DIYino - an Arduino compatible board for prop electronics

Hello guys,
arrived today DIYino the right time and it is fantastic.

Thanks Protonerd.

Now I have a long process of testing to do!!

But obviously what I miss is the free time!!!

Mine arrived today. Looks good.

Thanks Protonerd!

Maybe when you get back from your vacation you could send your test code? :slight_smile:

Got mine too! Thanks Protonerd! Now need to test.

I think all the lightsaber os code can be found on the github site

pert:
Why not configure it as an Uno? That way it will have the 500 byte Optiboot bootloader instead of the 2 KB ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328.hex. That extra 1.5 KB of space could come in handy with LSOS getting so close to the limit. The other benefit of using the Uno bootloader is the Nano one has a bug that can cause infinite reset loops if you set a short watchdog timeout in your sketch.

You are a bottomless source of great knowledge. I was not aware that was possible, nor that the nano has a buggy bootloader. Does this bug affect all boards or only certain "technology corners"? I ask this because one out of the 20 boards fromthe first run exhibits exactly this problem, but some simpler sketched run on it.
Another question: does the uno also have an Atmega328P? Because I once tried to bootload a non-P as nano instead of mini and it failed...

pert:
Why not configure it as an Uno? That way it will have the 500 byte Optiboot bootloader instead of the 2 KB ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328.hex. That extra 1.5 KB of space could come in handy with LSOS getting so close to the limit. The other benefit of using the Uno bootloader is the Nano one has a bug that can cause infinite reset loops if you set a short watchdog timeout in your sketch.

You are a bottomless source of great knowledge. I was not aware that was possible, nor that the nano has a buggy bootloader. Does this bug affect all boards or only certain "technology corners"? I ask this because one out of the 20 boards fromthe first run exhibits exactly this problem, but some simpler sketched run on it.
Another question: does the uno also have an Atmega328P? Because I once tried to bootload a non-P as nano instead of mini and it failed...

Protonerd:
Does this bug affect all boards or only certain "technology corners"?

It affects any board that uses the ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328.hex bootloader, Duemilanove, Diecimila, Nano, Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz) w/ ATmega328 and possibly some of the other boards that don't use optiboot and don't have WATCHDOG_MODS defined in the makefile, I haven't looked into the bootloader source for those. The issue: ProMini: Reboot loop when using watchdog · Issue #150 · arduino/ArduinoCore-avr · GitHub is that the watchdog is not disabled by the bootloader so if it was enabled in the sketch and times out during the bootloader then it can go into an endless reset loop.

You should be able to just select the Uno from Tools > Board menu before you burn the bootloader and then the users of the DIYino will need to remember to use it as an Uno.

I use a lot of the Pro Minis which come with the ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328.hex bootloader. I always burn the Uno bootloader on them right away and use them as an Uno instead of Pro Mini.

Protonerd:
does the uno also have an Atmega328P? Because I once tried to bootload a non-P as nano instead of mini and it failed...

Yes, Uno is ATmega328P

This is exciting! I've put together a few lightsabers but new to Arduino and something that I'd like to put time into learning. Please do consider me interested if (hopefully when) you make more available.

Looking forward to seeing how the owners of the first batch put them to use.

I added a draft documentation to the first post. It is still very rudimentary but I included much needed and requested wiring pics for your reference. Enjoy and give me feedback. I will of course continuously improve this document to give more flesh to the bone!

Hi Protonerd, in italian they say: giù il cappello!!

Great job!!

User Manual has been updated (see in first post), new topics:

  • some restructuring of existing Chapters
  • include wiring for an in-hilt recharge port
  • include full circuit schematics
  • explanation about the LS1...LS6 pins, this in particular became a FAQ by many and is important to properly wire the LEDs (whatever setup you use)
  • along with the LSx wiring a 3.7V supplied RGB(W) High-Power LED setup is shown (still most popular setup for lightsaber lighting)

I will work on the document, next items to be added in the coming days:

  • basic neopixel wiring and basics of operation
  • advanced neopixel wiring with power saving option

What kind of mosfet is required for this?

Because of some guys working now on neopixel sabers, there was a bit of a pressure to include those chapters as well, so I updated the User Manual with the chapters describing basic and advanced wiring for neopixel striped.

I also added text to some of the other chapters as well. Phrasing is still very rough and needs a lot of polishing, but my intention was to quick-start people using the board.

@dannyc09: care to elaborate? The DIYino Prime board has all mosfets needed, except if you want to do something extreme.

Protonerd:
Because of some guys working now on neopixel sabers, there was a bit of a pressure to include those chapters as well, so I updated the User Manual with the chapters describing basic and advanced wiring for neopixel striped.

I also added text to some of the other chapters as well. Phrasing is still very rough and needs a lot of polishing, but my intention was to quick-start people using the board.

@dannyc09: care to elaborate? The DIYino Prime board has all mosfets needed, except if you want to do something extreme.

Great!

I've got the components for building my own board as well as the diyino. What mosfet would I need for an led string on the diy board? Thanks

dannyc09:
Great!

I've got the components for building my own board as well as the diyino. What mosfet would I need for an led string on the diy board? Thanks

OK, now it's clear. In case you want to solder together your own board for LED strings, I would recommend this type:

Reason: not so small as the one on the DIYino Prime board, so they can be soldered in at home with ease using an average soldering iron, but also not so big than those in TO package, which hardly fits into any hilt (not to mention 6 of them)...

But there are many other suitable transistors. Look out for these parameters:

  • it has to be "Logic Level"
  • has to be n-channel MOSFET
  • Vgs(th) gate-source threshold voltage should be between 1V to 2V roughly
  • Rdson shall be <0.5Ohm
  • ID (continous drain current) >1A

Wonderful! A huge help thank you!

I'm building up my led string this weekend so will hopefully have some progress with both the diyino and diy board soon.

I included a new version of the User Manual including a full schematics and wiring diagram for a neopixels type saber.

I had to attach it as ZIP file due to size limitations on this forum. I guess I need to move the User Manual somewhere else, because due to the many pictures the size keeps increasing.

BTW, if anyone has trouble accessing the User Manual, please let me know, one guy complained that he got an access denied message.

Have fun with your builds and keep posting the results!

User Manual can be found now in GitHub instead of as attachment since many users had trouble accessing it from the forum.

A new version of the User Manual (draft) is uploaded to GitHub.

The new version includes a chapter about LED string wiring and different string wiring techniques. It also features 2 full wiring diagrams for LED strings using Serial II. technique and HP-LED wiring using a 5V DC/DC.

The 2nd big run of the DIYino Prime v1 is on the way, I accept pre-orders already. Based on the success of the first run I've placed a bigger order so I will have enough to fulfill all orders, no worry :slight_smile:

Woo-hoo! Please put me down for pre-order 1 board of the next run. I may add a second board if my wallet gets fuller in the meantime and another is still available... Will there be any change to the price from the first run? Thanks!

Price will slightly go up, reason is a popular demand to provide a compatible micro-SD card which I will ship together with the boards, so that people out there can use the board rigth away. I also consider loading a free sound font and a couple of handy config sounds for an even smoother start.
At the same time the shipping cost will slightly decrease. I will set the price once I get the quotes for the uSD.