Any Propellerheads have Arduino Shields?
Nick McClick
Posts: 1,003
I've been working on a Platform / Shield adapter so you can use Arduino Shields on the Propeller Platform (James of Lil Brother) did most of the design work, I just added a few labels on the silkscreen). This would provide physical compatibility and an onboard ADC for interfacing with the analog signals that some shields generate.
Attached is the PCB design. The IC is a Maxim MCP3208 for ADC converesion. I wanted;
1 - To get any thoughts / suggestions / feedback on the design before I run prototypes
2 - To find any Propeller Users who would like to 'beta test' the adapter. You'd need some Arduino shields, but I'll provide the PCB, MCP3208 and sockets. The adapter is meant to fit on a Propeller Platform Module, but you can also use it on a breadboard. If you're interested, just shoot me a PM with the list of shields you have.
What do you think?
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Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 10/26/2009 3:14:52 AM GMT
Attached is the PCB design. The IC is a Maxim MCP3208 for ADC converesion. I wanted;
1 - To get any thoughts / suggestions / feedback on the design before I run prototypes
2 - To find any Propeller Users who would like to 'beta test' the adapter. You'd need some Arduino shields, but I'll provide the PCB, MCP3208 and sockets. The adapter is meant to fit on a Propeller Platform Module, but you can also use it on a breadboard. If you're interested, just shoot me a PM with the list of shields you have.
What do you think?
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Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 10/26/2009 3:14:52 AM GMT
Comments
I was looking at the added silkscreen, and there is something missing. The CLK for the ADC is not on there.
The pins from left to right should be Din (P12), Clk(P13), Dout(P14), CS/SHDN (P15).
Just wanted to make sure the pin out is right.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
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Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 10/26/2009 3:12:41 AM GMT
I guess I should have done that.........dropped the ball!!
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
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Yea....but I should have put down the silkscreen labels anyway........so I can't take credit there.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
obex.parallax.com/objects/403/
Well it is and it isn't. The board is an adapter which lets anyone who has a Propeller Platform Module from Gadget Gangster use an Arduino Shield directly. This board sits on top of the Propeller Platform Module, and lets an Arduino Shield plug directly in.
We didn't put any more ADC's on, for there is not much room to access the inputs. An Arduino Shield will cover most if not all of the board (this board is sandwiched between the PPM and the Arduino).
J13 was added just to use up the extra 2 spots on the single MCP ADC. It will probably be left as holes....and let the user wire directly to it for access reasons.
There are a number of Arduino shields out there........so the adapter was designed. Some of the Arduino Shields have analog outputs, hence the addition of the ADC.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
the Arduino Shields have odd spacing and aren't compatible with a breadboard, so you could also use this adapter to connect a shield to a breadboard or regular protoboard (not sure how many people want to do that, but it's an option).
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Posting competition.....I rarely win.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
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Nick,
You have to let a thread stew longer than 24hrs [noparse]:)[/noparse])
I have one and have often eyed more. As you point out, there are many cool "shield" devices. However, you spotted their Achille's heel - they don't breadboard easily - and that bugs me. More fiddling, less time to do something.
Perhaps this will entice Propheads to 'absorb' some Arduino goodies? Any idea on price yet?
thanks
- Howard
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Atmega168's are cheap and easy to replace within an Arduino. The only reason I haven't switched over to the Propeller for rapid prototyping, debugging, and general quick projects is that they are much more expensive, and the dev boards I have do not allow me to replace just the chip.
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Not the fish.
sites.google.com/site/bitwinproject/
The sane case has evolved into a "DemoBoard" but the bread board is on the outside with the bottom 30 (columns of 5) getting P0 ..... and the six terminals 0V, +12V, N/C, +5V, +3.3V.
Links are provided so that SND, VDU, VGA, KBD or mouse can be deselected or left to come out onto sockets on the sides. More of abrick but great for quick lash ups.
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Style and grace : Nil point
I'm the same way - I might have picked up an arduino shield, but it's really only good for the arduino. Can't use it on a breadboard or a protoboard. Hopefully, this helps. I'm not a huge Arduino fan, but there are a lot of shields out there that are pretty cool. For price, it will be fairly inexpensive - probably $10-$15.
What shield were you looking at?
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http://www.nkcelectronics.com/freeduino-protoboard-breakout-shield-arduino-compatible.html
This board essentially converts the awkward spacing of an arduino shield to two evenly space (0.1") rows of pins.
My plan is to have male headers on the bottom of this board plug into female headers in the middle of a propeller platform board. Female headers on top of the board will accept the arduino shields. I figured I'd use some extra female headers to create end points for jumpers between the shield headers and the platform board headers.
I have used one of these plugged into a solderless breadboard stuck in the middle of a propeller platform board with no issues.
Since there are so many arduino shields out there, including bare proto boards, I think it makes a lot of sense to have some form of interface with them. Many of them don't have any "arduino-specific" hardware on them. I find the proto boards are useful for quick prototypes - whether they are driven by a prop or an arduino.
Also, bear in mind that the analog pins on the shield can also be used as digital inputs/outputs. The arduino "standard" using these for analog does not preclude using them as normal pins. Any generic interface between an arduino shield and something else, like the prop platform, should allow you to make a direct connection to these pins without going through an ADC.
Post Edited (schill) : 10/28/2009 5:59:42 PM GMT
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Well, just seeing the Shield plugged in relieves me of the spacing. I'm sure you checked, but I'm always worried when dealing with critical spacing issues.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother SMT Assembly Services
Are you addicted to technology or Micro-controllers..... then checkout the forums at Savage Circuits. Learn to build your own Gizmos!
@photo - exactly, this just adds options for connecting hardware to the Propeller. The connectors are also pretty sturdy, too. Also, the Adapter has standard spacing, so you can plug it into a breadboard, or to a Prototyper module. Most Propeller folks don't have an Arduino module right now (why would they?), but there are a lot of cool shields out there that are cheap, and this will hopefully make it easy to take advantage of what's out there.
@schill - I figured that most Arduino modules are going to use the Analog in as digital I/O. I want to offer a module that doesn't require any re-soldering when you switch modules, so that's why the ADC is the default method of connection. There are a couple of other small changes I'd like to make, but I'll collect all the feedback and see what people thing.
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