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Freeduino SB
(SKU# 28920)
$26.00 USD
10+ Units for $24.70 each.
Status: In Stock
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New version 2.2! It Features:
- Preinstalled 16MHz crystal
- FTDI
"Bit-Bang" interface pins
- Battery-friendly power routing (FTDI powers-down by
default)
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 Freeduino
SB is our own special port of the Arduino
project's Diecimila reference design. We also added some other cool
enhancements &
changes from the reference Arduino
Diecimila:
- This is a mini-kit.
We've done all the hard soldering of the tiny surface-mount components.
You just take care of soldering the large sockets, pins, and
connectors, and save
a few dollars!
- Uses a Mini-B or regular USB-B
jack (USB Mini jack included)
- Added a power switch (yes, this is a new
improvement to the design!)
- Added an location for an optional ARef trimpot
Seriously,
the Arduino is an excellent microcontroller
development platform, especially if you're not that well versed in
using C on an Atmel platform. The brilliant Italian team behind Arduino
has created a nifty programming environment that runs under Windows,
Linux and OS X that streamlines C into something that is much easier to
use. Not quite as easy as the Basic Stamp PBASIC
language, but it is much more powerful.
The Arduino team also created a hardware design for their
software to
talk to. Using a built-in USB chip, all you have to do is plug your
Freeduino SB into a USB port, turn it on, and you're ready to download
code!
Surely you may have questions, right? Let's see; you
in the
front row - you have a question?
But what’s an Arduino?
It’s an open source electronics prototyping system using
popular proven
tools and hardware. It’s designed to be easy to interface
with sensors
and actuators, and inexpensive enough you can use many in your projects!
Is that all there is about it?
Not at all! A large part of the appeal of Freeduino/Arduino is the
frequently updated software used for programming the hardware. The
Arduino programming language is based on a very easy-to-learn
open-source language called Wiring, which is similar to C/C++, but
streamlined for quicker development!
What is this “Open-Source”?
Good question! In short, it is a set of principles given to a project
by the project’s creator that lets everyone use it, and have
access to
the source design. The creators of the Arduino project allow anybody to
use their hardware designs and software, as long as everybody shares
back in return! (It’s a big topic - do an Internet search!)
What are the hardware specifics?
An Atmel ATmega328 running at 16MHz, connected through an FTDI232R
USB-to-serial converter (just plug it into a USB port, and go!).14
digital I/O pins (6 with PWM) and 6 analog inputs. Power comes from
your USB port, or external 6-20VDC power supply. Your PC is protected
by a 500mA resettable fuse. LEDs for power, Rx/Tx activity and pin 13
“test” are all pre-installed!
What can I do with it?
LOTS! There’s a great many projects documented online. When
people use
open source software, they seem to like to share what they’ve
done! As
of this writing, searching Google for “Arduino
Projects” results with
336,000 pages!
Can I build this?
If you can do basic soldering, you bet! We’ve taken care of
the hardest
stuff. You just finish it, then download and install the latest Arduino
programming software!
This is a Open Source project, and is licensed
under the Creative
Commons A-SA 2.5 license.
“Arduino” is a trademark of the Arduino Team (www.arduino.cc).
The
Freeduino SB is based off reference designs by the Arduino
Team
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