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Getting started with Netduino Mini (early instructions)


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#1 Chris Walker

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Posted 15 November 2010 - 04:56 PM

Here are some quick tips on getting up and running with your Netduino Mini...

Pins
* The pins on the Netduino Mini are numbered 1-24.
* Pin 1 is at the top left (just left of the cutout notch) and has a "1" printed next to it.
* Pin 12 is at the bottom-left next to the gold erase pad.
* Pin 13 is at the bottom-right.
* Pin 24 is at the top right (just right of the cutout notch).

Power
To power your Netduino Mini:
* Attach 7.5V-12V power to pin 24 (top-right corner just right of notch at top). And from your power supply, attach ground to pin 23.
* If you would rather power your Netduino Mini via a 5V regulated power supply, you can supply 5V regulated at pin 21 instead.
* If you power your Netduino Mini via 7.5V-12V power (pin 24), you will get a 5V regulated power output at pin 21.

Programming
To deploy a Netduino Mini app (and debug), you'll use serial communication. Here are a few options.
* BASIC Stamp board: just plug the Netduino Mini into the BASIC Stamp 2-compatible board and use the existing serial cable/virtual serial port (USB) connectivity.
* RS232: cut the end off of an RS232 cable and wire the RX, TX, DTR, and GND wires to pins 1, 2, 3, and 4. Or use an RS232 breakout adapter (with the same wiring--but no cable cutting).
* 3.3V TTL: attach a 3.3V TTL cable to pins 11 (cable's RX) and 12 (cable's TX). Attach the cable's GND connector to pin 4. If the cable has a DTR wire, connect that to pin 3.

In Visual Studio, set the deployment to Serial instead of USB and select your COM port. That's it. [If you're using TTL via pins 11 and 12, read the following section.]

Switching serial deployment port
The Netduino Mini may be programmed over its RS232 UART (pins 1, 2) or its 3.3V TTL UART (pins 11, 12). By default it uses the RS232 UART.

If you want to use the 3.3V TTL UART (pins 11, 12) instead:
* Connect your computer to the 3.3V TTL UART (pins 11, 12).
* Open a serial connection to your board (115200 bps, No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no flow control) using Putty, HyperTerminal, Tera Term or other terminal software.
* Press ESC. You will see a prompt offering to let you select the deployment/debug port.
* Select the TTL UART (COM1).
* You will see the Netduino Mini reboot and start sending debug data over the port.

HardwareProvider (pin enumerations)
To create a Netduino Mini app instead of a Netduino app, select "Netduino Mini Application" instead of a "Netduino Application" when creating a new app in Visual Studio. If you do not have this option, download and install the the v4.1.0 SDK (November 2010 Refresh) or newer.

To manually convert a Netduino project to a Netduino Mini project:
* Remove the SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino.dll reference from your project.
* Add the SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoMini.dll reference to your project.
* Remove the "using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;" statement from the top of your Program.cs file.
* Add a "using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoMini;" statement to the top of your Program.cs file.
* Now, typing "Pins." will give you a list of GPIO pins. These GPIO pin numbers match the physical pin #s on the Netduino Mini.

We'll put together a quick start document to replace these early instructions. In the meantime, enjoy your Netduino Minis and please share what you build with the community!

Chris

EDIT: updated for launch day, v4.1.0 refresh SDK

#2 Omar (OZ)

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Posted 18 November 2010 - 09:46 PM

* RS232: cut the end off of an RS232 cable and wire the RX, TX, DTR, and GND wires to pins 1, 2, 3, and 4. Or use an RS232 breakout adapter (with the same wiring--but no cable cutting).


Hi Chris,
I got this today (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9873) and I haven't been able to get a response from the netduino, thats what the .NET MF Deploy Tool says. I am not sure whats going on there... "RX, TX, DTR, and GND wires to pins 1, 2, 3" - on the specs page it said that TX is pin 1 and RX is pin 2... so is it that I should connect the TX of the FTDI adapter to the RX of the netduino mini, and the RX of the FTDI adapter to the TX of the netduino mini?

#3 Chris Walker

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Posted 18 November 2010 - 09:59 PM

Hi Chris,
I got this today (http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9873) and I haven't been able to get a response from the netduino, thats what the .NET MF Deploy Tool says. I am not sure whats going on there... "RX, TX, DTR, and GND wires to pins 1, 2, 3" - on the specs page it said that TX is pin 1 and RX is pin 2... so is it that I should connect the TX of the FTDI adapter to the RX of the netduino mini, and the RX of the FTDI adapter to the TX of the netduino mini?


Omar,

Wire the RX of the adapter to pin 11 of the Netduino Mini. Wire the TX of the adapter to pin 12 of the Netduino Mini. Wire the GND of the adapter to pin 4 of the Netduino Mini. And if you'd like, wire the DTR of the adapter to pin 3 of the Netduino Mini.

This adapter converts USB to 3.3V TTL signals, not RS232 signals. If you hook it up to the 12V RS232 UART (pins 1 and 2), that could cause trouble.

Once you hook up the USB adapter to the TTL UART, open up HyperTerminal and press ESC. Then select option 1 to use the TTL UART for deployment/debug. You'll be up and running.

Chris

#4 Omar (OZ)

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Posted 18 November 2010 - 10:34 PM

Omar,

Wire the RX of the adapter to pin 11 of the Netduino Mini. Wire the TX of the adapter to pin 12 of the Netduino Mini. Wire the GND of the adapter to pin 4 of the Netduino Mini. And if you'd like, wire the DTR of the adapter to pin 3 of the Netduino Mini.

This adapter converts USB to 3.3V TTL signals, not RS232 signals. If you hook it up to the 12V RS232 UART (pins 1 and 2), that could cause trouble.

Once you hook up the USB adapter to the TTL UART, open up HyperTerminal and press ESC. Then select option 1 to use the TTL UART for deployment/debug. You'll be up and running.

Chris

... I don't know what HyperTerminal is >.> ... could you explain how I run it or what I need to download? Oh boy do I feel dumb today >.<

#5 Chris Walker

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 12:22 AM

... I don't know what HyperTerminal is >.> ... could you explain how I run it or what I need to download? Oh boy do I feel dumb today >.<


HyperTerminal was the free terminal program included with Windows XP.

You'll want to download Putty. Or Tera Term, which is more full-featured.

A terminal program basically just opens up a connection to the device and let's you read/write to it. In this case, you'll want a terminal program which can communicate over a serial port (instead of just TCP/IP).

Set your serial port options to 115200 bps, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. Then open up a serial port connection using the terminal program.

Once your connection is open, press the ESC key. This will give you a menu asking you which serial port you want to use for deployment/debug. Select option 1 (3.3V TTL UART -- COM1). You'll see the Netduino Mini reboot and start sending "debug" data for Visual Studio's use. Close the terminal program.

Now you can ping the device from MFDeploy, deploy/debug from Visual Studio, etc.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Chris

#6 Omar (OZ)

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 01:50 AM

Once your connection is open, press the ESC key. This will give you a menu asking you which serial port you want to use for deployment/debug. Select option 1 (3.3V TTL UART -- COM1). You'll see the Netduino Mini reboot and start sending "debug" data for Visual Studio's use. Close the terminal program.


Chris


Nothing happens when I press Esc in Putty and Tera Term. Is there another way of accessing the menu?

thanks

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

YAY I got it! make sure you have power to the netduino mine :) sorry about that chris!

Thanks for everything

#7 skpang

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 06:44 PM

Got it working using a 5v FTDI board on TTL UART:

http://www.skpang.co...products_id=442

Pretty amazing for the price you can debug the code and single step it.
Posted Image

You should get a startup screen like this:
Netduino Mini

1. TTL UART (COM1)
2. RS232 UART (COM2)

Which transport (1 or 2)? 1

Switching transport to TTL UART (COM1)...
.NetMF v4.1.2821.0
NetduinoMini, Build Date:
        Nov  7 2010 19:47:13
ARM Compiler version 400771

TinyCLR (Build 4.1.2821.0)

Starting...
Created EE.
Started Hardware.



Netduino Mini from the UK
http://www.skpang.co...products_id=788

#8 phantomtypist

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 09:30 PM

Got it working using a 5v FTDI board on TTL UART:


Did you modify the solder jumpers on the 5V FTDI board so that it uses 3.3V instead of 5V?

#9 Chris Walker

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 09:35 PM

Did you modify the solder jumpers on the 5V FTDI board so that it uses 3.3V instead of 5V?


The Netduino Mini can accept 5V TTL signals. It sends 3.3V signals...some but not all 5V TTL cables will understand these signals. So we recommend 3.3V cables, but technically 5V may work.

Chris

#10 skpang

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 09:40 PM

I used the 5v version as it can power the Netduino Mini is well.

#11 hari

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Posted 20 November 2010 - 03:42 AM

Pins
* The pins on the Netduino Mini are numbered 1-24.
* Pin 1 is at the top left (just left of the cutout notch) and has a "1" printed next to it.
* Pin 12 is at the bottom-left next to the gold erase pad.
* Pin 13 is at the bottom-right.
* Pin 24 is at the top right (just right of the cutout notch).


Chris,
The instruction above (from the first message of this thread) assumes one's holding the Mini vertically, but the Mini is depicted horizontally in the tech specs. Therefore, maybe it should say: "Pin 1 is at the bottom left just below the cutout notch", etc. Or better yet, update the message to include a picture. Just my 2 cents.

#12 Fabien Royer

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Posted 24 January 2011 - 08:23 PM

Hi,


I created a simple visual tutorial on setting up a development board for the netduino mini.
I hope this helps others getting started: http://fabienroyer.w...-netduino-mini/


Cheers,
-Fabien.

#13 Chris Walker

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Posted 24 January 2011 - 08:29 PM

Hi,


I created a simple visual tutorial on setting up a development board for the netduino mini.
I hope this helps others getting started: http://fabienroyer.w...-netduino-mini/


Cheers,
-Fabien.


That is very useful. We just tweeted about it.

Chris

#14 jdsmith

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Posted 09 March 2011 - 11:43 PM


This adapter converts USB to 3.3V TTL signals, not RS232 signals. If you hook it up to the 12V RS232 UART (pins 1 and 2), that could cause trouble.

Once you hook up the USB adapter to the TTL UART, open up HyperTerminal and press ESC. Then select option 1 to use the TTL UART for deployment/debug. You'll be up and running.

Chris


Chris - do you have a similar "getting started" guide for the Netduino Plus (specifically, running over serial instead of USB)? If not, does the Plus have RS232 RX and TX pins and, if so, which pins?

#15 test123

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 08:35 AM

Hi guys, Just made my Netduino work with a USB TTL. (23 <--> TTL:GND, 21 <--> TTL:5V, 11 <--> TTL:RXD, 12 <--> TTL:TXD) I selected "1" in the TTL menu. However, I noticed some garbled text in the output .NetMF v4.1.2821.0 NetduinoMini, Build Date: Nov 7 2010 19:47:13 ARM Compiler version 400771 TinyCLR (Build 4.1.2821.0) Starting... Created EE. Started Hardware. MSdbgV1qTÄ”¯ÁêMSdbgV1’¢Ã”¯ÁêMSdbgV1 ·¹Ë”¯ÁêMSdbgV1 TOÌ”¯ÁêMSdbgV1ýÛ”¯ÁêMSdbgV1yÜ”¯ÁêMSdbgV1;bÔ”¯ÁêMSdbgV1ؔӔ¯ÁêMSdbgV10iãû”¯êMSdbgV16Šü”¯Áë êMSdbgV1<¯ô”¯Áë êMSdbgV1:Løó”¯Áë êMSdbgV1(å8䔯Áë ê Is this related with the 5V - 3.3V voltage difference? Should I worry about it? Anyone else experienced this?

#16 Stefan

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 08:52 AM

Hi test123, Welcome to the Netduino community. It could be that you don't use the correct bitrate. What settings do you use at this moment? If I'm not misstaken, the default bitrate should be 115200.
"Fact that I'm a moderator doesn't make me an expert in things." Stefan, the eternal newb!
My .NETMF projects: .NETMF Toolbox / Gadgeteer Light / Some PCB designs

#17 Chris Walker

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Posted 03 June 2011 - 09:05 AM

I noticed some garbled text in the output

...
Started Hardware.
MSdbgV1qTÄ”¯ÁêMSdbgV1’¢Ã”¯ÁêMSdbgV1
·¹Ë”¯ÁêMSdbgV1
...

Is this related with the 5V - 3.3V voltage difference? Should I worry about it? Anyone else experienced this?


That's totally normal...debugger data which Visual Studio understands. MFDeploy filters it out so you normally don't see it :)

Chris

#18 bpkdasbaum

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Posted 26 November 2011 - 10:25 AM

I am trying to setup my netduino mini, but when i press open port in putty, i get windows blip and nothing happens, no error message. What am I missing?

This is my circuit

Posted Image


and the actual setup on a breadboard

Posted Image

Installed:
Microsoft Visual C# Express 2010
Microsoft .NET Micro Framework v4.1 SDK
Netduino SDK v4.1
Putty


EDIT: Uhm nevermind i was in the wrong putty options >_>!

#19 contractorwolf

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Posted 18 March 2012 - 11:40 PM

Can someone give some more details on using a standard USB cable connected to the netduino mini? I cut a USB cable open and it has 4 wires (plus shielding). Green, white, red, and black, but can these be connected directly? Im thinking pins 1-4 as the com2 but I wanted to ask before I wrecked this lovely chip. I just got this thing working with the FDTI basic 5v but wanted to eliminate some of the hardware. Basically does anybody have info and/or pictures on the "cable cutting" method of connecting and deploying mentioned above? Thanks

#20 Dr Who

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Posted 08 June 2012 - 06:45 AM


Hello!
Chris if I understand your postings, I can do one of two things to talk to my Netduino Mini (Microcenter purchase): I can either use the same methods that a Stamp2 would use, first three pins are serial and expect to see RS232 levels. I have a FTDI based USB to RS232 adapter here. Or I can use the UART pins and connect the serial (At TTL levels) to a regular FT232 device. Either way I would then need to use the appropriate terminal emulator to set the device accordingly.

I had planned on buying one of the other devices sold there, but even though the website insisted that there were four of the middle one a regular Netduino as it happens, all I saw were of the Plus unit instead. The sales person there started looking into it when I left the store yesterday.
---
Doctor Who
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