rant: arduino protoshields >.<

[blackbeard]

so i got a protoshield strictly for prototyping purposes for my combat robot (testing and programming). the damn thing is riddled with useless traces! i can't fit more then 1 ic because they decided to make it like a single section on a breadboard rather then a collection of holes which i could use for my own space conscious arrangement. why are arduino shields so useless? why didn't i just print my own circuit board like i wanted to in the first place! i have the crystal for the atmega chip and i'm just about ready to snip off my motors and do just that.

[Razor Concepts]

Get a seeeduino and make your own protosheilds using normL protoboard 

[blackbeard]

Get a seeeduino and make your own protosheilds using normL protoboard 

i've been looking at that but i like the idea of popping out my chip and sticking it in a project. that and i'm cheep. in the future i'll solder a jack in a piece of protoboard and work off that.

[Ro-Bot-X]

I am working on a shield for Arduino with the beginner in robotics in mind. So far I have ordered Rev. 1 of the board that includes:

• 6 servo connectors, powered from the battery, digital pins 8-13
• 6 sensor connectors, powered from regulated 5V, all analog pins
• hardware serial connector
• built in h-bridge, SN754410, digital pins 4-7, uses Timer0 for PWM
• reserved space for a mini breadboard so users can experiment
• external interrupt pins available for encoders

While waiting for the boards to arrive, I added for Rev.2 of the board:

• filtering capacitors near the servo and sensor connectors
• prototyping area under the mini breadboard, some people might want to use that instead of the breadboard
• all pins doubled under the breadboard

Why have I done this? Because the Roboduino does not have the possibility to add shields on top and does not have a built in h-bridge. Many people just buy an Arduino then have issues building a proper shield for robots, I was waiting for someone to do it, but I got tired of waiting.

Here is a picture of the first revision and underneath the second revision, still work in progress:

[Soeren]

Hi,

Here is a picture of the first revision and underneath the second revision, still work in progress:

Watch out for acid traps (you have a couple).

When this one has matured, why not go for a SMD proto module, I'm sure a lot of people would like that, considering the ever shrinking amount of thru-hole components.