NEW PRODUCT – netduino Plus 2 (.NET-programmable microcontroller). Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro
Framework. Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment, it is suitable for engineers and hobbyists alike.

The Netduino Plus 2 has Ethernet cooked in already! There is a full TCP/IP stack with examples ready to go, and a microSD card slot for storing files

Netduino Plus 2 has four times the speed (168MHz), six times the code space (384KB), and twice the available RAM (100KB+) of Netduino Plus 1.

Features:

• four serial ports
• six PWM channels
• 12-bit ADC
• power headers that turn on and off via code, so you can power on shields when you want to
• pins can drive up to 25mA of current to light LEDs
• Arduino “R3″ compatibile to support future shields (in addition to existing shields, thanks to Netduino Plus 2′s 5V digital I/O tolerance)
• OneWire and Time Server directly inside the NETMF firmware
• space in flash for future features

This board is built to last, to get even more feature-rich over time.

You might notice that we swapped out the 6-pin ICSP header for a 10-pin MiniJTAG header. The goal is to enable developers to compile their own firmware using GCC–and debug both native and managed code at the same time. If you need the ICSP header for a shield, simply sandwich a MakerShield in the middle: it’ll route the ICSP pins for you.

Code! Debug! Repeat!

.NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming,
multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

To get a glimpse of how its done, check out the basic ‘getting started’ guide You can even now use the Netduino on Linux & Mac computer using open source Mono instead of .NET

And its very expandable just like the Arduino!

3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with Arduino shields. 3rd-party drivers are required for some Arduino shields.

Design files included.
Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included. Learn from the designs. Remix, and enjoy the freedom of open source.

Comes with a free microUSB cable and 4 rubber bumpers For tutorials, files, project ideas and more check out netduino.com

This is the sign up page, they’re on their way and should be in stock in the next week or so.

Sign up here.

Using the Adafruit Arduino Logger Shield on a Netduino @ Coding4Fun | Channel 9. Fabien writes -

In our previous article, we examined what an Arduino shield is, how to build a simple custom shield and discussed how to quickly identify shields that are good candidates for a Netduino adaptation versus shields that may not be. In this article, we’ll take a popular Arduino Logger Shield produced by Adafruit and we’ll interface it with a Netduino / Plus microcontroller

This adapter was specifically designed to provide 5.25V not 5V, but we still call it a 5V USB adapter. We did this on purpose to solve a problem that occurs often with USB-powered gadgets: they draw so much current than the resistance of the cable causes a voltage drop, so instead of 5V, the device sees 4.75V or so. To avoid this problem, we made the adapter 5.25V. This is because the USB power specification allows up to 5.25V, and its safe for all 5V electronics, and has the benefit of making up for any loss due to thin USB cables. Basically, you can use it where ever USB 5V power is needed, with no risk of damage, and it will happily work at the full current range, no matter what cable you use!

The adapter does not have a cable, instead there is a USB ‘A’ type port on the bottom, where you can plug any USB cable in. The data lines have resistors on them, to match what is inside of an ‘Apple iPhone’ type charger, and we tested this adapter successfully with an iPhone 4 so it ought to work with anything that can charge with an iPhone adapter.

This adapter is great for use with an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, teensy, NETduino, etc.! Also good with our Lithium-polymer battery chargers, so you can just carry a USB cable.

This particular adapter is very nice, with a red indicator LED to let you know its working.

In stock and powering.

You asked for a Netduino with more speed, more flash, and more RAM.

You asked for a Netduino with more GPIOs, more serial ports, more analog inputs, and more PWMs.

Some of you aren’t yet comfortable picking up a soldering iron, or you don’t want to spend your time calculating resistor band colors. You want a plug-and-play Netduino.

We’ve been listening. And together with several members of the Netduino community, we’ve been crafting radical new hardware.
Today, we introduce a Netduino with more speed, flash, and RAM. And a Netduino with support for more GPIOs, serial ports, analog inputs, and PWMs. And today, we introduce a plug-and-play Netduino. Best of all, these are all the same board!

Netduino Go has four times the speed (168MHz), six times the code space (384KB), and twice the available RAM (100KB+) of Netduino Plus.
And with Netduino Go, we’ve virtualized all the peripherals. So you simply pick what you need and plug it in. Each module has a small microchip which works together with the mainboard.

Want to use a relay? Just plug it in. Need six RGB LEDs? No problem. How about a touchscreen? One cable, plug and play.

Alongside Netduino Go, we’re introducing a very cool accessory. We call it the Shield Base. You plug it into your Netduino Go and it provides you with the latest Arduino pinout, 6 PWMs, 6 ADCs, and a handful of GPIOs. To use it, you just create InputPorts, AnalogInputs, etc. using the standard NETMF classes.

All Netduino Go hardware is production hardware. We’re shipping the production Shield Base hardware with early beta firmware so that we can get wide feedback on this new virtualization technology. And to say thank you for beta testing the Shield Base, we’ve temporarily upgraded its 128KB-flash MCU to a full-blown 512KB-flash 120MHz Cortex-M3 microcontroller. You can connect it to power and a USB-TTL serial cable and use it as a traditional Netduino if you’d like as well–while enjoying its 3 serial ports and other new enhancements. Both the Netduino Go and the Shield Base run production versions of .NET MF 4.2 QFE1 (RTM).

In stock and shipping!

Building your own hand-held game console with, Netduino, C# and the PIX-6T4 project @ Channel 9.

Gaming = fun, right? Writing games with C# = fun, right? Writing games with C# that runs on Netduino hardware = run, right? Wrap all that into a hand-held package and we’re talking some serious fun. Funny enough, coming to us via Fabien’s Bit Bucket and his PIX-6T4 posts, that’s what today’s project is all about.

A customer sent this in to us, so we thought we’d help them out with a post! Hunter writes…

Recently I had purchased a Netduino Plus from you guys for a project at work and I ran into the problem of not finding an enclosure that was a good fit for our application. We build automation machinery and give mechanical/electrical design consulting to manufactures and various DoD departments, so I was trying to find something that looks professional and can mount to a standard DIN rail … well I never did find anything, so I designed my own.

Tired of hand making your project enclosures out of shoe boxes and tin cans? … If you’re looking for a professional grade enclosure to fit microcontrollers using an Arduino or Netduino footprint, then we have a solution – we call it the OstovBox from Hunter Automation. It’s made of black ABS platic with customizable 6061-T6 brushed Aluminum end plates so you can retrofit the enclosure for whatever your wiring needs call for, but it comes standard with 1 blank end plate and 1 end plate for the Netduino Plus model. The concept for this enclosure came from our need to mount a Netduino Plus into an industrial electrical panel DIN 35mm rail … after much searching, we finally gave up and designed our own. The “fully loaded” version comes with a 3.8″x2.5″ prototyping board, dual 12 position external screw teminals for clean wiring, and a snap on/off DIN 35 mounting bracket – this version will set you back about $87 but if you don’t need all the bells-and-whistles, you can can configure the options to just the enclosure and end plates for about $44 and if you need to add options in the future you can purchase them separately. Also, the prototyping board was sized around the standard ExpressPCB board for those of you who want to design you’re own circuits boards – the board layout and dimensions you’ll need to include in your design can be found in the datasheet.

Check’em out!

Nyan Cat – Driving an ‘Adafruit ST7565 Negative LCD Display’ with a Netduino… Fabien writes-

 I have been waiting for an excuse to use a Nyan Cat in a blog post and the ‘ST7565 Negative LCD Display’ released by Adafruit being equipped with RGB LED backlights was the perfect occasion. After all, RGB LEDs can create a ‘rainbow’, right? All that’s needed is a cat to go with it and Voila!

Lawn Sprinkler the Introduction Part 1. Mike writes…

The new craze for Home Automation is to use technology to Go Green.  One aspect of Going Green is about managing resources in a more efficient way.  I have seen a number of other hobbyists build projects that manage the amount of electricity or gas that they use within their home.  In this project I am going to manage the amount of water I use for watering my lawn.  In part 1 of this series I am going to cover the big picture of what I am attempting to do.

netduino Plus (.NET-programmable microcontroller with Ethernet). Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment, it is suitable for engineers and hobbyists alike.

The Netduino Plus is just like the Netduino, with Ethernet cooked in already! There is a full TCP/IP stack with examples ready to go, and a microSD card slot for storing files

Input! Output! Interface with switches, sensors, LEDs, serial devices, and more. Netduino offers 20 GPIOs combined with SPI, I2C, 2 UARTs (1 RTS/CTS), 4 PWM channels and 6 ADC channels. Code! Debug! Repeat!

.NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming, multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

To get a glimpse of how its done, check out the basic ‘getting started’ guide You can even now use the Netduino on Linux & Mac computer using open source Mono instead of .NET

And its very expandable just like the Arduino!

3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with Arduino shields. 3rd-party drivers are required for some Arduino shields.

Design files included.
Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included. Learn from the designs. Remix, and enjoy the freedom of open source.

Comes with a free microUSB cable and 4 rubber bumpers For tutorials, files, project ideas and more check out netduino.com

In stock and shipping now!

Driving an adafruit VC0706 TTL Serial JPEG Camera with a Netduino @ Fabien’s Bit Bucket.

 Earlier this month, AdaFruit released a nice little TTL camera, perfect for security and remote monitoring applications. The camera supports three resolutions (640×480, 320×240 and 160×120), has a built-in motion detection circuit and can output an NTSC signal, all in a fairly compact form factor. The communication with the camera is done over a TTL UART @ up to 115200 bauds…

As I’m working on a security-related project involving the Netduino, it was the perfect opportunity to put this camera to the test, starting with writing a C# driver. While interfacing with the camera over the TTL UART of the Netduino is straight forward, the datasheet describing the protocol and commands required to control the camera functions is painfully sketchy and sometime inaccurate. In some instances, some camera functions such as OSD (text overlay) are not supported in the firmware even though the datasheet documents them or only behave properly if called in a particular sequence, which of course, is not documented…

Read more…

Build a Netduino-powered Game Console. Fabien writes…

Over the past few months, my friend Bertrand and I have been working on a game console, the PIX-6T4, which is powered by a Netduino mini.
The console is designed as platform for learning digital electronics and C#: we’re in the process of writing a book covering all aspects of building the console, how its components work and how to write games for it with our framework. Here’s a video of the prototype of the console…

Build a ‘Klout Klock’, track your influence and time…

Klout  exposes a web service enabling developers to build mash-up applications around its metrics and all that is required to play is an API key which is easily obtained when registering an application. My application is the “Klout Klock” device and before getting into the details of building it, you can see it how it works in this video…

The clock is built using a Netduino Plus and an AdaFruit ST7735 TFT screen. I have described how to connect them together in a previous post here. In that post, I had indicated that managing such a TFT screen from a Netduino was sub-optimal due to the memory requirements involved. That statement is even more true with a Netduino Plus which has roughly 28KB of RAM available for an application. This means that allocating a 40KB buffer to manage the TFT display as I was doing it previously is out of the question.

A Gentle Introduction to Netduino, great starter!

This “guide” started as pretty basic article and turned into a slightly more expanded guide on electronic design and programming techniques for Netduino. To knowledgeable users, some topics may seem gone too much in depth and detail even for “basic” subjects. However, the aim was to provide beginners with knowledge and confidence they need to become advanced enough so that to design successful microcontroller projects by themselves. Additionally, it is always a good idea to understand how things work, even when we can achieve the results using LEGO approach with shields.

Read more…

netduino Plus (.NET-programmable microcontroller with Ethernet). Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment, it is suitable for engineers and hobbyists alike.

The Netduino Plus is just like the Netduino, with Ethernet cooked in already! There is a full TCP/IP stack with examples ready to go, and a microSD card slot for storing files

Input! Output! Interface with switches, sensors, LEDs, serial devices, and more. Netduino offers 20 GPIOs combined with SPI, I2C, 2 UARTs (1 RTS/CTS), 4 PWM channels and 6 ADC channels. Code! Debug! Repeat!

.NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming, multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

To get a glimpse of how its done, check out the basic ‘getting started’ guide You can even now use the Netduino on Linux & Mac computer using open source Mono instead of .NET

And its very expandable just like the Arduino!

3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with Arduino shields. 3rd-party drivers are required for some Arduino shields.

Design files included.
Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included. Learn from the designs. Remix, and enjoy the freedom of open source.

Comes with a free microUSB cable and 4 rubber bumpers For tutorials, files, project ideas and more check out netduino.com

In stock and shipping now!

O’Reilly Media just put up its latest book on program embedded devices using the .NET Micro Framework and the Netduino Plus board. If your thinking about trying your hand at .NET it might be a good read for you.

The Internet of Things consists of billions of embedded computers, sensors, and actuators all connected online. If you have basic programming skills, you can use these powerful little devices to create a variety of useful systems. This hands-on guide shows you how to start building your own fun and fascinating projects. All you need is a Netduino Plus, a USB cable, a couple of sensors, an Ethernet connection to the Internet—and your imagination.

ThingSpeak has just released a new app called TweetControl that listens to Twitter for hashtags and allows you to control anything you want.  The documentation for TweetControl is available on the ThingSpeak Community site.

Excellent!  This is just in time for the Instructables Make It Tweet Challenge!

Via ThingSpeak Blog

Fabien wrote a great tutorial on using the Adafruit TFT display with a Netduino. He writes:

AdaFruit recently released a sweet little TFT display that I was dying to hook up to a netduino: the display features a resolution of 128*160 pixels, is capable of showing 18-bit colors and has a microSD card reader on the back of the breakout board. As usual, Limor wrote a nicely detailed Arduino tutorial showing how to connect the display and how to write sketches to drive it.

The Arduino driver relies on the ability of the Atmega168/368 to toggle digital lines extremely fast, which does not work well on the netduino due to the latency introduced by the .Net Micro Framework: even when configured to use hardware SPI, the Arduino driver constantly toggles a data/command output line, rspin below, which would be unbearably slow on the netduino if the same method were applied.

The  netduino has one advantage over the Arduino: it has plenty of RAM. So, instead of toggling I/O lines slowly all the time and using next to zero RAM, the netduino driver allocates a 40K buffer corresponding to the resolution of the display in 12-bit depth colors (16 bits per pixel) and leaves the ST7735 in ‘data’ mode upon initialization.

Drawing always happens on the internal buffer first. Then, whenever the actual display needs refreshing, the display I/O operations are performed using hardware SPI, blasting the entire 40K buffer. It may sound crazy but using this method on the netduino is faster than refreshing a single pixel while toggling an I/O line!

Nice!

Source code and further discussion at Fabien’s blog.

Fabien shows us his implantation of a Twitter-enabled Geiger counter using the Netduino+. His detailed blog post discusses everything from the MicroTweet library, random number generation, and his custom Fallout3 enclosure .  Well worth a look.

Also don’t forget to pickup a Netduino+ in the Adafruit Store.

NEW PRODUCT – netduino Plus (.NET-programmable microcontroller with Ethernet). Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment, it is suitable for engineers and hobbyists alike.

The Netduino Plus is just like the Netduino, with Ethernet cooked in already! There is a full TCP/IP stack with examples ready to go, and a microSD card slot for storing files

Input! Output! Interface with switches, sensors, LEDs, serial devices, and more. Netduino offers 20 GPIOs combined with SPI, I2C, 2 UARTs (1 RTS/CTS), 4 PWM channels and 6 ADC channels. Code! Debug! Repeat!

.NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming, multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

To get a glimpse of how its done, check out the basic ‘getting started’ guide You can even now use the Netduino on Linux & Mac computer using open source Mono instead of .NET

And its very expandable just like the Arduino!

3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with Arduino shields. 3rd-party drivers are required for some Arduino shields.

Design files included.
Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included. Learn from the designs. Remix, and enjoy the freedom of open source.

Comes with a free microUSB cable and 4 rubber bumpers For tutorials, files, project ideas and more check out netduino.com

In stock and shipping now!

NEW PRODUCT! netduino (.NET-programmable microcontroller) – Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment. Suitable for engineers and hobbyists alike.

Input! Output! Interface with switches, sensors, LEDs, serial devices, and more. Netduino offers 20 GPIOs combined with SPI, I2C, 2 UARTs (1 RTS/CTS), 4 PWM channels and 6 ADC channels. Code! Debug! Repeat! .NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming, multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

To get a glimpse of how its done, check out the basic ‘getting started’ guide You can even now use the Netduino on Linux & Mac computer using open source Mono instead of .NET

And its very expandable just like the Arduino! 3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with shields. 3rd-party drivers are required for some Arduino shields. Design files included. Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included. Learn from the designs. Remix, and enjoy the
freedom of open source. Comes with a free microUSB cable and 4 rubber bumpers.

Full category here! In stock and shipping now!

From the Adafruit customer forums… A Gas Water Heater controller built around a netduino-mini, a DS1307 clock and a HiTech HS-6635HB servo!

NEW PRODUCT! netduino (.NET-programmable microcontroller) – Netduino is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. Featuring a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment. Suitable for engineers and hobbyists alike.

Input! Output! Interface with switches, sensors, LEDs, serial devices, and more. Netduino offers 20 GPIOs combined with SPI, I2C, 2 UARTs (1 RTS/CTS), 4 PWM channels and 6 ADC channels. Code! Debug! Repeat! .NET Micro Framework combines the ease of high-level coding and the raw features of microcontrollers. Enjoy event-based programming, multi-threading, line-by-line debugging, breakpoints and more.

To get a glimpse of how its done, check out the basic ‘getting started’ guide You can even now use the Netduino on Linux & Mac computer using open source Mono instead of .NET

And its very expandable just like the Arduino! 3rd-party accessories offer pre-built functionality like GPS location, servo control and battery power. Netduino is also pin-compatible with shields. 3rd-party drivers are required for some Arduino shields. Design files included. Netduino is an open source electronics platform. All design files and source code are included. Learn from the designs. Remix, and enjoy the
freedom of open source. Comes with a free microUSB cable and 4 rubber bumpers.

Full category here! In stock and shipping now!