Here's a thought, DON'T TOSS that PPDB!!!
frank freedman
Posts: 1,983
What do you do when you need a quick and dirty way to test some blinky things with your RetroBlade2, to lazy or visually challenged to read through resistor colors in the parts or junk drawer or scrounge up a generic LED?
Answer: Just get out that old PPDB you may still have at the back of the shelf, jumper a ground from the Retro to the PPDB ground pin and one from the test pin to the PPDB led you want to use and good to go.
Then it occurred to me that I could repurpose the whole PPDB by creating a 40 pin socket from the Retroblade board to the PPDB propeller socket and use most of the IO pins including the USB-serial port. If more IO pins are needed than the socket will handle, there are the remaining pins on the edge of the Retroblade. Just thought of this today. Brain finally coming back on line post COVID (yes, had vax, yes it really does suck, yes regeneron works as advertised, no politics please; save it for facebook). If I get a chance I will post a picture. Of the plug adaption when it gets done somewhen this week? Or so....
Comments
Who would trash a PPDB? sacrilegious
Well, it turned out a bit ugly/klugey, but seems to work ok. Used a 40 pin machined socket that fit nicely into the PPDB prop socket. It uses the first 16 IO pins (got a bit lazy, there are still IOs to connect if I want them. Ended up using a 5V 3A wallwart into the barrel connector after jumpering the 5V regulator out since it is rated at 1.5A and not sure it would work for the RetroBlade2. Having the PPDB USB port makes connection easier. But the main thing is it gives me a reasonable assortment of stuff and a breadboard area to work with more without adding up the costs for a chip which quite honestly has been less than easy to figure out how to use. No picture of this because I just don't seem to have a lot of luck putting them up.