Aeroquad without aeroquad shield possible?

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Development
1

Hi,

Im planning to start an aeroquad project based on the build list and stuff here: Loading...

However, i just found out that they do not stock the aeroquad shield at the moment due to development of a newer version of it.

I am wondering if it is possible to connect the 5DOF IMU and Gyro to the duemilanove using another method.

Help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

2

Yes - they even mention on the site using a prototyping shield instead; if you look at the schematice for the aeroquad shield:

http://aeroquad.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/Documentation/Shield/AeroQuad_v1.7/AeroQuad_v17_Schematic.pdf

You will see it is pretty much nothing more than a breakout board; you should be able to set up something similar with a prototyping shield (or no shield at all!)...

:slight_smile:

3

You could try building a baronpilot: http://www.elenafrancesco.org/arduino/baronpilot/

4

Thanks for the input guys. But as a beginner, i dont really understand what a breakout board does. I understand that it is a board that stacks on top of the arduino and allows u to connect the various sensors more easily and neatly.

So, does using jumper wires to the respective pinholes mean that i can get rid of the shield entirely?

Thanks again.

5

Thanks for the input guys. But as a beginner, i dont really understand what a breakout board does. I understand that it is a board that stacks on top of the arduino and allows u to connect the various sensors more easily and neatly.

Let me clear something up: Technically, a breakout board is a board designed to route signal and other lines in a manner that makes the underlying system easier to interface with; in this case, the board groups things together for the sensors. It doesn't necessarily stack on top of the Arduino (ie, as a shield); though in this case it does. A breakout board can also be used, for instance, to allow you to easily use a part that might be otherwise difficult to use, especially in prototyping; for instance, an SMT IC or similar, to bring the tightly spaced pins out to wider spaced 0.1 inch pins, to fit in a breadboard, or be more easily soldered to. If you notice, by those definitions - the entire Arduino board is a "breakout" board (for the ATMega).

So, does using jumper wires to the respective pinholes mean that i can get rid of the shield entirely?

Yes. In the case of this board, you should follow the schematic given for it for the hookup (ie, there were a ton of capacitors on the analog IO lines for some of the sensors - they are probably needed for noise supression, etc - so they should be included).

:slight_smile:

6

Thanks alot cr0sh. That answered my question. Alright i will try to look into the schematics and figure it out from there.