Video : C2000 LaunchPad !

The folks over at TI have a new board out it's the C2000 LaunchPad! Here is some info from the website:

With all the hardware and software needed to start development, users can focus on learning or developing real-time control systems in areas such as digital lighting, motor control, digital power conversion, precision sensing, and much more.

Features

• Pre-programmed C2000 Piccolo F28027 MCU

• Built in isolated XDS100 JTAG Emulator enables real-time in-system programming and debugging via USB

• CPU reset button and programmable push button

• Enables development on any Piccolo F2802x device

• Free unrestricted version of Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE) v5

• Free download of controlSUITE™ software with examples, libraries, application software and more

They created a video to go along with the launch of the board in the "billy mayes" infomercial style. Check it out below:



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Video : Getting Started With the BeagleBone Microcontroller!

Matt Richardson, via Make Magazine's Youtube channel, has created a great "How To" video for the micro controller called the "BeagleBone".  


If you're interested in micro-controllers you've likely heard of the Arduino or Launchpad, the BeagleBone is a similar controller, except that the Beaglebone has its own version of linux embeded!  If you'd like to know more about the board you can go to beagleboard.org.  


Check out these videos from Matt:








Don't forget to go and subscribe to both Matt's page/blog and Make Magazine!


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Electronics Reference Sheet - Print Your Own!

Over at  www.akafugu.jp they put up a set of great electronics reference sheets for those of us in the hobbyist world.  LED's, resistor color codes, transistors, capacitors, etc.  There is also a sheet on various pin-outs of some of the most often used microelectronics chips sets such as the ATMega and ATTiny.  The reference sheets are in .png and .pdf formats. Head over and download a copy and print them out for your personal use today!

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Minestation - A Weather Station For Your Minecraft World

What do you get when you combine an Arduino shield and a love for the video game Minecraft? How about an awesome electronics build that will tell you how the weather is topside in your blocky world while you toil away in the depths of your elaborate labyrinth of mineshafts.  Its not often that a few of my hobbies overlap, unless its photography, as that tends to work its way into most everything I do, but this is pure genius.  


Over on the website www.radikaldesig.com (its in Spanish, and thanks to Google translate) they have the files for recreating your own, or you can eventually pick up one up once they get past the pre-alpha phase at minestation.me


Here is a nice video of it in action:



Hello Minestation! from minestation.me on Vimeo.



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What is a Nanosecond - by Grace Hopper

This is a great video (on content, not on visual quality), showing exactly what a nano second, and a micro second, physically are using real world items. What other "imagined" abstract ideas can be explained so simply and elegantly?  If you have any cool videos or ideas like this to share shoot me an email and I'll include them in this post!

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MSP430 Launchpad Booster Pack!

Just a quick post, I received the following email the other day in regards to a new booster pack for our MSP430's, its a Wireless Module! YAY!  Now you can natively add wireless to your MSP430 Launchpad products! Looks like the max order is 5, I picked up 3 for my 3 modules. Check out the info below and pick up a few for your own projects!

Here is the official email below:

Make Your MSP430 LaunchPad Wireless 430BOOST-CC110L RF BoosterPack The 430BOOST-CC110L RF BoosterPack is a sub-1 GHz wireless connectivity plug-in board for the MSP430 LaunchPad development kit - an easy-to-use, affordable, and scalable introduction to the world of microcontrollers and the MSP430 family. Snap the 430BOOST-CC110L RF BoosterPack onto your LaunchPad and you are all set for adding wireless capabilities to MSP430-based designs.          Order Now          430BOOST-CC110L RF BoosterPack • Low-power wireless transceiver extension kit for use with the Texas Instruments MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad development kit • Contains two ETSI-compliant and FCC certified RF module boards • Sub-$30 for complete development environment: RF BoosterPack ($19) + two MSP430 LaunchPads ($4.30 x 2) www.ti.com/rfboosterpack SHARE THIS EMAIL

To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add tiprime@dlep14.itg.ti.com to your address book or safe sender list. The platform bar is a trademark of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 Texas Instruments Incorporated, 12500 TI Blvd, Dallas, TX 75243. Read TI's Privacy Policy.

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8x8 Matrix LED and Solar Power Boards - Launchpad MSP430

For those of us with the MSP430 Launchpad Microcontrollers these two products may be of interest and can be found over at olimex.com.

The First is a 8x8 LED board that has connectors for the launchpad as well as other 8x8 Matrix LED boards.  These left sided connectors allow you to chain a bunch together to form a scrolling readouts, animations, or other cool projects.  You could configure them in alternate ways too with a bit of wiring or some bending, I'm thinking of a cube! Also each board has a buzzer and a microphone! Here are the specs:

• Launchpad connectors
• LED8x8 brick connector
• Microphone
• Buzzer
• FR-4, 1.5 mm (0,062"), red soldermask, white silkscreen component print

SUPPORTED DEVICES: all devices which can be used on MSP430-Launchpad
DIMENSIONS: 66x51 mm (2,6x2,0") 


You can find more info HERE.

The second product is a a Solar Panel Battery Charger.  This looks like it is to be used with a 1.2v single battery and will fully charge a 800mAh battery in 10hrs of direct sunlight.  So if you're designing a project with a lipo battery you can use this board to charge up your project when your power needs require it affording you have nice sunny days.  This could be adapted for many outdoor projects, e.g., low power monitoring station for a mini-greenhouse, lighting for the greenhouse, etc.  Here are the specs:

• SOLAR PANEL 2.4VDC 80mA with DC/DC voltage boost converter
• JTAG connector for direct plug in MSP430 2x7 JTAG connector to provide power for the target board
• suitable for up to 800mAh rechargeble battery, 800mAh battery will be charged to 100% if MSP430-SOLAR is left for 10 hours on sun light
• Dimensions: 56x48 mm (2.2x1.9")

You can find more info HERE.

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MSP430 LaunchPad - Unboxing!

Today I received a fed-ex package around mid-afternoon.  I wasn't expecting anything so I opened it up and found the three MSP430 Launchpad's I had ordered a month ago for $12.90 total($4.30 each and shipping was free)!  I was surprised because shortly after ordering them I received an email indicating they were back ordered.  So I'm pretty happy and have been thinking about the projects I'll be using these boards for.  Here are a few quick un-boxing pictures for ya!

Don't forget to comment, or ask any questions below! 

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MSP430 LaunchPad (MSP-EXP430G2) - From TI

The MSP430 Launchpad

Looks like the Arduino has some competition or a brother depending on how you see things.  TI has announced, and also put up for order (w/free shipping/max of 3 units however), the MSP430 LaunchPad.  Note the model number 430, Its also the price of the microcontroller! Yep $4.30 and FREE SHIPPING!  Here is a link to their store so you can order your very own and start developing awesome stuff:

Buy The MSP430 HERE!

The following link is to their wiki:

MSP430 LaunchPad (MSP-EXP430G2) - Texas Instruments Embedded Processors Wiki

Here is what you get in the box:

• LaunchPad Development board (MSP-EXP430G2)
• Mini USB cable
• 2x MSP430 flash devices
• MSP430G2211IN14 flash device
• MSP430G2231IN14 flash device (preloaded with sample program)
• 10-pin PCB Connectors (2 male & 2 female)
• 32kHz crystal
• Quick Start Guide
• 2x LaunchPad stickers

They also posted some videos one is an unboxing and the other is a quick demo of the built in temp sensor followed by the "professional launch video". 

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