, and if they would actually "work" for that purpose and can be powered by the Netduino itself.

http://www.adafruit.com/products/164

or

http://www.amazon.co...=A10EAPE4CAYC9P

or

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9375

or ?

The time captured would be displayed on a simple web page and also on a 4-line LCD (reason why I'm leaning towards a Netduino Plus 2).

 

I am also trying to think through how to start the timing (open/close start gate?). The sky is the limit there.

 

I have several months to get this done, so all thoughts appreciated on how to get started properly.

Thanks for the thoughts and responses.

 

The cars have weight restrictions, so putting things like magnets on them is off-limits. I think that takes me back to the idea of having some kind of sensor facing "up" and detecting when a car passes over them by casting a shadow. The raceway has fluorescent lights, so I think something like embedding a mini photocell (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9088) might be a good move; but I wonder how long the wiring can be between the cell and the Netduino, what/where resistors need to be, and also if I can read 4 at a time with a Netduino Plus 2.

 

What do you think of using the light-detection strategy and that particular part, which was mentioned on http://johnnycode.co...h-the-netduino/ ?

 

Thanks again.

Hey all. I am trying to find a source for an HD47780 LCD display that will do 20x4 that does not require soldering.

I saw this blog post:

http://10rem.net/blo...th-the-netduino

as well as the codeplex library, but cannot seem to find anything on the "usual" online retail places that have the part I can wire up to a breadboard, and then a Netduino //+, without soldering anything.

All ideas appreciated.

Thanks.

Paul (and Hanzibal), you have given me a lot to think about. I am going to acquire some hardware now, start with the basics, and come back to this topic. Thanks!

Hi Donovan. Both that part and then one at https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9568 seem to require 5V. How did you deal with that?

Thanks.

I have seen "premium jumper wires" on several online stores, none seem to e longer than 300cm / 12in. Why is that? Power loss? Potential for signal interference? Thanks.

I have gotten a lot of mileage out of .NET using Mocks for unit and integration tests in Visual Studio.

 

Is there an equivalent for the Micro Framework?

 

My eventual goal is to read from 4 sensors and do something with the captured information. Before I get to that goal, I was thinking that I could exercise the other parts of the system by creating "fake inputs", injecting known data into their structures/wrappers, and then debugging with that fake stuff.

 

Is that possible?

 

 

Thanks.

 

Like many other newbies/lightweights, I looked around for something permanent-ish to hold my Netduino ][+ with an LCD and/or other gadgets. I followed a link to http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:48939 and uploaded it to www.sculpteo.com, who quoted me ~$80. When an open holder costs more than my device, I am sure I am doing something wrong.

 

So.... Can anyone recommend a "big enough" case for a Netduino Plus 2 in the $20-$30 range? It seems like this should be easier to find than it is. I am sure I am missing something. Or maybe this is a market waiting to be cracked?

 

 

 

Thanks.

When I need something "long" (eg 48 inches), would it be ok to use a piece of shielded Ethernet cable, or would that add additional complexity to the job of just making a sound connection? Thanks.

Can anyone recommend a time keeping solution for a non-networked Netduino Plus 2 that does not require soldering anything anywhere? I have seen a few kits from some favorite vendors, but nothing ready-to-go.

 

 

Thanks.

 

Hs anyone discovered anything new bout this product with the Netduino?

[EDIT]

The title should be "Large LED for Scrolling Tweets" but iOS autocorrect bit me again. And I don't seem to be able to edit the title or delete bad posts.

[EDIT]

 

 

I am probably getting ahead of myself since I am only past the 2nd blinky experiment, but I was wondering where I might be able to find a ready-to-plug (no soldering required) serial LED display that would emulate this on a Netduino+2: https://sites.google...tmatrixdisplay/ My general web searches have not turned up anything decent, and Sparkfun and Adafruit don't seem to have anything available. All ideas appreciated, thanks!

I have a Netduino 2+ that will communicate over ethernet. The ND will have a AC power, and the ethernet switch is also powered by AC. I wanted to find an LED lamp that could be powered by the switch, thinking it would be good to have one less thing in my surge protector.... But web searches have turned up nothing as simple as a lamp that can be powered by a typical switch. Can anyone say why no such devices seem to exist? Thanks.

I have an LCD serial display for connection to my Netduino2+, so I think I will have a problem also connecting a serial clock, is that correct? is this page - http://blog.codeblac...d-with-I2C.aspx - accurate still in 2013? Thanks.

I apologize for my lack of clarity. I am not asking about PoE. I am asking about using a simple ethernet switch (or hub) with "n" RJ45 twisted pair connections, being able to power a simple light. I understand that there is not a lot of power in each switch port, but I was guessing (hoping?) that maybe using 2-3 of them together could power an LED lamp of some kind. It seems like a simple utilitarian thing, but no one seems to make (or bg about home brew) such a device. Thanks!

I have this serial display for connecting to my Netuino 2 Plus:

 

  http://www.amazon.co...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

and now I am looking for a way to properly mount the display. I think what I want is a "bezel", so that any hole I nibble in my plastic case can have finished look. If that is the right term, where should I go for them?

 

 

Thanks.

 

[EDIT]

 

I think I found something. It just took a while for me to determine the keywords needed for the search engines.

 

https://www.oscsys.c...ore/product/253

This looks like it had promise, once upon a time:

 

https://forum.sparkf...t=16946#p100892

 

but the links from there are long dead.

 

 

I wonder why an LCD-ready enclosure (with a couple of cable glands)  is such a rarity? Is everyone just exposing naked electronics, hoping their cat/dog/kid/curious friend doesn't touch anything?

I did a quick search and found

 

http://www.tinkerkit...duction-to-dmx/

 

and

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMX512

 

which says

 

DMX512 (Digital MultipleX) is a standard for digital communication networks that are commonly used to control stage lighting and effects. It

was originally intended as a standardized method for controlling light dimmers, which, prior to DMX512, had employed various incompatible proprietary protocols. It soon became the primary method for linking controllers (such as a lighting console) to dimmers and special effects devices such as fog machines and intelligent lights. DMX has also expanded to uses in non-theatrical interior and architectural lighting, at scales ranging from strings of Christmas lights to electronic billboards.

 

 

Now if only Secret Labs would make a fog machine....

This is a problem for me because I just re-paved my laptop and now cannot seem to get a decent download link for VS 2012 Express, only 2013. Not good to keep this stuff out of sync...

Take a look at the link you posted. VS 2013 is there. VS 2012 updates are there. VS 2012 Express edition for Windows Desktop is not there.

What are experienced folks doing to read configuration information from files?

I did not see a way to use the System.Configuration bits, and I would like to set a destination address for sending output via a file to avoid hardcoding.

 

All ideas appreciated.

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

(.NET MF2, NetDuino Plus 2, Visual Studio 2012)

There is a remote web server waiting to accept simple HTTP GET traffic and I want to make calls to it from my Netduino Plus 2. I am familar with using WebClient in the .NET Framework, but do not see anything comparable for the Micro Framework.

 

What is the proper way to just send a GET from a Netduino? I just want to send stuff like

 

http://192.168.1.1/g...a=1&b=2&c=3&d=4

 

from the Netduino to my remote web server.

 

 

Thanks

 

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