Introducing Phi-1 shield LCD/button/GPS/EEPROM/RTC

Yes I saw your post about the logger very nicely done. The female headers were left out intentionally so I can either solder some wires to it or maybe in the future add a female header.

Here is a side view, just to see how packed the shield is.

liudr, I am wondering, does the GPS work (that is, it will provide correct data) when mounted under the LCD board?

Florinc,

Yes it does, even under the LCD, and in my first-floor apartment. I also tested it out in my car but back then I didn't program the logger functions so my wife took a video camera and recorded it. I will take it for a trip later today in my car and share some data.

I just soldered a female header to the analog pins and added the following code to sketch.

  pinMode(58,INPUT);
  digitalWrite(58,HIGH);
  pinMode(59,INPUT);
  digitalWrite(59,HIGH);

With jumper wires from the mega SDA/SCL pings to analog 4 and 5 I can confirm the shield works on the mega.

Wortelsoft,

Awesome! For now I will add this instruction to the shield documentation so a mega user can easily use the I2C. So I've seen that you have bought a bunch of parts. Got any big plans?

florinc,

Here is a picture of my trip with the GPS logger from a supermarket back home :slight_smile:

Well I needed like 20+ shotky diodes for motor control and it was better to buy a package.
And we have website here, where a Dutch guy now living in China sells electronic parts for a very good price for a limited time only (one or two times a year). So when the opportunity arrives I fill up my spare parts. Only downside is that from most of the stuff you need to buy a bit more then you normally want.

@Liudr,
Nice job, I have a few shield ideas that would be a good contribution to the community, im just a bit short on the PCB knowledge.Perhaps we can exchange some ideas. Anyway, I noticed a plastic plate mounted to the base of the arduino. What part is that and can i get it at your store?

Edit:
Just saw you meant the piece of acrylic on Liudr setup.

Geofranco that's a project box I have built my mega into it.

Here is a picture of it:

It's available through different stores search for this word on google: OABS123X14-C

To Liudr

Very good idea, but also take a look at :http://www.dagurobot.com/goods.php?id=76

This company has prduced something very similar to your project. The manual is EXCELLENT with really clear color photos of assembly. They use the ATMEGA8, which is just fine for this project and describe the design of an alarm clock. last but not least, they include an IR sensor which is really cool. If you send me a private email, I will give you more details.

amcduino :sunglasses:

Thanks for your interest, geofranco. As wortelsoft said, the bottom is acrylic.I did it here online:
www.ponoko.com. They do all sorts of laser-cut planar materials, including plastic, wood, or even metal. You will need software like CorelDraw to supply them with your own design and they make it for you and ship to you. Here is another example of what I made:


The one that wortelsoft has is also pretty nice. It is more than a platform but an enclosure. When you do LCD or other communication, you will not want to touch the bottom of Arduino with your hands, otherwise the communication can be garbled and you have to reset. :wink:

BTW, the store dipmicro in not my store. I just worked out a way to sell my board there. I do shop there for parts as they have cheap parts and so far quality has not been an issue.

amcduino,

What you pointed out is possibly not related to Arduino, as I can't see any information of what the vendor is selling besides the display and batteries. There is no manual?! My board is a shield for Arduino, which after assembly sits on top of the arduino without all the jumper wires that the other website has. Did I miss everything good about that website?

Liudr

The Chinese website does not say much except for the picture. Because I wanted to find more details about this device to use it in one of the classes I teach gratis in a high school, I bought one of these. That is why I know about the ecellent book, etc. The kit uses an ATMEGA8 and has a USB breakout brick. It even gives a short description of the Arduino IDE. It is ideal for middle school/high school teaching. It shows how to put together a 12hr/24hr alarm clock (you can download the Arduino code from a website they give you in the book) as well as how to use an IR range brick (included). It is different from your unit in that everything is done on a solderless breadboard. This unit is strictly for teach, and you can add other stuff to it. The only similarity with your unit is the alarm clock. By the way, your unit sounds super and I will definitely buy one. Good luck with it.

amcduino :wink:

Thanks amcduino. I will dig on for more info. I opted for PCB because I don't want beginners to mess with too many jumper wires, like 12 for an LCD, a bit too many. So they can focus on what is more important to them and get some gratification from seeing a voltage printed on an LED with virtually no effort. This helps them move forward for more challanges, like use the voltage from an accelerometer for some response.

So you said that you have taught high school students arduino. Can I bother you with a few questions, maybe through a private message?

I am interested in improving STEM (science technology engineering math) education in the US. My biggest headache is that the high school graduation requirement is so low compared with the rest of the world. Kids simply avoid harder topics like chemistry and physics in high school because they can graduate without them, at least in my state. Then they're trying to become engineers but get stuck in college trying to pass physics. I don't see how the requirement can be changed in the near future but arduino could get many kids interested in STEM. I'd like to hear from you about your experience with high school kids.

Liudr

Having retired as university prof, where I taught for 22 years, I now devote my teaching expertise to middle school/high school students, free of charge. There is no reason for our kids to be inferior in knowledge to the Japanese or German or ...kids. The problem is the teacher, not the student. I have worked with kids who are like sponges. They love to learn. I would love to talk to you. Rather than filling up the forum with chat which is of no interest to others, please, send me a private email and we'll exchange notes.

amcduino :sunglasses:

Rather than filling up the forum with chat which is of no interest to others,

I'm willing to bet that you and liudr are not the only ones that are interested in this topic.

Liudr

I would be very interested in exchanging notes about STEM and other simular topics. However, since I feel that this forum is not the place for this discussion, I think using personal emails would be better for all concerned.

[smiley=dankk2.gif]

amcduino

Thanks amcduino. I will send you a message about this.

There should be a board to discuss arduino-teaching related topics. The workshop just isn't the place, neither are the other places.

liudr

Agreed wholeheartedly. You and I will discuss this in private. Awaiing your personal message.

amcduino