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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : The DonDuino Patch
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donmck Guru  Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
The DonDuino Patch Here is a low cost, Arduino shield addressing patch panel, that uses shunts and jumpers to cross configure all Maximite signals that drop into the Arduino shield format. I have hunted the web, and found nothing even close to what we can achieve with "The DonDuino Patch". This isn't just for Maximite, it is also a new Arduino Shield product. Here is a little write up on the device: http://www.themaximitecomputer.com/the-donduino-patch/ Hope to have it available within two weeks. All comments and feed back welcome. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Hi Don, If you refer strictly to Maximite, then you're right. Otherwise, your shield is the second one. The first one is the Styx shield. . Comparing to that, yours is more configurable but is because Pic32 permits that. Anyway, the intention was to offer a standard and a common interface library. You have to decide the same thing if you want portability for your programs. Also, this can be of interest to some. Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Hi Vasi, thanks for the information. I am just trying to come to terms with both pages you have mentioned. I haven't checked the second one yet, so I'll work through them one at a time. It appears that the first one mentioned, has the ability to configure a PIC bus of 32 pins, to an Arduino shield of 28 pins. Is this correct? If so, my patch board will reconfigure an Arduino shield, to any configuration you want, and is not specific to the Maximite, or a PIC32. It is a basic Arduino shield patch board for all 28 pin Arduino shields. Apart from ground, any pin can be reconfigured to any other pin. This includes power pins, if you wanted to do this. The board you mentioned isn't an Arduino shield patch board is it? It looks like it is specific to a Jaluino 40 pin PIC chip. Sure mine will do a Maximite as well, and it was designed initially for a Maximite, but as both have 20 I/O pins, then it is a natural match. Perhaps I am missing the obvious in either my explanation, or my understanding. You are talking about the item mentioned in this thread header: The DonDuino Patch And not the DonDuino Cross, which is a conversion from Maximite to Arduino shield? Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Then sorry Vasi, I don't understand. Cross out the word Maximite, cross out the word PIC, or any specific micro. What I am talking about is an Arduino shield signal select patch block, or reconfiguration panel. Is this what the URL you directed me to is talking about? If it is, then I need you to explain to to me, and I am having trouble seeing anything like this on that page. What I am seeing is a converter board between a specific micro system, and an Arduino shield. Perhaps you could expand on "I think it is the case." And if anyone can see what it is that I am missing, I would appreciate being pointed in the correct direction. I would rather say, sorry I am completely wrong, than not understand something that is obvious to others. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
I think we are writing messages over the top of each other Vasi, sorry. [code] It offer the possibility to use Arduino shields with Jaluino board. But depends how you place the connectors so, it can be also an Arduino shield which adapts Jaluino shields to Arduino board. [/code] so it is a dual conversion board, not a fully selectable patch panel. [code] If you are remapping the signals of an Arduino on the same Arduino shield factory form (as I begin to understand), then you are breaking the standard and you may end up rewriting the Arduino libraries for each configuration! All Arduino shields were designed after Arduino. If there is a pin mistake in an already designed Arduino shied, then your board can be the salvation. [/code] and it says on that page you directed me to: [code] Using Styx is easy: just plug an Arduino shield on it... The challenge will be to find an Arduino shield compatible with PIC specifications. Theoretically, you could plug any Arduino shields. In practice, prototyping shields are good candidates, due to very simple electronics. [/code] Sorry, I am not understanding how this is a full reconfigurable patch panel for an Arduino shield, as is my patch board. I think I will leave you to it Vasi, as one of us is mis-understanding the other completely. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Yes, I thought your DonDuino is an adaptation to Maximite and that was my misunderstanding - apologies. As for DonDuino shield patch, I can't see it's usage - of course I can be wrong again. Maybe a better idea is to design a DonDuino (you already reserved the name) Arduino like board. Maybe using 18F26K22 or an 18F26J50, or better (a Maximite with Arduino shield and all other hardware imrovements). Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Hi Vasi, I am glad you were able to understand my board in the final analyses. I thought of a Maximite with Arduino shield straight after Bill and Chuck convinced me of the merits of shields many weeks ago. My converter is for people with a 26 pin IDC header on their boards. I know you have a great love of the 18F pic family, and I would never want to steer you away from that. However I don't see me heading in that direction, when you can have Maximite basic in an $8 chip, with all the horsepower that Microchip can throw at it. I can see Geoff's hardware circuit becoming a bit of a standard, and people will be writing fast compilers in many languages to take advantage of the kbd, and VGA and I/O as set out by Geoff. This will take time. BTW The second URL you sent me to, I saw a micro transplant into another satellite board, and the final result seemed to be extra pins out the end of the board. This will destroy the existing micro socket, as I have done this before in the days of the Tandy COCO computer with video upgrades I was doing. You will never get the original micro back where it belongs, if needed. I would have thought a simple shield with what you wanted on it, would have been a better solution. It appears it is just to intercept a few lines from the micro to the shield. I don't know what "That's Forbidden Arduino!" means under these circumstances. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
[quote]I don't know what "That's Forbidden Arduino!" means under these circumstances. [/quote] Arduino is a general concept but AVR fans said Arduino mean only AVR. Of course, Sebastien could design a new Arduino like board using that PIC (as it was advised on Arduino forums), but he wanted to use the PIC to "infect" an original board. As the cuckoo analogy or, as in Starcraft game, an infested terran command center. Yes, an expensive experiment with no commercial value. Sebastien found no use for his original Arduino board. He is involved in JAL library development and PIC programing. When I said "a Maximite with Arduino shield", I was thinking to the Maximite chip. Personally, I see 3.3V boards a little problematic and expensive to interface but that's only me. Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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sparkey Senior Member  Joined: 15/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819 |
hi don ist`s sparkey i like this expander board and i hope to be able.. to aquie one shortly prolly next week or next fort nite .and i hope i will be over regards sparkey good work there... technicians do it with least resistance |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Hi Sparkey, thanks, it will possibly be 2 weeks before we have this one, as we just sent the artwork away this week. But unless you have the Arduino shield converter board, the patch board won't be useable. Neither of them actually support any end applications. They are only used for Arduino shield interfacing to the Maximite. So until you have an Arduino shield product, you can't use either of them. Mind you shield products in their dozens are on ebay for peanuts. "shield arduino" into: http://shop.ebay.com.au/ this is what I am talking about. cheap as chips. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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elproducts Senior Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 282 |
Don, I'm a bit confused. This is interesting but why would you want to disconnect pins from the bottom to the top? The whole point of the Arduino shield connection scheme is the I/O pins are continually connected and accessible all the way up the stack. 1) If two shields have a conflict for the same pin such as shield#1 uses the D5 pin for a circuit and then shield#2 uses the D5 pin for a circuit, the Donduino cross just allows you to connect one of them to D5. It doesn't solve the conflict. 2) If I have a shield with circuitry on pin D5 and want to connect it to pin D8 on a second shield, then a jumper from D5 header pin to D8 header pin on the top shield does the job. 3) If I have the #2 example above and need to connect a third shield (which is blocked by the jumper wire) I just remove the two shields, connect the third one and then reinstall the two removed shields back on top. I must be missing something. I don't see the purpose. www.elproducts.com |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Hi Chuck, Just to make sure of this, are you talking about the "Cross" product, or the "Patch"? I went though a lengthy discussion yesterday, and the products were confused, so I would like to make sure, before going through a similar exercise. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| elproducts Senior Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 282 |
Sorry, I meant the patch not the cross. The cross makes sense and looks very handy. www.elproducts.com |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Fair enough. I just read this to Mick and he looked at me and we both wondered why anyone wouldn't want a simple patch panel for addressing these shields. The shields were designed for AVRs and I know they have applications set out in C for specific functions, and it all bolts together pretty well most of the time. But not always, the way I understand it, many new shield developers are not only placing signals all over the place, but the power rails can be a bit of a nightmare also, and these can be difficult to isolate easily at times. When you use a PIC, and specifically one that uses MM-Basic, the signals aren't clear. In fact many of the I/O functions are still to be defined by Geoff. The patch board allows you to make a temporary (or permanent) connection, to the pins you have chosen in your Basic Program. If you have say two identical relay boards that use two groups of 4 bits, then this will allow you to test the full circuit, before committed to cutting tracks and running jumpers on the shields. Once you have it set you you can then remove the patch board, and do your manual jumpering, as there is no other way of setting the correct signals without track cuts, and jumpers. Well, unless there are pad specified to to these signal changes. In some applications, it may even be easier to have them easily re-configurable, than doing software changes. I did have some pictures of some ugly shield jumpering, but I can't find them in a hurry. I thought, anything is better than that. I hope some of this makes a little sense for you Chuck. No, I am not an Arduino kit putter togetherer, but I have seen some shockers when it comes to address or signal selection. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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Bryan1 Guru Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1343 |
G'day Don, Eh mate I might be out of place with this but I will give it a whirl. The breakout boards from futurelec is cheap and as Geoff did trial out the maximite in it's early days using those breakout boards. I have been ultra busy but I am nearly there designing a single sided board to suit the breakout board with all the main board features. My intention is to use those breakout boards then one can program the chip then transfer the board to another board for the assignment needed by the Op. I do feel this could be the way to go and if one wants go arduno shield then let be it so. It will be a simple case to interface the 64 pin breakout board to suit. Maybe even a sea of holes so guys can prototype Just my 2 cents worth but add 0.3 cents for GST Regards Bryan |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
Understand fully what you are saying Brian, and it has plenty of merit. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
When I saw the possibility to have my own "Arduino" using a PIC, I was glad to do it. It was fun but, looking at the space I have on the shield to make a project I was disappointed. You can use SMDs (out of question for the majority), or your board will cover and expand beyond the margins of Arduino board. Bad idea. This is why now I like more Boarduino/Pinguino boards. Yes, Arduino shields and their footprint connector is kind of standard now but only if I want too or if is useful for me. I think Arduino shield is crippled to be only a commercial thing. Here we do DIY stuff. A prototyping shield for Maximite can have any size but anyone wait the next revision of Maximite, all pins available with their functions too, and it will be different. Also, I think is not clear what Maximite is. In my humble opinion, I think Maximite is a Pic32 made accessible to anyone thanks to a great language. Is excellent for microcontroller applications and does not need a PC anymore and this is even great. If someone want to turn it into a game platform, I think it is possible but will be not so good than other gaming platforms and Maximite will loose a lot. If you use it only to revive some old memories, maybe some day you will get bothered playing with it and put the new Maximite toy on a shelf on your back shed. Sorry for my "speech". Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| elproducts Senior Member Joined: 19/06/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 282 |
Thanks for the added explanation. I think I have a better understanding now. www.elproducts.com |
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| donmck Guru Joined: 09/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1313 |
You may be right Chuck, and I may never sell one of them. 
No guarantees in this world, and I don't think I'm quite ready for the next one. But let's fly it up the flag pole and see who salutes. Cheers Don... https://www.dontronics.com |
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