Messages

1

New Product Ideas / Re: Tiny Circuits with Fritzing Libraries

« on: January 12, 2014, 06:51:42 PM »

It is a very basic schematic capture tool. Sort of like a really simple version of Eagle, but with a breadboard view too.

The thing about Fritzing is that most people who use it tend to migrate after a very short time to a more capable tool (like Eagle or one of the other hobbyist schematic/layout tools). Fritzing is very frustrating once you get past the "hey it looks just like a breadboard" phase.

2

General Discussion / Re: New Shields, ETA

« on: October 26, 2013, 11:03:26 PM »

I assumed that they would be available on the store by now. You'll need to check with Ken to find out how to get them if they are being left off the store for now.

These are the only two I have, so no I'm not planning on selling them. I have plans for them :O

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General Discussion / Re: New Shields, ETA

« on: October 22, 2013, 01:56:56 PM »

These were ordered through the original Kickstarter campaign last fall. Sorry for the poor picture quality. These are just small enough that my normal camera lens can't focus close enough to them, and just large enough that my macro lens can't get the whole board in view.

I have not yet had a chance to try them out.

WiFi Board:




GPS Board:

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General Discussion / Re: New Shields, ETA

« on: October 21, 2013, 12:44:27 PM »

WiFi, GPS, Accelerometer, Motor, MicroSD were all in the group of boards that just came in. I think the Motor and MicroSD have been ready for a while and it was just waiting on the others before being shipped together.

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General Discussion / Tiny servos?

« on: October 18, 2013, 04:29:33 PM »

I was hoping to find some suggestions for tiny servos to use with a miniature mechatronics project that I want to attempt (will be controlled by a TinyDuino).

Is anyone aware of ultra-tiny servos, or perhaps might have other ideas for miniature robotics? They don't need to be all that powerful.

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General Discussion / Re: New Shields, ETA

« on: October 18, 2013, 04:20:50 PM »

I just got mine in today, so I'm guessing if you have some on order then it should be "soon".

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TinyDuino Processors & TinyShields / Re: TinyDuino on Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) ??

« on: September 23, 2013, 07:45:50 PM »

Groovy

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TinyDuino Processors & TinyShields / Re: TinyDuino on Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) ??

« on: September 19, 2013, 01:30:25 AM »

I double checked these bits:

a) That the board selection is in fact "Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (3.3V, 8 Mhz) w/ ATmega328 on COM1"
b) I do not have an /dev/tty.usbserial-XXXXX entries, the only one's I see under Tools > Serial Ports are Bluetooth entries.

I've included a copy n paste of my SysInfo > Hardware > USB entries for your consideration, I was unable to find anything like "FT232R USB UART"

With respect to if the ICP board might be toast--I guess it's possible. When I plug in my usb cable to the computer the amber LEDs on the ICP board flash (I'm guessing once a second for like 10 seconds?) and then stop flashing. I assumed this meant it was connecting ok but I guess it could mean the opposite?

That behavior is normal. That's what it will do when it gets power.

Have you tried a different USB cable?

And do you have a Windows machine available to be sure that this is a hardware problem and not just a bad driver install?

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TinyDuino Processors & TinyShields / Re: TinyDuino on Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) ??

« on: September 17, 2013, 11:36:03 PM »

Should be working. I just uploaded the Blink example using my macbook pro retina.

Make sure you have the right serial port set - it will be something like /dev/tty.usbserial-AM01831K

And also be sure to pick the right board - "Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (3.3V, 8 MHz) w/ ATmega328"


If you pull up the System Report for your mac (From the System Menu -> About This Mac -> System Report...), then under the Hardware section there is an entry for USB. Click on that, and you will see the USB Device Tree on the right. Somewhere in there you should see something named "FT232R USB UART". When you click on it, you should see a Serial Number that matches the /dev/tty.usbserial-XXXXXX device name above.

If you don't see that entry in the device tree then you have an issue with the driver or the port. Or it's possible that your TinyShield ICP board is dead.

10

New Product Ideas / Re: Camera shield

« on: August 20, 2013, 04:53:13 PM »

Umm, exactly. That thread I linked has extensive discussion about it.

In a nutshell, there is no way in hell to produce a thermal camera in the same ballpark as their target specs while staying remotely close to their stated price point. The cost of the optics alone is enough to ensure that even the most modest design will still need to sell for over $500/unit to break even.

I was an early backer of the Mu Optics project on IGG, but asked for a refund not too long after funding ended. It was clear that they could not possibly succeed and were in WAY over their heads. Even now - three months past the supposed delivery date - they don't even have a partially functional prototype. Thermal imaging is not a novice-friendly technology.

11

New Product Ideas / Re: Camera shield

« on: August 20, 2013, 10:30:13 AM »

Thermal IR is something much different and much more difficult. It also doesn't help that the high-quality tech is tightly regulated, difficult to source, and the prices are held at an inflated level.

Lots of discussion here on it:

http://www.eevblog.com/forum/crowd-funded-projects/m-thermal-imager-real-or-fake/

12

New Product Ideas / Re: Camera shield

« on: August 17, 2013, 12:20:20 AM »

Most cameras can detect near IR. For example, a typical phone camera will show a purple glow from a remote control.

13

New Product Ideas / Re: Camera shield

« on: July 31, 2013, 09:36:10 AM »

This one uses I2C for commands and has an 8-bit parallel output bus for data. The datasheet looks fairly straightforward to use, but I'm not sure if the microcontroller is fast enough to handle live video data at full framesize. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8667

Here is an example of one that claims to be operable by an Arduino, so shouldn't have data transfer speed issues. It's a full module though, you'd likely not use it as-is (maybe use as a starting point, or at least connect via ribbon cable to a shield). https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11610

14

TinyLily / Re: Can I make Tiny Lily even smaller?

« on: July 25, 2013, 05:36:10 PM »

And wear a dust mask if you cut/grind on the pcb with power tools! FR4 dust is bad for your lungs.

15

TinyLily / Re: Pinout documentation

« on: July 08, 2013, 04:39:29 PM »

0 and 1 are marked as dual-purpose in the schematic (can be D0/D1 or tx/rx), so maybe you have Serial I/O enabled on them in the loaded sketch?

http://tiny-circuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ASM2101_Rev2.pdf