Finally got this running with a couple of demos. It took a bit longer than expected as there are always so many other things to do!

Anyway, I've an updated ENC28J60 ethershield library that works with the nuelectronics.com ethernet shield. The TCP/IP stack is basically a port of the code from tuxgraphics.org to Arduino library and includes web client and server code along with ntp and wol (not tried or tested this part yet).

I've made it available for download at http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/wp-filez/etherShield.zip with a set of notes at http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/?p=329

Go make your caflaps and flowerpots tweet!  ;D

Cheers

Andy

Hi,

Just after posting the last message I had a look at the tuxgraphics.org site again and found they had recently updated their ENC28J60 TCP/IP stack, so promptly abandoned my half hearted efforts and decided to port theirs.

I have now added this into the original EtherShield library from nuelectronics and have a working library that can be used as a direct replacement it. The code is much simpler to work with which makes for shorter programs. The code is also network aware, so after specifying your local router address, it can connect to internet sites.

I've currently got the basic webserver demo and a simple twitter client working with it. I need to do another demo then I'll get this packaged up and made available over the weekend for others to try.

 

Cheers

Andy

Hi Paddy,

I have the same ethernet shield, I've not tried your example but have had a play with the examples and also used it as the basis for a NTP clock based on the software from Tuxgraphics.org.

One thing to note with this ethernet shield is that the software provided wont directly connect to the internet. From looking at your code, you are trying to connect to 128.121.146.228 (twitter.com) from 192.168.2.91 (your arduino), however, what you havn't specified is how the packets get from the 192.168 network to the twitter address. You need to go via the gateway or router that you connect to the internet with.

I coded this up in my NTP application. I had the address 10.0.0.15 on the arduino then a gateway address of 10.0.0.1, which the ARP then requested the mac address of in order to direct the outbound packet to the destination on the internet.

The code is currently a bit messy as I hacked a lot of the NTP code into the etherShield library for speed of development, but this increased its size if the NTP code isnt used, so not really useful for other applications. I'm in the process of re-writing it keep the original library but provide additional wrappers for the NTP code and HTTP GET and POST actions.

I'm also looking to do a twitter client, but based on the additional http code I'm writing.

Hope this helps  

Andy.

ok, I stand corrected, thanks. I thought I was using the latest library but obviously not.  :-[

If you could post your code then we can have a look.

thanks

Andy
 

I think the problem with your arial50.h file is that you have created a compressed font, see the headers in the .h file, compressed = true.

The library doesnt support compressed fonts, presumably due to memory limitations in uncompressing the font data.

The TFT_Font.cpp file has a function called putChar, this has a check for compressed fonts and exits if the compressed flag is set.

Hope this helps

Andy

The fit is not perfect and something that I came across when I first started to use it. On the arduino the 2 rows of connectors are 48mm apart, the pins on the LCD/tft shield are 50mm apart and on mine were angled inwards. This then forces the connectors on the arduino outwards.

I think this was done on the PCB to accommodate the 2.8" and 2.4" displays using the same pcb. If they had just opted for only the 2.4" then the pcb could have been made with the correct spacing. Just my 2p/2c worth!

Cheers

Andy

It is a very good price, especially the 2.4" version. I couldnt justify the extra tenner for the larger screen for something I just wanted to have a play with.

As with all these shields, someone is likely to write a better library. I had already written a couple of simple demos that list the contents of the SD card and display animated buttons that move when you click on them.

I'll probably take it with me on holiday in a couple of weeks and have a look at the code then. It wont be the first time I've taken an arduino on a camping holiday with me  

Cheers

Andy

Hi,

In response to the original question, I have one of the nuelectronic tft/lcd shields (the 2.4" version) and found it an interesting sheild to use. It does however have a number of drawbacks, fristly there are very few i/o pins left. I seem to recall only about 3 or 4 analogue pins including the ones used for I2C communications.

The distance between the 2 rows of pins is slightly wider than it should be for an arduino shield. The pins are bent inwards slightly to compensate but still tries to force the arduino connectors outwards.

The display was stuck to the PCB using double sided tape which tended to lift around the connector end so a dab of glue fixed this.

The library originally available was pretty basic, there was a recent update and it has improved with more demos showing a simple button meny and text (although the text demo didnt seem to work for me). There is one issue I have found with the bitmap demo in that it displays the image in reverse.

I've not had chance to play with the updated library yet other than running the demos.

The old library seemed to have problems with the touchscreen reading functions being a bit on the noisy side.

I did do a write up some time ago which needs a bit of an update now the library has been updated, its at http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/?p=450

Hope this helps  

Andy

Hi ill_switch,

I'm using this library:

http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/wp-files/etherShield-1.1.zip

from here:

http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/?p=344

This is my site and an updated library that I have created.

If you have made a custom board based on the nulectronics ethernet shield then this should, in theory, be fine. However, I have only tested it with arduino (decimilia, deumilanove and freeduino) boards as this is all I have acess to.

Making sure that your sketch is setup corectly with a proper mac address as per the examples and a unique IP addres within your network will be required.

If you use the original nuelectronics library with the basic ping example then this should enable another computer to 'ping' the arduino and prove that your ethernet hardware is actually working.

Also check the lights on the ethernet socket as these should show if its detected a link up. Also the initailisation part of the original nuelectronics sketches flash the 2 LEDs so this would be an indication that the code is actually controlling the ENC28J60.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Andy  

If you plan to use your diy ethernet shield with other SPI devices then you should replace the AND gates with a tri-state buffer. This will then properly isolate the pins.

For a detailed write up on this check out http://john.crouchley.com/blog/archives/662 I did this myself in a slightly different way but never got round to documenting it like this.

I needed to run 2 SPI based devices together, the ethershield and a RF12 wireless module.

Hope this helps

Andy

You might want to have a look at another thread from a few days ago on this same topic.

http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1279404693

There is a link to one of my blog posts reviewing the 2.4" version of the display. I am on holiday for the next week and am planning on taking it with me to have a more indepth play and try to fix some of the issues that I have found with it and that are still in the later version of the library. Providing I get a bit of time to look at it!

Hope it helps.

Thanks

Andy

Hi, when I've used this shield with temp sensors I've used one of the nuelectronics proto sheilds between the arduino and the lcd shield. The temp sensors were then wired in to the proto shield.

The 3310 lcd shield uses digital i/o pins 10-13 for the display and 9 to control the backlight. Also the joystick uses analogue input 0. So the rest are free to use.

Hope this helps

Andy  

You might want to have a look at my updated/rewritten library for this display. This is described on my page here: http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/?p=383 This has been successfully used by a number of other people, along with contributed updates and enhancements.

The library has text as well as basic graphic and bitmap functions. The examples include demos of these. There is also a sample application using a temp/humidity sensor to show the current readings.

Hope this helps

Andy
 

Hi,

I have a number of these ethernet shields and have had a lot of success with them. Which library are you using? The one that comes from nuelectronics is a bit limited in that it wont route outside of the local lan.

I had created an updated library that a number of people have had success with. It is able to route to internet servers and I use it to post data to pachube.com and twitter.

Its available at http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/?p=329. The library is not perfect and there is room for improvement and might get round to re-visiting it sometime soon!

I have also have created a new library for the nuelectronics nokia 3110 lcd shield.

Hope this helps.  

Cheers

Andy

Hi,

I have an example of sending UDP broadcast messages using the nuelectronics ethernet shield, along with updated library. Have a look at http://blog.thiseldo.co.uk/?p=422

The broadcast example takes a payload from my currentcost and sends it out, there isnt any reply required or received. The udp packets are received by a perl script running on a linux box.

Hope this helps.  

Andy