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An interesting product release from Sure Electronics – This module is an accurate pressure and temperature sensor which is based on the MS5561. Pressure and temperature values can be directly read via SPI or UART via an onboard PIC. This eliminates the need for complicated calculations.
The MS5561 can still be directly interfaced with if you do not want to use the onboard PIC. This is handy for obtaining calibration data or using your own MCU to perform calculations. [via]
Air Pressure Sensor Module – MS6651 – [Link]
MichaelZ writes: [via]
Well FTDI is at it again. FT232H is a Single Channel Hi-Speed USB to Multipurpose UART/FIFO IC. It appears to be 1/2 of a FT2232H which requires the crystal and EEPROM.
FTDI FT232H single channel USB 2.0 chip - [Link]
How to hack the Logitech Revue, Google TV… with an Arduino [via]
The reason this is possible is due to the “out of factory” state of the Logitech Revue boxes not disabling the UART port on the board and allowing access to a root shell in recovery mode. After discovering this we were able to reverse the update files and manually upgrade the Revue to the most recent update. The attached files are our output of all the effort put forward by our team. Also as a notice to anyone performing the update, we are not responsible for any harm that may come of your box as an outcome of running our scripts. We will attempt to help you with any issues you may experience and have tried to make the process as safe as possible. Also if you have any suggestions or ideas on how we can make this process better please feel free to drop by our IRC channel and tell us.
Hack the Logitech Revue, Google TV… with an Arduino – [Link]
Krishna used the Bus Pirate to interface a MT3318 GPS receiver. [via]
I have used the transparent UART mode of the Bus Pirate to directly access the serial data and send it to other third party softwares to show my location on google maps.
Using Bus Pirate to interface a MT3318 GPS receiver - [Link]
Serial communications are preferred over the parallel one when there is the scarcity of available I/O pins. Besides, they are also simple and economical when the distance of communication is long. The embedded-lab.com just posted a tutorial on PIC UART that allows the PIC microcontroller to communicate with a PC through a standard RS232 port. The full duplex mode of asynchronous communication between the PC and PIC is demonstrated.
Tutorial on PIC Serial communication – [Link]
FT232RL USB to Serial UART (TTL) Adapter is a simple and inexpensive way to connect PIC, AVR or ATMEGA MCUs to a PC or Mac via USB connection. FT232RL is an impressive chip because it implements full v2.0 USB protocol, needs no external crystal, has integrated EEPROM for device ID and product description strings and comes with Royalty-Free driver support for Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX. e Manager making it easy to send and receive data from PIC, AVR or ATMEGA microcontrollers.
FT232RL USB to Serial Adapter – [Link]
Pinguino is an Arduino-like board based on a PIC Microcontroller. The goal of this project is to build an integrated IDE easy to use on LINUX, WINDOWS and MAC OS X. Arduino is a powerful tool with some defaults. One of its inconveniences are a no native USB interface on the chip and its code length.
The IDE of Pinguino is built with Python. An integrated preprocessor translates specific Arduino instructions directly into C. This preprocessor reduces the code length and the execution speed. Pinguino hardware is based on a 18F2550. This chip has an integrated native USB module and an UART for serial link.
Pinguino – [Link]
Sparkfun writes:
This is a USB to UART board that allows easy reprogramming of the LilyPad main board without the need for soldering. This board is based on the FT232RL IC from FTDI.
Features:
- Implements full v2.0 USB protocol
- Needs no external crystal
- Internal EEPROM for device ID and Product Description strings
- Royalty-Free Driver support for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
Don’t know anything about Embedded Electronics? Start here! Sparkfun has put together a nice lecture collection. Here it is:
Lecture 1 – What’s a microcontroller? Breadboard power supply
Lecture 2 – Loading code and compiler basics
Lecture 3 – Oscillators and fuse bits
Lecture 4 – UART and serial communication
Lecture 5 – AVR GCC and printf compiling
Lecture 6 – Soldering basics
Lecture 7 – SMD soldering Simon!
Lecture 8 – Eagle: Schematics
Lecture 9 – Eagle: PCB layout
Lecture 10 – Eagle: Creating a new part
Common Mistakes – Tips and tricks
