Author Topic: Is this what im looking for? (Read 3229 times)

soninja8 · « **on:** April 28, 2011, 11:36:29 PM »

Ok, all i want is a simple microcontroller that can controll two servos and a coupld of sensors, but is big enough for future projects. It also has to be easy to program. I have found this: http://www.robotshop.com/lynxmotion-mini-atom-bot-board.html

It looks like an awesome microcontroller, but can you tell me if it would be a good buy?

Side note: if this is the one i should get, what IC should i put on it that would fit?(it doesnt come with one)

waltr · « **Reply #1 on:** April 29, 2011, 09:00:21 AM »

That is just the carrier board and doesn't include the processor chip.
Nice price for what it is.
Do some web searching to see if many people are using this board. The more people that do use it the more people there are to help you.

The two recommended boards that have a lot of user support are the Arduino and the Axon. They cost a bit more but many people are using them.

Conscripted · « **Reply #2 on:** April 29, 2011, 09:30:42 AM »

Quote from: waltr on April 29, 2011, 09:00:21 AM

The two recommended boards that have a lot of user support are the Arduino and the Axon. They cost a bit more but many people are using them.

And they both come with processors

soninja8 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 29, 2011, 10:57:40 AM »

Can you suggest me which processor would fit in this? I want the Atmega8, because its pretty simple, but it wont fit...

Also, can you link me the arduino? I cant find it...

waltr · « **Reply #4 on:** April 29, 2011, 11:52:30 AM »

Did you google "arduino"?
I came up with 7.9 million hits including Wiki, the arduino home page and many stores that sell it.

soninja8 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 29, 2011, 12:24:22 PM »

Is Arduino one chip? or is it a type?

Conscripted · « **Reply #6 on:** April 29, 2011, 03:13:46 PM »

HERE is a link to their home page. The arduino is a board similar to the one you linked but with some flavor of ATMEGA already installed. THIS may help you some too.

Conscripted

waltr · « **Reply #7 on:** April 29, 2011, 03:19:27 PM »

Arduino is an open source development system.
http://www.arduino.cc/

Looks like you didn't google it else you would have known the answer!

soninja8 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 29, 2011, 03:49:52 PM »

Well i have already been to arduino, but they wont sell stuff on their website directly, they link you a lot of stores that sell them...but i cant find a good chip that has everything I need

That google thing is SOOOOO funny lol

rbtying · « **Reply #9 on:** April 29, 2011, 07:32:04 PM »

What do you need that the Arduino doens't have?

You only mentioned servos and sensors - both of which the Arduino can handle easily. And when they link you to a lot of stores - just pick the closest one (at least in the same country) and order from them - if you're in the US, SparkFun is a good place to buy them.

soninja8 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 29, 2011, 08:57:08 PM »

I cant seem to find a microcontroller that comes with a IC and is ready to be programmed right away...they all seem to be development boards without pin headers to connect servos and such

adanvasco · « **Reply #11 on:** April 29, 2011, 10:30:35 PM »

Take a look at this: http://www.societyofrobots.com/axon2/

Just connect the servos and sensors to the I/O pins as per the documentation.

Good luck.

soninja8 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 30, 2011, 01:17:09 PM »

cant afford it

hopslink · « **Reply #13 on:** April 30, 2011, 01:53:29 PM »

Try the Romeo board, or Roboduino.

soninja8 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 30, 2011, 02:07:17 PM »

http://www.robotshop.com/dfrobot-romeo-all-in-one-microcontroller-atmega-328-4.html
this looks like the best one...the romeo, but I wouldnt know how to program it...

Also, that romeo board requires 7-12v, which would fry all my servos

hopslink · « **Reply #15 on:** April 30, 2011, 02:50:08 PM »

Quote

...but I wouldnt know how to program it...

You have to learn, that's part of the process and would be the same for any microcontroller. The board is Arduino compatible so you upload code via a USB cable.

Quote

Also, that romeo board requires 7-12v, which would fry all my servos

It would also fry most of the IC's on the Romeo controller... This, like most other microcontrollers, has a voltage regulator which takes an input voltage of 7-12 volts and provides a 5V output to the rest of the board.

I suggest you go to the tutorials section on this site and read through it. There is a lot of useful information there.

soninja8 · « **Reply #16 on:** April 30, 2011, 03:00:54 PM »

well I have a 6 volt battery, and I know it has a regulator, but i thought the servos would take unregulated power...

hopslink · « **Reply #17 on:** April 30, 2011, 03:31:11 PM »

If you check the manual for the board you will see there is an unregulated input for powering servos...

Fr0stAngel · « **Reply #18 on:** May 01, 2011, 04:40:43 PM »

you can do something like i did...make your own board.
mine has 4 servo capability, integrated 7 segment display, on-board quad comparator , indication leds etc, and it cost me almost less than $4, including the controller and comparator ic

( i call it 'Spark v1.1'

) im using Atmel AT89S52 .

BANE · « **Reply #19 on:** May 03, 2011, 06:18:54 PM »

Quote

cant afford it

Bot Board II+BASIC Atom 28 Pin=$85.00 if your looking to go that route. This isnt a bad set up; this was actually my second microcontroller and i got about three years out of it. However, the axon wasnt around yet and i most defiantly would have gotten one for the price. The thing about the BASIC Atom 28 is you can only have 4 analog inputs and only two 10bit pwm (correct me if im wrong) which sucks if you want to have some servos because then you have to buy the SSC32 which is $40. So i ended up have $125 in all and a much larger board.

soninja8 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 04, 2011, 07:03:58 AM »

believe me, if I had a $100 dollars, I would buy the axon

rbtying · « **Reply #21 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:34:34 AM »

The BotBoard/BasicAtom combo is what you suggested in your original post - what's wrong with the Arduino? It's cheaper... you just need to make headers for it.

BANE · « **Reply #22 on:** May 04, 2011, 08:51:33 AM »

Quote

believe me, if I had a $100 dollars, I would buy the axon

I was in the same predicament when starting out too, im just saying as your robots get bigger you'll out grow it in no time.

soninja8 · « **Reply #23 on:** May 04, 2011, 06:14:14 PM »

Quote from: rbtying on May 04, 2011, 08:34:34 AM

The BotBoard/BasicAtom combo is what you suggested in your original post

well, i didnt know I had to buy a BasicAtom processor, so I didnt know it would be that expensive

Soeren · « **Reply #24 on:** May 05, 2011, 05:23:24 AM »

$25 with USB
http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=91&zenid=9819d573784e7285ebccb1103b94e538

$17.5 but lacking the USB
http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=72&zenid=9819d573784e7285ebccb1103b94e538

Even cheaper
http://www.societyofrobots.com/step_by_step_robot_step3B.shtml

Either way, you'll have to learn!

joe61 · « **Reply #25 on:** May 05, 2011, 06:12:23 AM »

Or better yet, this: http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=296&zenid=9819d573784e7285ebccb1103b94e538

$20 and more stuff to play with.

Joe

soninja8 · « **Reply #26 on:** May 05, 2011, 07:11:01 AM »

Quote from: Soeren on May 05, 2011, 05:23:24 AM

$25 with USB
http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=91&zenid=9819d573784e7285ebccb1103b94e538

$17.5 but lacking the USB
http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=72&zenid=9819d573784e7285ebccb1103b94e538

I like the second, but I dont feel like getting a cable, since I already have the usb cable for the first. Probably going to get the first, but I have a couple of questions as always. First, do i have to use a board to plug in servos, or is there already a little room? And how would I power it? Is it through usb only, so id have to use 5v at max?

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Author Topic: Is this what im looking for? (Read 3229 times)