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7:41 pm
January 18, 2009
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PirCapAdi
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4:20 am
January 20, 2009
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ash
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Thanks for the info, I really want to get one of these boards!!
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11:28 pm
February 23, 2009
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Quinn
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Now this is what I need to start getting into… I'm all for building robots, doing all the electrical/ mechanical side of things but the 'brains' is where I really need some help.. That's what this is for, right?
Maybe I'm mistaken..
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4:16 am
February 24, 2009
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ash
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Hehe I'm sort of the opposite 
The BeagleBoard is one of the fastest and cheapest controllers available at the moment and is perfect for robotics but they are a bit of a pain to order from Australia it seems. It might be easier from this site though.
What are you using to control your stuff at the moment Quinn? I tend to use one of the Arduinos I have to prototype stuff and then if I run out of processing power/space I'll upgrade to a BeagleBoard or maybe a phone running Android or something.
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10:21 pm
February 24, 2009
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Quinn
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Well I started with B.E.A.M style robotics and remote controlled first so never got into anything too advanced. I enjoy the construction of the 'body" more then anything. Programming and so on is what im working on getting into at the moment. One of the main reasons for me to meet people here actually, learn as much as possible. Im not as advances as some here  but slowly getthing there.
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10:44 pm
February 24, 2009
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Quinn
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Speaking of which! How would you guys recommend I first start learning about programming and using controllers like the Beagleboard? Any suggestions for a beginner?
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1:51 pm
February 26, 2009
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PirCapAdi
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I do not think the beagle board is for beginners, from the research I have done it can be quite tricky getting what you want out of it.
If you want to do "embedded" development I would recommend the Arduino, it is easy with loads of references, if you need a hand to get going http://www.littlebirdelectronics.com/ (warning, not IE safe) runs courses every few months.
It is easy to interface the Arduino with PC’s so you can play with writing your own high level PC software as well.
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9:51 pm
February 26, 2009
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Quinn
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Great, thanks a lot for that!
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10:04 pm
February 26, 2009
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Quinn
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So Ash you use the Arduino Duemilanove?
Would this one be good for someone to start out on?
http://www.littlebirdelectronics.com/collections/arduino/products/arduino-duemilanove
How do these generally connect to your computer? USB, Ehternet? With this I can essentially learn to programme it to control servos and motors, right? Sorry for the 20 questions (^__^)
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8:05 pm
February 27, 2009
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ash
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Yeah I agree with what Adrian said, I would definitely recommend them for starting out. I use the diecimila because the duemilanove wasn't out at that point and it still has enough space for what I am doing (granted I am not doing anything more than running some servos and communicating with my PC.
The duemilanove has a lot more memory I think so it will be even better.
All the arduinos connect using USB and have a bootloader built in so you don't need a dedicated programmer. You write your code in the Arduino code edito and then press a button to upload it to the board. It's really easy and fun to do and there are about a million different people using them these days so its easy to find info on how to do stuff.
Luckily even hardware development and programming is becomming like building Lego these days, no more erasing the chips and hand building everything, now you can mostly just plug together high level components!
Check these links for more info:
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12:26 am
February 28, 2009
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Quinn
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Thanks guys! This seems like it will really help me along with more advanced robotics. I'm looking to buy one now and was just wondering if you both used Littlebird Electronics to order your Arduinos?
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5:49 pm
March 1, 2009
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PirCapAdi
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I do not use the Arduino, I use the WiringIO (http://www.wiring.org.co/hardware/index.html) it can use the same tools as the Arduino but has a much better processor. I have stopped using the Processing language, I write C using WinAVR and program the board directly.
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6:37 pm
March 1, 2009
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Quinn
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I'll probably give the Arduino a go at first as it seems like a cheaper way to get started. Thanks though, this gives me some more to read into. Still wondering if anyone has purchased through Littlebird Electronics before?
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11:19 pm
March 1, 2009
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ash
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I have a couple of times. I haven't had any probs at all and the guys that run it were really friendly in the email correspondence I had with them (they were running an Arduino course in sydney).
Once you are comfortable with the standard arduino platform (and you need another one) you could consider buying one of the Bare Bones kits from them. It's cheaper and has all the same features (I am pretty sure, just check).
It was handy having the original Arduino (pre-assembled version) because that way I could get rolling quickly but there are heaps of Arduino compatible kits now that use the same IDE etc but are just cheaper or smaller.
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12:46 am
March 2, 2009
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Quinn
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Of the 3: Arduino Duemilanove Arduino Nano Arduino Mini which is the most powerful?
I love small robots but do the Nano and Mini have anything going for them over the Duemilanove besides the size?
If you were going for the best overall Arduino, which one would you suggest?
Thanks again guys!
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7:08 pm
March 3, 2009
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PirCapAdi
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They are all pretty much the same, however I would recommend the duemilanove since you can buy ready made "shields" to easily add functionality, e.g. Ethernet shield, Zigbee Shield, etc.
Take a look at http://www.liquidware.com/shop, they have a great selection of shields.
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2:58 am
March 5, 2009
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Quinn
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Cheers for that. Got one on its way now (^__^) Should be loads of fun!
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1:03 am
April 7, 2009
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PirCapAdi
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Just ordered my beagle board, including a few accessories, from Special Computing. Bill Mar was extremely helpful and answered all my questions.
In about 10 days Renoster will have it’s new high level "brain". I better get started designing the new PSU and low level control boards to match the beagle’s foot print.
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5:11 pm
April 14, 2009
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PirCapAdi
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Got my board yesterday, 7 days later including the easter weekend.
It is brilliant, worked straight out of the box. Will post my carrier board design as soon as it is done.
Current Spec is:
4 servo outputs
4 high speed counter inputs (for quadrature encoders)
4 analog inputs (0-5V), jumper to make 4-20mA
4 5V transistor outputs
4 5V opto inputs
and offcourse I2C for expansion
If there is anything you guys can think of adding to make it a bit more genral purpose let me know. It will be stackable on the beagle board.
Adi
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