Help with ordering components.. (getting a nice hobby selection going)

Something else to consider. TI allows you to order up to 5 free samples of many of their ICs, including (but not limited to) shift registers, LED drivers, regulators and many more. When I say free, I mean free. Just browse their site, find what might interest you in the package of your choice (if available) and order your samples. It gives you something to play with at least, without having to spend money before you're sure of what you want.

thanks for the tip about TI ... (I think maxim does the same...no?) (was many years ago)

noob question:

I see a lot of talk about 'SPI'

Is this a specific 'PIN'? or a protocol?

I believe I have seen it in reference to SD card.. and/or Audio as well??

Re: shift registers..

yes easy to code/command (target) would be nice...

I am hoping I can make some nice animations/patterns with it..

another noob moment..

MAX7221 is good one, SPI.transfer to 1 of 8 registers.

does this ean the chpi has 8 leads.. and each pin can control/have up to 8 leds on it?

8x8 = 64 leds in total?

(again..only because Im not 100% sure....I do not want to do anything with cubes or matrix'... just led 'ladder/strip'.. where I can target as many/all leds if I so choose for on/off patterns.

@CR-

I dont understand the physical size comment?

I am looking for several different sizes of caps.. (both SMD and traditional style/package...for breadboard)

MAX7219 and 7221 are designed specifically for multiplexing multi-digit seven-segment displays. If you're not planning on creating numeric displays then they're a very expensive option. They also cannot be chained as a shift register would be; you need one dedicated I/O line per chip in addition to the data and clock I/O lines.

www.sureelectronics.net has good buys on SMD caps and resistors. They also sell the handy little plastic boxes to store them in. I don't think I've ever seen anyone selling an SMD electrolytic assortment, though. 0805 size is small but manageable; 1206 size usually has the value of the cap/resistor printed on it. The numbers refer to the dimensions of the chip; 0805 is .08" x .05".

SPI, or Serial Peripheral Interface, is a protocol on many of Atmel's AVR ICs. It allows high-speed synschronous data transfer between the IC and peripheral devices or between other AVRs.

There are four pins used for that, MOSI/MISO/CLK/SS (on an Uno, those are pins 10, 11, 12, and 13). Fun little protocol to play with actually. :slight_smile:

I forgot, as far as SMD parts ... I stick with 0805 sized stuff. 0603s and smaller are just too dang small for me. As it is, I'm fairly certain my cats have swallowed several 0805 over the years. Surprised their eyes aren't glowing yet ... or their poop.

I have never ordered anything from Sure Electronics but they're now on my bookmark *. I tend to stick with Mouser, Digi-Key or Jameco. I can get 100 0805 resistors from Jameco for 99 cents. The only problem is, they don't have a vast assortment like the other guys do.

I do see that Sure Electronics has value packs consisting of different value resistors and such. Might be a good way to start your collection.

* Now I know why - they're in China and shipping can take a while. The other guys can get stuff to me over night if I need to and it won't cost me an arm and a leg.

sureelectrojics and sunpec are both ebay sellers I have been looking into..

the link/page on these located here.. states it can drive 7-segment leds..or 64 individual leds??

is this not the case?

question (as Im confused)..

if one had an SD card hooked up to the mix/Arduino... would THAT take up my SPI 'line/pins'?

what about having Audio playback? (not using PWM..but more real Audio output....DAC, SPI interface...yes?)

does that mean someone can only do 1 of these things at a time? drive the MAX7219 and 7221 for large amount of ARRAYS..

OR....

have an SD card in the mix..

OR......

be playing .wav files?

or can all these be done on he same board/project?

(sorry Im getting a bit off track...but was confused again)

back ON topic..

if not those chips.. than which ones?

large amount of leds.. possibly need two (or more)..

Im not 100% sure if 64 leds would be enough for me or not at this current time.. so Im exploring the options.

thanks

The beauty of the SPI interface is that it can communicate with several devices on the chain. Have a read here: Serial Peripheral Interface - Wikipedia

Keep in mind just because a vendor sells items on eBay, doesn't mean it's not being shipped from the other side of the world. It's also harder if you need to send something back because it's the wrong part.

As for your chip selection, I will let someone who knows more about them answer that question. I just haven't had time to read up on them.

xl97:
if not those chips.. than which ones?

Visit an electronics distributor (DigiKey, Newark, Mouser) and search for "led driver" and look for those with 8+ outputs in (assumedly) a DIP package. The advantage is that these drivers will control the current for you -- no need to tie each LED to its own resistor. Specs to look for are their output current and output voltage and of course verify that their pinout matches that of what would be considered a "shift register".

If you're looking for an example to start with you can try the TLC5917.

A non-shift-register but very popular chip is the TLC5940; lots and lots of examples if you google it.

Hopefully you got the SPI idea - all parts connect to the MISO, MOSI, and SCK pins - then each get their own chip select line that you take low when to write/read them.

Chagrin:
If you're looking for an example to start with you can try the TLC5917.

A non-shift-register but very popular chip is the TLC5940; lots and lots of examples if you google it.

And .... you can get both for free from TI. :slight_smile: Five each!

hey guys..

I am going to order a few free samples today..

I have the

MAX7221 & MAX7219 from Maxim-ic in there so far..

before I hit 'send' any other MAXIM specific parts I should get?

I know nothing of DAC's (yet).. do they offer a DAC that is in a usable breadboard/dip package for testing with?

a list of part#'s would be helpful.. since Im always scared Im picking the wrong 'version' of the chip(s)

TI is next!! thanks

Maxim has a good parametric search function - use that to find parts in DIP packages.

Another source is analog devices, analog.com

Are there no DAC's..?? (I would eventually like to get into playing 'decent' audio..so I believe a DAC would be needed)

I have never used one, played with one..nothing.

I guess at this point..it doesnt matter. I already order free samples from TI..

I have maxim left.. (do they have DAC's? hmmmm)

http://www.ti.com/sitesearch/docs/universalsearch.tsp?searchTerm=dac&linkId=1

hi..thanks for links.. I will check them out. =)

Also.. what does: X7R mean? when in regards to capacitors? ceramic SMT type?

example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220388134428?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

thanks

It's a specific kind. That's information you can gleam from reading the actual datasheet for that product. There are several types for the same brand, size, and value. They each serve a purpose.

Thanks.. guess I'll stay away form those. =)

also.. are these normal caps?

Coupling Multilayer Ceramic Chip Capacitors 10nF 100pcs

I see it says 'coupling'?

was looking for some 'ceramic' type caps in

10nF
0.1uF
1uF

actually I hope I didnt screw up! lol

cause I ordered these:

100 Pcs 0.1uF Radial Lead Monolithic Ceramic Capacitor

100 Pcs 10nF Coupling Multilayer Ceramic Chip Capacitors

100 Pcs 1uF Radial Leaded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

to have some for prototyping on breadboard projects..

bump....^

is there a difference in those caps I ordered? Was trying to pick up some non-smd CERAMIC caps for prototyping on a breadboard..

I dont know much about components (hence the thread).... so I saw ceramic and figured there were ok..but now Im second guessing.

got these:

100 Pcs 0.1uF Radial Lead Monolithic Ceramic Capacitor

100 Pcs 10nF Coupling Multilayer Ceramic Chip Capacitors

100 Pcs 1uF Radial Leaded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

the 'names' are stressing me out..

Radial Lead Monolithic (Ceramic)
Coupling Multilayer (Ceramic)
Radial Leaded Multilayer (Ceramic)

help!? =)

thanks

The "radial lead" are the typical style through-hole capacitor. The "chip capacitor" is a surface-mount component (puny flat rectangle with no wires).

"Monolithic" and "multilayer" just refer to the number of plates in the capacitor. At higher capacitance ratings more layers are needed to keep the component small.

so I should be good on those two then.. (for use in breadboard prototyping stuff we see in schematics around here..etc)

hmm.. that 'chip capacitor' one is VERY misleading then..

here is the ebay link: (not direct link..not sure if thats ok/allowed)

h**p://www.ebay.com/itm/270831669541?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

reading the specs...

it shows this: (no mention of 'chip')

Product Name Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor
Main Material Ceramic
Quantity 100 Pcs
Capacitance 10nF
Capacitance Tolerance ±10%
Lead Spacing 5.08mm/0.2"
Overall Size(Each) 13 x 5mm/0.5" x 0.2"(Max. L *W)
Net Weight 10g
Color As Picture Show
Package Content 100 Pcs x Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor

but title says so.....hmmm

(hoping things come through all correct!)

Also... my freebie samples from TI came today.. wasnt sure what to order.. but go a few "LED DRIVERS".... (two kinds I guess)