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MicroBlocks

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Joined: 12/05/2012
Location: Thailand
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Posted: 08:11am 12 Feb 2013

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I am as good as finished with designing the smallest ever Colour Maximite clone.
I made a paper mock-up to be able to use it for measuring and fitting enclosures.
My 3d printer is still a few weeks away, so the designs are in my head and a few tests in Sketchup.

Just to get an idea of the size i made a picture of the mock-up next to a strawberry. :)

btw. Nanomite is just my 'working name' for this project.

The red board holds the connectors. It has:
Micro USB
USB-A for a keyboard (Still has to be PS/2 compatible)
MicroSD
IO with PIN1 to 20 and 5v,3.3v + Gnd
2 joystick connectors with 5 digital and 2 analog pins.
Colour VGA header
Sound connector
Reset, Bootloader, Composite video selector, USB power jumper headers.
Battery for the onboard RTC.
Dual colour LED for Power and SD activity.
5-24v power supply (this is still in test and only when it fits)

The black board holds:
PIC32MX795L
8Mhz crystal
Optional 32Khz crystal
3.3v regulator
Supervisory chip (For having well defined startup resets and brownout handling)
Led power indicator
And of course lots of decoupling capacitors.

Edited by TZAdvantage 2013-02-13

Microblocks. Build with logic.

bigmik

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Joined: 20/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 2914

Posted: 10:58am 12 Feb 2013

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ขอบคุณมา# 85; TZ,
ฉันขอขอบ# 88;ุณความพย& #3634;ยามของคŬ ; 0;ณ คุณได้มา$ 04;้วยการออ& #3585;แบบที่นŭ ; 6;าตื่นเต้&# 3609; ฉันไม่สา$ 17;ารถรอจนก& #3623;่าคุณจะũ ; 7;ีพวกเขาส&# 3634;มารถใช้ไ ; ;ด้

TZAdvantage said

Just to get an idea of the size i made a picture of the mock-up next to a strawberry. :)

I have seen some very LARGE strawberries in my time.

Great work TZ.

regards,

Mick

Edit *** Sorry TZ, I tried to use google tranlslate to say good work and I appreciate your efforts in Thai (one of my favourite places) for you... but it looks like TBS alters the Thai text into a combination of characters and numbers... Hopefully the message is still there but somehow I think it missed the point..

Great work mate.

Mick

Edited by bigmik 2013-02-13

Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<<

BobD

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Joined: 07/12/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 935

Posted: 12:25pm 12 Feb 2013

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bigmik said

Edit *** Sorry TZ, I tried to use google tranlslate to say good work and I appreciate your efforts in Thai (one of my favourite places) for you... but it looks like TBS alters the Thai text into a combination of characters and numbers... Hopefully the message is still there but somehow I think it missed the point..

Great work mate.

Mick

Like this Mick

edit: Looks like I picked up the cursor in the image too.Edited by BobD 2013-02-13

bigmik

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Posted: 01:40pm 12 Feb 2013

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BobD said

bigmik said

Like this Mick

Sort of, but I did ramble a bit more than just what I said but the basics were there.. I also had the intention that anyone could reverse translate using google translate if they wished (which they cant do if its a screen cap.) .. Otherwise it is bad manners to post in a public forum when others cannot read what is said.

Anyway was worth the try..

regards,

Mick

Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<<

paceman
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Joined: 07/10/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 1329

Posted: 06:02pm 12 Feb 2013

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TZAdvantage said
Just to get an idea of the size i made a picture of the mock-up next to a strawberry.

Hi TZ, I think that strawberry looks a bit shrunken so that makes you work even more impressive, well done! Maybe you have created a "StrawberryMite" - apologies to RaspberryPi of course!

JohnS
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Joined: 18/11/2011
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Posted: 10:33pm 12 Feb 2013

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Not a Raspberry, then!

John

Grogster

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Posted: 10:04pm 13 Feb 2013

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Wow - impressive!

Keep up the good work.

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

elproducts

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Joined: 19/06/2011
Location: United States
Posts: 282

Posted: 03:34am 16 Feb 2013

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Looks great.
How about calling it Minimite.

Largest is Maximite, smallest is Minimite.

www.elproducts.com

bigmik

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Posted: 01:00pm 16 Feb 2013

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elproducts said Looks great.
How about calling it Minimite.

Largest is Maximite, smallest is Minimite.

I personally prefer NanoMite as it more aptly explains it.. but it is up to TZ to decide...

Besides Mini has been used in the DM range and could create a bit of confusion. Maybe Micro-mite even ??? ..

regards,

Mick

Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<<

Nick

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Joined: 09/06/2011
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Posted: 02:22pm 16 Feb 2013

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Nanomite or Minimite may infer that it runs a cut down version of MMBASIC (MM=MaxiMite).

Maybe "Maximite Mini" or "Maximite Nano"?

Nick

paceman
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Posted: 04:42pm 16 Feb 2013

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Geoff's standalone system for embedded use was called the Mini Maximite - I like the Maximite Nano or Nanomite, probably the former best. Come to think of it, I don't mind Minimite either

Edited by paceman 2013-02-18

James_From_Canb

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Joined: 19/06/2011
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Posts: 265

Posted: 05:22pm 16 Feb 2013

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The nanomite is a type of nanobot. See wiki Nanobot link. A shame. It's a catchy name.

James

My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention.

Hedley Lamarr, Blazing Saddles (1974)

shoebuckle
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Joined: 21/01/2012
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Posted: 11:44am 18 Feb 2013

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You could have a family of smaller and smaller MMs; MaxiMite Mini, MaxiMite Pico, MaxiMite Nano... Sure as eggs is eggs, they will keep on getting smaller.
Hugh

MicroBlocks

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Posted: 11:02pm 18 Feb 2013

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I was(am) considering "Strawberry Tau" as a playful, but still serious counter to the Raspberry Pi which i think is, while being a wonderful piece of hardware, completely missing its intended target of being an easy to use educational tool.

The 'Tau' might be half a 'Pi' but it is fundamentally a better choice.
Mathematical prove here

I even made a few tries to make a logo. This is one of them.

The 'T' gives the strawberry a 'face' with a distinct Asian 'feel'.
The 'T' is also a reference to the T in TZAdvantage and Thailand.

It misses the distinct 'mite' part though.

Edited by TZAdvantage 2013-02-20

Microblocks. Build with logic.

MOBI
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Joined: 02/12/2012
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Posted: 12:35am 19 Feb 2013

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TZA said I was(am) considering "Strawberry Tau" as a playful, but still serious counter to the Raspberry Pi which i think is,

I like the idea and I like the Logo but the original name for the unit was the MaxiMite and I'd like to see it stay that way if for no other reason than it has been around a bit now and a change of name might be confusing.

However, I have no problem with MaxiMite-Tau and even using the strawberry (mango with measles?) logo. Tau is a time constant and to me suggests that the MM is here for the long run.

David M.

bigmik

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Posted: 10:59am 19 Feb 2013

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TZAdvantage said
The 'Tau' might be half a 'Pi' but it is fundamentally a better choice.
Mathematical prove []

The 'T' gives the strawberry a 'face' with a distinct Asian 'feel'.
The 'T' is also a reference to the T in TZAdvantage and Thailand.

It misses the distinct 'mite' part though.

Hi Tz,

It is your baby, you can call it what you like.... But from the description of Tau (misguided as I believe it to be) Tau is DOUBLE Pi not HALF Pi.

I think the name doesnt accurately reflect the wonderful set of Blox you have created and it shows that you are trying to compare it with a Raspberry Pi which is in no way similar to the Maximite or what you have come up with..

Regards,

Mick
Edited by bigmik 2013-02-20

Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<<

Grogster

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Posted: 12:08pm 19 Feb 2013

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TZAdvantage said I was(am) considering "Strawberry Tau" as a playful, but still serious counter to the Raspberry Pi which i think is, while being a wonderful piece of hardware, completely missing its intended target of being an easy to use educational tool.

I have a 512MB RP, and I have to admit that it IS an amazing bit of technology at a price that is just too good not to at least try one out.

They are still selling like hotcakes - element14 in Australia had a new shipment of 500 units, and they sold them ALL in one week!

I've only had a quick play with mine, preferring the CMM.
That may seem like an odd statement to some of you here, especially when you consider the capabilities of the RP, but as TZA mentions in the quote above, it is not the easiest thing to program.

Comparing Python and MMBASIC, I would choose MMBASIC any day.
Python seems complicated to me, and I am basically coming to MMBASIC at about the same time as Python on the RP - I don't really know much of either language, but my own personal experience is that MMBASIC is easier to work with - others may well disagree.

Still, not to rain on the RP - it is an amazing bit of kit, just like the CMM, but to be fair to them both, you can't really compare them past the basics - that's like comparing Windoze and Linux - two totally different beasts.

...but I digress from TZA's topic - sorry.

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

djuqa

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Posted: 12:32pm 19 Feb 2013

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I agree
I also have a Raspberry PI Model B
I find it is like a Formula 1 Car
Highly capable of great things, BUT needs immense preparation and tuning to achieve optimum performance
but I prefer my MM & MM Clones
they are like the old Corolla
Capable of exceeding the speed limit only when going downhill
But you can hop right in and get something done straight away.
Easy to use and easy on the old brain.
Edited by djuqa 2013-02-20

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Grogster

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Posted: 12:45pm 19 Feb 2013

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I love your analogy, djuqa!

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

James_From_Canb

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Posted: 05:24pm 19 Feb 2013

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You can stack boards, so you could call it a Maximite Tower and use the Tau character with a small 'r' (like Tau to the power of r) on your strawberry as the logo.

James

My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention.

Hedley Lamarr, Blazing Saddles (1974)

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